Modelling Scale in Geographical Information Science

Book excerpt: Scale has long been a fundamental concept in geography. Its importance is emphasised in geographical information science (GIScience) where the computational domain necessitates the rigorous definition and handling of scale. Geographical information systems are now used in almost every walk of life, but scale is often handled poorly in such systems. Modelling Scale in Geographical Information Science is written by an international team of contributors drawn from both industry and academia, and considers models and methods of scaling spatial data in both human and physical systems. Divided into three sections to give a balanced coverage of the key problems, tools and models associated with scale: * Fractal Models * The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem * Changing the Scale of Measurement This book is an essential read for all GIScience researchers, advanced students and practitioners who want to delve more deeply into the scale issues of the spatial data and spatial models that form the basis of their analyses.