ABSTRACT
Many questions can be answered by knowing just the location and its associated entity (whether a value or an object). Spatial analysis and modelling are the methodological tools that empower geographical information systems (GIS) with the ability to solve location-specific problems in a conceptually rigorous, formalized and automated way. While these tools were of interest long before the beginning of the information era, the emergence and development of GIS stimulated the fast and wide development of spatial analysis and modelling methods and applications. This chapter explains how spatial analysis and modelling work. First, three foundational blocks – conceptualization, data modelling and basic operations – are explained. Then, high-level spatial analysis and modelling approaches are presented and illustrated for a number of applications. Finally, the chapter focusses on the current state of research in this area.
