Quantitative Methods and Applications in GIS

Quantitative Methods and Applications in GIS © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Quantitative Methods and Applications in GIS Fahui Wang © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Published in 2006 by CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group No claim to original U.S. Government works Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 International Standard Book Number-10: 0-8493-2795-4 (Hardcover) International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-8493-2795-7 (Hardcover) Library of Congress Card Number 2006040460 This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are listed. 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Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wang, Fahui, 1967- Quantitative methods and applications in GIS / Fahui Wang. p. cm. ISBN 0-8493-2795-4 1. Geographic information systems--Mathematical models. I. Title. G70.212W36 2006 910.285--dc22 Taylor & Francis Group is the Academic Division of Informa plc. 2006040460 Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Dedication In loving memory of Katherine Z. Wang To Lei and our three J’s (Jenny, Joshua, and Jacqueline) © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Foreword This splendid book argues that to do good social science that is policy relevant, quantitative methods are essential and such methods, and the theory behind their practice, must be spatial. Accordingly Fahui Wang sets out to show how relevant applications at the level of cities and regions must be fashioned using the methods of quantitative geography which are currently best expressed in GIS (geographic information systems) and GI science. What is nice about his approach is that he grounds all the methods that he introduces in practical applications that are supported by the data files used in the examples, presented in such a way that readers at both the beginning and more advanced levels can design and explore their own simulations. In the last decade, GIS has come of age and its synthesis and co-development with spatial analysis and quantitative geography is generating an edifice that has come to be known as GI science. This science is not simply method- or technique-driven, for it relates strongly to geographical theory, whether it be from the social or the physical domain or both. This book mainly deals with social (and economic) applications but the methods used are not restricted to the social world. Far from it. Spatial analytic method is being developed in many fields where geographical space of various kinds — topological, Euclidean, in any dimension, and so on — is invoked. Moreover, several of the methods introduced here for social applications emerged originally from the physical and natural sciences, in the geophysical, medical, and ecological realms, for example. A synthesis is in fact being forged with computa-tional science where the focus here is on computational social science as an essential apparatus in the development of social understanding and social policy. There are several key themes exploited in this book which serve to define the spatial domain. In particular, the idea of distance, proximity and accessibility are central to ways of defining concentration and dispersion in space through clustering, density, homogeneity, and hinterland. These serve to illustrate the form and function of urban and regional systems at a variety of scales and the techniques developed around these foci all enable the physical and social morphology of cities in their regions to be measured and analysed consistently. This is GI science in the making, and throughout this book the author is at pains to emphasise how functions and forms, which at first sight might appear disparate, link together in more generic systems and models. The applications that are developed here range over several urban sectors and scales from health care and crime to transportation and retailing. The focus, too, is not simply on measurement and understanding, for all the examples are set within a policy context which presupposes problems to be solved. Indeed toward the end of the book, there are applications dealing with formal optimisation that generate specific and unique solutions to various spatial problems, particularly in transportation. In fact one of the key concerns in this book is to identify how key policy problems, whether they are in terms of finding the best location for a shopping center © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ... - tailieumienphi.vn