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Requirements for planning-relevant GIS: A spatial perspective

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Papers in Regional Science

Abstract

For a variety of practical, technical, and theoretical reasons, geographic information system (GIS) capabilities are not yet fully attuned to the information needs of planning. This paper focuses on one of the more theoretical sources of existing discrepancies: the differing underlying representation of space in GIS on the one hand, and in much of planning on the other. Indeed, geographic information systems embody an absolute, "container" view of space, whereas the higher-level functions of planning, along with most of regional science and human geography, treat space as "relational." It is suggested that the absolute-relative polarization could be theoretically resolved, and GIS be made more relevant for strategic planning, through the operationalization of an intermediate conception of space as "proximal."

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of California, 93106, Santa Barbara, California, USA

    Helen Couclelis

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  1. Helen Couclelis
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Couclelis, H. Requirements for planning-relevant GIS: A spatial perspective. Papers in Regional Science 70, 9–19 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01463440

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01463440

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