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Information Fusion and Geographic Information Systems pp 3–12Cite as

Is Spatial Really That Special? A Tale of Spaces

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography ((LNGC,volume 5))

Abstract

Spatial sciences have been operating under the mantra that “spatial is special.” The contention of this chapter is that this is contingent upon the implicit assumption that spatial and semantic information are fully separable. Large segments of spatial science research take space as an a priori and invariant backcloth over which events and experiences unfold. A considerable intellectual discourse on the nature and modes of existence of space has identified discordant perspectives that may undermine the universality of the innate distinctiveness of space. The chapter reviews and discusses some of the best established lines of thought on the understanding of space across disciplinary boundaries and underscores their relevance to spatially enabled research. Some of these ideas are articulated in the context of spaces reconstructed in relation to population migration in the USA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC, 28223, USA

    Jean-Claude Thill

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  1. Jean-Claude Thill
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Correspondence to Jean-Claude Thill .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. SPIIRAS 39, 14th Line, V.O., St. Petersburg, 199178, Russian Federation

    Vasily V. Popovich

  2. Naval Academy Research Institute, Brest naval, 29240, France

    Christophe Claramunt

  3. Naval Academy Research Institute, Brest naval, 29240, France

    Thomas Devogele

  4. Inst. Stadt, Verkehr, Umwelt und, Informationsgesellschaft, CEIT ALANOVA gemeinnützige GmbH, Am Concorde Park 2, Schwechat, 2320, Austria

    Manfred Schrenk

  5. B1320, NAVSEA, Chief Scientist/NUWC Code 1543, Howell St. 1176, Newport, 02841-1708, USA

    Kyrill Korolenko

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Thill, JC. (2011). Is Spatial Really That Special? A Tale of Spaces. In: Popovich, V., Claramunt, C., Devogele, T., Schrenk, M., Korolenko, K. (eds) Information Fusion and Geographic Information Systems. Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography(), vol 5. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19766-6_1

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