Changes from the 2^nd edition:

This 3^rd edition includes the following principal changes from earlier editions: the print version is now provided in full color; embedded links (applicable to the PDF and Web versions) are highlighted in the body of the printed text in dark blue type; there has been extensive revision and updating of Chapters 3 and 8; removal of tables of software products — these are now all referenced via the accompanying website page which is regularly updated: www.spatialanalysisonline.com/software.html; addition of new sections, including geospatial modeling, Knox and Mantel tests, cartogram production, and space syntax; extended discussion of geovisualization techniques in many sections; expansion and revision of the sections covering distance transforms (DTs) and join count statistics (JCS); inclusion of many new diagrams and examples (e.g. fire, pollution, wind and noise modeling) and re-implementation of many existing diagrams; addition of links to downloadable PDF files of the out-of-print CATMOG publication series — although rather ‘historic’ those referenced include useful discussions of many of the topics mentioned in this Guide; provision of Google mapping links for many placenames cited; and updates to many sections to reflect recent technological advances, particularly in software tools. These include the addition of information on analytical tools not previously covered such as PySal, PASSaGE, SAM, and R Spatial (see further the selected summary “R-Project spatial statistics software packages” at the end of this Guide).

Geospatial Analysis: A Comprehensive Guide to Principles, Techniques and Software Tools originated as a document to accompany the spatial analysis module of the MSc in Geographic Information Science at University College London delivered by the principal author, Dr Mike de Smith. As is often the case, from its conception through to completion of the first draft it developed a life of its own, growing into a substantial Guide designed for use by a wide audience. Once several of the chapters had been written ― notably those covering the building blocks of spatial analysis and on surface analysis ― the project was discussed with Professors Longley and Goodchild. They kindly agreed to contribute to the contents of the Guide itself. As such, this Guide may be seen as a companion to the pioneering book on Geographic Information Systems and Science by Longley, Goodchild, Maguire and Rhind, particularly the chapters of that work which deal with spatial analysis and modeling. Their participation has also facilitated links with broader “spatial literacy” and spatial analysis programmes. Notable amongst these are the GIS&T Body of Knowledge materials provided by the Association of American Geographers at www.aag.org/bok/ together with the spatial educational programmes provided at www.spatial-literacy.org, www.spatial.ucsb.edu, www.ncgia.ucsb.edu and www.csiss.org.

The three formats in which this Guide has been published: Printed, Web and E-book (PDF) versions have proved to be extremely popular, encouraging us to seek to improve and extend the material and associated resources further. Many academics and industry professionals have provided helpful comments on previous editions, and universities in several parts of the world have now developed courses which make use of the Guide and the accompanying resources. Workshops based on these materials have been run in Ireland, the USA, East Africa, Italy and Japan, and a Chinese version of the Guide has been published by the Publishing House of Electronics Industry, Beijing, PRC, www.phei.com.cn in 2009.

A unique, ongoing, feature of this Guide is its independent evaluation of software, in particular the set of readily available tools and packages for conducting various forms of geospatial analysis. To our knowledge, there is no similarly extensive resource that is available in printed or electronic form. We remain convinced that there is a need for guidance on where to find and how to apply selected tools. Inevitably, some topics have been omitted, primarily where there is little or no readily available commercial or open source software to support particular analytical operations. Other topics, whilst included, have been covered relatively briefly and/or with limited examples, reflecting the inevitable constraints of time and the authors’ limited access to some of the available software resources.

Every effort has been made to ensure the information provided is up-to-date, accurate, compact, comprehensive and representative — we do not claim it to be exhaustive. However, with fast-moving changes in the software industry and in the development of new techniques it would be impractical and uneconomic to publish the material in a conventional manner. Accordingly the Guide has been prepared without intermediary typesetting. This has enabled the time between producing the text and delivery in electronic (web, e-book) and printed formats to be greatly reduced, thereby ensuring that the work is as current as possible. It also enables the work to be updated on a regular basis, with embedded hyperlinks to external resources and suppliers (highlighted and activated in the Web and PDF versions), thus making the Guide a more dynamic and extensive resource than would otherwise be possible. This approach does come with some minor disadvantages. These include: the need to provide rather more subsections to chapters and keywording of terms than would normally be the case in order to support topic selection within the web-based version; and the need for careful use of symbology and embedded graphic symbols at various points within the text to ensure that the web-based output correctly displays Greek letters and other symbols across a range of web browsers.

As with the previous editions, comments and suggestions regarding the scope, detailed content and associated materials (e.g. case studies) are welcome and amendments will be made available via the Guide web site, www.spatialanalysisonline.com. We would like to thank all those users of the web site, electronic version of the Guide and of the printed book, for their comments and suggestions which have assisted us in producing this third edition.

 

 

Mike de Smith, Edinburgh ¨ Mike Goodchild, Santa Barbara ¨ Paul Longley, London

June 2009 (3^rd Edition)