Making Space in Geographical Analysis

In this commentary we reflect on the potential and power of geographical analysis, as a set of methods, theoretical approaches, and perspectives, to increase our understanding of how space and place matter for all. We emphasize key aspects of the field, including accessibility, urban change, and spatial interaction and behavior, providing a high-level research agenda that indicates a variety of gaps and routes for future research that will not only lead to more equitable and aware solutions to local and global challenges, but also innovative and novel research methods, concepts, and data. We close with a set of representation and inclusion challenges to our discipline, researchers, and publication outlets.     

中国文学的地理分析

本文从文学地理的角度阐明了中国文学的地区差异与地域特色,分析了文学与地理之间的多层次关系及环境作用机理,并对文学与地理结合的"环境文学"发展前景进行了展望。指出,中国文学在地理分布上有着南北之分、东西之异、地域之别。地理环境对中国文学及其地域差异的影响主要表现在三个方面:即对文学作品创作内容和作者创作灵感的诱发的影响,对文学作品风格与地域特色差异的影响,对文学流派及其地域文学人才的形成以及文学中心分布的影响。认为,地理环境作为生活条件塑造着作家的文化心理素质与审美情趣,间接影响文学作品风格是环境影响文学的主要机理。文学艺术与地理、环境、生态等科学结合,是21世纪文学发展的一种趋向。     

The Art of Geographical Analysis

Professor Arthur Getis was a prominent geographical analysis researcher and proponent. His research in geographical analysis was broad, with an eye on theoretical developments and application-oriented details. However, there was so much more. His active participation and engaged discussion at symposia and conferences, in sessions, during breaks and less formally over drinks or a meal, stand out, even postretirement. His service and mentoring in many forms too were invaluable. In what follows, an overview of his career and contributions are provided. Additionally, observations and broader significance are offered as a set of rules to live by based on my three decades of interaction with Professor Getis.     

Overview of Contributions in Geographical Analysis: Waldo Tobler

The academic contributions of Waldo Tobler are noteworthy and significant, spanning essentially all disciplines that involve the study of geographic phenomena. While much attention has been given to his observations of the first law of geography, there is much more substance to his larger body of research. It is especially fitting that this commemorative special issue is appearing in Geographical Analysis as Tobler published extensively in the journal, beginning in the first volume in 1969 up to volume 42 in 2010, making important contributions to quantitative theoretical geography. His research helped to build and sustain the journal, laying the foundation for what is the premier quantitative geography outlet today. This article reviews his publication activity in Geographical Analysis.     

Geographical Analysis: Its First 40 Years

Geographical Analysis (GA), in cooperation with the Wiley‐Blackwell publishing business, undertook a project to complete the digitizing of all back issues of the journal and make those for the period 1969–2001 free to the academic community; the volumes for 2002–2005 already were, and continue to be, free. This article commemorates the completion of this event late in 2010, drawing upon this new resource to highlight important contributions made through the journal to the geography and spatial sciences community. Besides summarizing publication trends for the journal, in the tradition of Fenneman's Venn diagram conceptualization of overlaps between geography and its cognate disciplines, this article highlights prominent articles published in the journal that contributed to the four themes of urban and economic geography, transportation geography, spatial statistics, and geographic information science. Geographical Analysis (GA) en cooperación con publicaciones Wiley‐Blackwell llevo a cabo el proyecto de digitación de todos los números pasados de la revista, los cuales están ahora a disposición de la comunidad académica sin costo alguno; los volúmenes de los años 2000–5 ya estaban disponibles y continúan siendo gratis. El presente artículo conmemora la culminación de dicho evento a fines de 2010, recogiendo los aportes de esta nueva fuente de información y resaltando varias contribuciones importantes hechas vía GA a la comunidad de geografía y ciencias espaciales. Además de resumir las tendencia de las publicaciones de la revista, en la tradición de la conceptualización de traslapes entre la geografía y disciplinas afines de los diagramas Venn Fanneman, el presente artículo resalta, artículos prominentes publicados en GA que contribuyeron a los cuatro temas principales: geografía urbana y económica, geografía del transporte, estadística especial y ciencias (sistemas) de información geográfica. 地理分析（GA）和Wiley‐Blackwell出版商合作完成了对本刊1969‐2001年所有刊册数字化的项目,并向学术界免费开放。事实上,从2002年第5卷就已经开始并将一直持续免费。本文记述了2010年末完成的这一事件,并依托这一新的数据资源,重新回顾了本刊对地理学和空间科学研究群体做出的重要贡献。本文总结了本刊论文发表趋势,从Fenneman的韦恩图概念传统来看是地理学及其相关学科的交叉。此外还回顾了本刊发表的对城市与经济地理、交通地理、空间统计以及地理信息科学方法做出卓越贡献的论文。     

Toward a More Socially Impactful Geographical Analysis

The fiftieth anniversary of Geographical Analysis occurs for many quantitative human geographers at an exciting era of new and exciting sources of data and computational advancements. However, it also represents a crossroads where excitement to quickly capitalize upon these new data sources and methods risks reverting the discipline back to its abstraction‐rich and overly generalized roots, erasing much progress made in the pages of this journal that advocated for the recognition of individual differences and need for alternative and even qualitative data sources. In this commentary, I reflect on what we can do over the next 50 years to ensure that the journal is producing research that is socially impactful and better able to explain the messiness of social reality.     

Bayesian Areal Wombling for Geographical Boundary Analysis

In the analysis of spatially referenced data, interest often focuses not on prediction of the spatially indexed variable itself, but on boundary analysis , that is, the determination of boundaries on the map that separate areas of higher and lower values. Existing boundary analysis methods are sometimes generically referred to as wombling , after a foundational article by Womble (1951). When data are available at point level (e.g., exact latitude and longitude of disease cases), such boundaries are most naturally obtained by locating the points of steepest ascent or descent on the fitted spatial surface (Banerjee, Gelfand, and Sirmans 2003). In this article, we propose related methods for areal data (i.e., data which consist only of sums or averages over geopolitical regions). Such methods are valuable in determining boundaries for data sets that, perhaps due to confidentiality concerns, are available only in ecological (aggregated) format, or are only collected this way (e.g., delivery of health-care or cost information). After a brief review of existing algorithmic techniques (including that implemented in the commercial software BoundarySeer), we propose a fully model-based framework for areal wombling, using Bayesian hierarchical models with posterior summaries computed using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. We explore the suitability of various existing hierarchical and spatial software packages (notably S-plus and WinBUGS) to the task, and show the approach's superiority over existing nonstochastic alternatives, both in terms of utility and average mean square error behavior. We also illustrate our methods (as well as the solution of advanced modeling issues such as simultaneous inference) using colorectal cancer late detection data collected at the county level in the state of Minnesota.     

《左传》“穆陵”辨释

《左传·僖公四年》中"南至穆陵"之"穆陵",既不在齐境内,也不在楚境内,而应在越国南部,可能就是会稽山中的"永穆陵"。     

Geographical Analysis: Reflections of a Recovering Editor

This paper considers the past and future of the journal Geographical Analysis (GA), as well as the broader field of spatial analysis. From my experiences as a former editor of GA, I first identify three external trends that I feel will provide the backdrop for the future evolution of spatial analysis. These surround the rise of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science as disciplines. The paper also considers the structural changes that are occurring in the organization of science, and the trend toward democratization of spatial analysis and spatial data. I identify critical areas for methodological advances along with some opportunities for the rebranding of GA in the new era of data science.     

周都“西郑”地望考

古本《纪年》所载西周穆王以下的都邑“西郑”与“懿王元年天再旦于郑”的“郑”实为一地,郭璞、臣瓒等以其地在今陕西华县一带,通过对存世金文资料的梳理,结合文献记载,笔者认为周王朝中后期的都邑——西郑的地望在今陕西凤翔一带,而非陕西华县。     

Stages in Geographical Prediction

A sequence of stages in long-term geographical prediction is proposed. It begins with the prediction of future heat and moisture conditions and the character of future crustal movements, which in turn are used for predicting the future course of evolution of natural-territorial complexes as integral systems. An example of the latter type of forecast would be the prediction of the impact of a reservoir on the surrounding territory. At this point the role of man must be fed into the predictive process. This stage involves an assessment of the future needs of society, an economic evaluation of the resource potential of a territory (including manpower resources) and the choice of an optimal course of development for the territory. The next stage involves an evaluation of the impact of man-made structures on the environment and, in this connection, the use of the concept of geo-engineering system is proposed, involving the interaction between engineering structures and natural systems. Types of interaction may be analyzed in terms of the types of economy represented by energy-and-industry cycles.