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Formalizing Place in Geographic Information Systems

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Communities, Neighborhoods, and Health

Part of the book series: Social Disparities in Health and Health Care ((SDHHC,volume 1))

Abstract

The past four decades have witnessed a rapid and accelerating growth in the use of computers to handle geographic information. As machines, computers require that inputs be formalized, following well-defined rules and using shared definitions of terms. This requirement has created a fundamental tension with the informal world of human discourse, and nowhere is this more apparent than over the vague concept of place. The chapter explores this tension from various perspectives: current methods of geographic representation in digital form, inherent ambiguities, the case of the gazetteer, the role of volunteered geographic information, and place as an expression of context. Examples are used to illustrate the basic principles.

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Acknowledgments

I thank Donald Janelle and Karl Grossner for their work in building the teachspatial.org site with its ontology of spatial concepts.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

    Michael F. Goodchild (Professor)

Authors
  1. Michael F. Goodchild
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Correspondence to Michael F. Goodchild .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Sociology, Duke University, Durham, 27708-0097, North Carolina, USA

    Linda M. Burton

  2. Dept. Anthropology, Penn State University, Carpenter Bldg. 409, University Park, 16802, Pennsylvania, USA

    Stephen A. Matthews

  3. , Department of Sociology, University of Washington, 211 Savery Hall, Seattle, 98195-3340, USA

    ManChui Leung

  4. Dept. Sociology, University of Washington, Raitt Hall 206A, Seattle, 98195-4322, Washington, USA

    Susan P. Kemp

  5. Dept. Sociology, University of Washington, Raitt Hall 206A, Seattle, 98195-4322, Washington, USA

    David T. Takeuchi

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Goodchild, M.F. (2011). Formalizing Place in Geographic Information Systems. In: Burton, L., Matthews, S., Leung, M., Kemp, S., Takeuchi, D. (eds) Communities, Neighborhoods, and Health. Social Disparities in Health and Health Care, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7482-2_2

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