What exactly is Spatial Analysis ??

[Malcolm Williamson]

On 21 Nov 1996, Alastair Duncan wrote:

> Hello,
> 
> I was asked this morning by a colleague to concisely define spatial analysis,
> and produce a list of techniques used by GIS that could be described as being
> spatial analysis, all on one piece of paper. Having looked at my GIS textbook
> collection I can't seem to find any real definitions - they are all very vague.
> They all use the phrase extensively without actually saying what it means. Has
> anyone got any ideas on this one ??
> 
> Cheers, Al.
> 
To me, "spatial analysis" implies analysis of a point or points using a 
technique that considers spatial placement of data. In GIS, common 
techniques include:

buffering
cost or friction surfaces
many filtering approaches
line-of-sight (viewshed) analysis
network analysis
clumping or clustering
watershed delineation


There are probably quite a few more that I couldn't think of. This is, of 
course, only my opinion, and probably does not reflect the view my employer!
Regards,
--
Malcolm D. Williamson - GIS Specialist           E-mail: malcolm at cast.uark.edu
Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies      Telephone: (501) 575-6159
Ozark Rm. 12                                        Fax: (501) 575-5218 
University of Arkansas              
Fayetteville, AR 72701
>