Contents

Introduction to Geoinformatics
L-9. Spatial Data Analysis
Dr. Gyrgy SZAB associate professor

Budapest University of Technology and Economy

Department of Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics
gyszabo@eik.bme.hu

OVERVIEW
This chapter is describing the geographic analysis and modeling methods. Examines
methods constructed around the concepts of location, distance, and area.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Definitions of spatial data analysis .
Methods to examine distance effects, in the creation of clusters, hotspots, and
anomalies.
Methods for measuring properties of areas.
Measures that can be used to capture the centrality of geographic phenomena.
Techniques for analyzing surfaces and for determining their morphologic properties.
Techniques for the support of spatial decisions and the design of landscapes
according to specific objectives.

Longley, Goodchild, Maguire, Rhind (2011): Geographical Information Systems and Science
CH 14. pp. 351-359.

What is spatial analysis?

A redrafting of the map made by Dr. John Snow in 1854, showing the
deaths that occurred in an outbreak of cholera in the Soho district of
London

Spatial analysis the engine of GIS because it

includes all of the transformations, manipulations,
and methods that can be applied to geographic
data to add value to them, to support decisions,
and to reveal patterns and anomalies that are not
immediately obvious
Spatial analysis is the process by which we turn
raw data into useful information

The first application of GIS in epidemiology

And the spatial analysis:

Hypotesis: Source of the infection is the water >

Broad street pump

Action: remove the

Broad street pump
head

The map made by Openshaw and

colleagues by applying their
Geographical Analysis Machine to
the incidence of childhood leukemia
in northern England.
A very large number
of circles of random sizes is
randomly placed on the map, and a
circle is drawn if the number of
cases it encloses substantially
exceeds the number expected in
that area given the size of its
population at risk
Data sets:
- location of the disease
- Number of people at risk
(Source: International Journal of Geographical
Information Systems)

L 9. Spatial Data Analysis

Type of spatial analysis

Inductive: to examine empirical evidence in
the search for patterns that might support
new theories or general principles, in this
case with regard to disease causation.
Deductive: focusing on the testing of
known theories or principles against data
Normative: using spatial analysis to develop
or prescribe new or better designs

Geomedia-> Analysis->Attribute Query

Cheap Pub (Price of beer =< 300 Ft

Analysis of attributes
Selection of objects based on attribute values.
One way to examine this suspicion is to plot one
variable against the other as a scatterplot.
Regression analysis focuses on finding the
simplest relationship indicated by the data.
Relationships between variables can vary across
space, which is an issue termed spatial
heterogeneity (add thematic in Geomedia)

SQL script:
SELECT <fields>
FROM <tables>
[WHERE<logical expressions>]
[<grouping>]
[<order by>];

Scatterplots of median house

value (y axis) versus percent
black (x axis) for U.S. counties in
1990, with linear regressions:

(A) California

(B) Mississippi
(Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census)

Age-adjusted rates of mortality due to

cancers of the trachea, bronchus, and lung,
among white males between 1950 and 1969,
by county

L 9. Spatial Data Analysis

Geomedia: Legend ->Add Thematic Legend Entry

Price level of pubs (cheap, medium, expensive)

Analysis of spatial properties

The point in polygon problem,

shown in the continuous-field case
(the point must by definition lie in
exactly one polygon, or outside the
project area).

Topological relations:
Point in Polygon
Polygon Overlay
Spatial Joins

Analysis based on distance:

Measuring distance, length, area, peremiter
Buffering point, line, area zone creation

In only one instance (the orange

polygon) is there an odd number of
intersections between the polygon
boundary and a line drawn
vertically upward from the point.

Polygon overlay in the continuous-field case

Polygon overlay, in the
discrete object case
Here the overlay of two
polygons produces nine
distinct polygons. One has the
properties of both polygons,
four have the properties of the
yellow shaded polygon but not
the blue (bounded) polygon,
and four are outside the yellow
polygon but inside the blue
polygon.
Here a dataset representing two types of land cover (A
on the left, B on the right) is overlaid on a dataset
representing three types of ownership (the two datasets
have been offset for visual clarity).

Geomedia: Analysis-> Spatial Query

Topological relations of two object sets

Touch returns features that touch the defined features in any

way-meeting, overlapping, containing, or being contained by.
Touch

with the Not qualifier

The spatial relations:

L 9. Spatial Data Analysis

TOUCH
COUNTAIN
ARE COUNTAINED BY
ENTIRELY CONTAIN
ARE ENTIRELY
CONTAINED BY
OVERLAP
MEET
ARE SPATIALLY EQUAL
ARE WITHIN DISTANCE OF

Contain returns features that surround defined features.

Contained features can touch but not overlap the borders of
the surrounding features. Points cannot contain other features.
Contain

with the Not qualifier

Are contained by returns features that fall completely within

the defined features. Contained features can touch but not
overlap the borders of the surrounding features.
Are contained by

with the Not qualifier

Entirely contain returns features that surround defined features.

Contained features cannot touch or overlap the borders of the
surrounding features. Points cannot entirely contain other
features..
Entirely contain

Are entirely contained by

with the Not qualifier

Overlap returns features that overlap the defined features.

Overlap

with the Not qualifier

with the Not qualifier

Meet returns features that fall next to the defined features,

touching without overlapping.
Meet

Are entirely contained by returns features that fall completely

within the defined features. Contained features cannot touch or
overlap the borders of the surrounding features.

with the Not qualifier

Are within distance of returns features having any part

located within the specified distance of the defined features. If
either the starting or ending point of a linear feature, for
example, falls within the specified distance, it is returned.
Are within distance of

with the Not qualifier

Are spatially equal returns features that occupy the same space
and location. Features must be of the same type to be spatially
equal.
Are spatially equal

with the Not qualifier

Spatial Intersection allows you to perform a spatial overlay

on two feature classes or queries to find the intersecting areas,
or areas of coincidence.
Original

Spatial Difference allows you to perform spatial masking, that

is, to perform a difference operation on two sets of areas to
produce resultant geometries.

After Spatial Intersection

The spatial operators available for this command are touch,

contain, are contained by, entirely contain, are entirely
contained by, overlap, meet, and are spatially equal. After you
choose the two sets of input features to intersect and the type of
spatial operation to perform, this command outputs the results
as a new query.

L 9. Spatial Data Analysis

This command takes as input two area feature classes or

queries, the features to be masked or cropped (the fromfeature), and the features to be used as a mask (the subtractfeature).

Geomedia -> Tools

-> Validate Geometry,
->Validate Connectivity

Geometry Validation Error Conditions

Validate geometry: checking the point, line,

area feature geometry consistency in a
feature class
Validate connectivity: checking the
topological relations of one feature class or
between two feature groups

Validating Connectivity
Overshoot
This condition occurs when the end of a
linear geometry extends beyond the point
at which it should intersect with, and stop
at, another geometry.
Undershoot
This condition occurs when the end of
linear geometry or a point geometry
falls short of intersecting another
geometry.
Node Mismatch
This condition occurs when the end of a
linear or point geometry falls short of
intersecting with the end of another linear
or point geometry.

Examples of Connectivity Conditions

by Feature Class
Nearly Coincident
Overshoot

Undershoot
Node Mismach

Intersection
Not Broken

Node Mismach

Intersections Not
Coincident

Pythagorass Theorem and the

straight-line distance between two
points on a plane

The effects of the Earths

curvature on the measurement of
distance, and the choice of
shortest paths

L 9. Spatial Data Analysis

The length of a path as traveled on the

Earths surface (red line) may be
substantially longer than the length of
its horizontal projection as evaluated in
a two-dimensional GIS

(A) shows three paths across

part of Dorset in the UK. The
green path is the straight
route, the red path is the
modern road system, and the
gray path represents the route
followed by the road in 1886

(Courtesy Michael De Smith)

(B) Shows the vertical profiles of all

three routes, with elevation plotted
against the distance traveled
horizontally in each case. 1 ft 5 0.3048
m, 1 yd 5 0.9144 m.

(Courtesy Michael De Smith)

Geomedia: Edit-> Attribute ->Update Attribute

Static measurement of feature geometry:
Line - LENGTH(Input.Geometry)
Area - AREA(Input.Geometry), PERIMETER(Input.Geometry)

Buffers (dilations) of
constant width drawn
around a point, a polyline,
and a polygon

Geomedia: Analysis-> Buffer Zone

100 m Buffer Zone of Pubs

Terrain surface
representation and analysis
Digital Contourline Model (DCM),
Digital Surface Model (DSM),
Digital Elevation Model (DEM),
Digital Terrain Model (DTM)

L 9. Spatial Data Analysis

Surface representation: 2, 2.5, 3D

DEM

DCM

Examples of applications
that use the TIN data
model
(A)Landslide risk map for Pisa, Italy
(Courtesy of Earth Science Department, University of
Siena, Italy)

DTM

DSM

(B) Yangtse River, China

(Courtesy of Human Settlements Research
Center, Tsinghua University, China)

Sampling of Terrain
Random: stochastic elements
Systematic:
Homogenious (regular grid)
Inhomogenious (charasteristic points, break
lines, form lines, extremal points)

Grid interpolation

Grid model
Systematic grid, or raster of spot height with
constant density
Creation: direct measurement, derivation
Type: Grid, Cell, Point cloud
Advantage: easy representation and storage in
matrix form
Disadvantage: heterogeneous terrain - > week
representation or too much points

TIN model
Triangulated Irregular Network

Approximation:
Linear
Bilinear
2nd order
3rd order
Spline

L 9. Spatial Data Analysis

Formation: Delaunay triangulation (dual

definition - Voronoi Diagram): nearly equal
side triangle structure
Advantage: more characteristics, represented
the morphology of the real terrain forms
Disadvantage: complex structure, large storage
and computational requirements

TIN Topology

TIN surface of Death Valley,

California

(A)wireframe showing all triangles

(B) shaded by elevation

(C) draped with satellite image

Tivadar 2D contour line map

Tivadar Digital Terrain Model

L 9. Spatial Data Analysis

Tivadar Digital Surface Model

Complex Model: Simulation of

Bereg dam damage - 107m
water level

Complex networks

Model for movement over surfaces

Connections
Rules
Attributes

Search for the best

locations for a central
facility to serve dispersed
customers
(A)the problem is solved in
continuous space, with straightline travel, for a warehouse to
serve the 12 largest U.S. cities. In
continuous space there is an
infinite number of possible
locations for the site.

Representation of
route location on
raster data
Complex surface
representation of
phenomena: water
flow, drainage

GIS can be used to find locations

for fire stations that result in
better response times to
emergencies

(B) a similar problem is solved at the

scale of a city neighborhood on a
network, where Hakimis theorem
states that only junctions (nodes)
in the network and places where
there is weight need to be
considered, making the problem
much simpler, but where travel
must follow the street network.

(PhotoDisc/Getty Images)

Screenshot of the system used by drivers for Sears to schedule and

navigate a days workload

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L 9. Spatial Data Analysis