[R-sig-Geo] nb object in spdep from categorical attribute

[Dexter Locke]

Dear list,

Does anyone know how to make nb objects (to eventually make spatial
weights) with spdep using an attribute in a shapefile's data frame?

Consider, for example, all property parcels on the same street segment
should be defined as neighbors. In the parcel polygons I have the
associated street segment name.

KNN forces sparsely settled areas to become neighbors, which is undesirable
for the subsequent analyses.

Distances between parcels vary, so distance-based neighbors are also
undesirable in this case.

Contiguity-based methods do not connect parcels on opposite sites of the
same street segment.

Is there a way to use an attribute to define what constitutes a neighbor?

All ideas welcome,
Dexter

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