Introduction to Spatial

Information

Introducing geographic space

Overview

Geographic space refers to the space of our world in which we live and work. Location
refers to some position in that space. We use location to know where features are and how
they relate to other features in the same space. This study guide explores the notions of
space and location.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this study guide, participants will be able to:

1. Appreciate the fact that our world is spatial,

2. Identify spatial activities that take place in our world,
3. Appreciate the number and diversity of disciplines that involve spatial information,
4. List some properties of "space",
5. Know how to represent "location" in space using coordinates, and

6. Understand the need to define a common measure of location in geographic space.

Dealing with the spatial world

What are spatial activities?

We live in a spatial world. Almost
everything we do involves space and
interaction in space. However, we are
often (mostly) not even aware of it and
probably take it for granted. Our minds
are spatial and we do things (or move
around) spatially without even thinking
of it as "spatial".
Some of our activities require greater
awareness and knowledge of what is
"spatial" and how "spatial" can be
represented. This knowledge is referred
to as spatial information. For example,
consider the following:
Here are some activities that involve space:
• walking within your home
• driving to work
• delivering the mail
• planning the location of a new school
• determining where a disease outbreak
occurs,
• where to take soil samples
• identify the potential market for a
new product
• how to find a new gold deposit
Can you think of more?
 • You want to visit a friend.
Action: Because you have been there often, you jump in the car and know where
to drive to get there.
Information used: The spatial information is the street information and driving
directions. This is in your head, and hence you don't need to think explicitly about
"spatial information".
• You want to go to a restaurant where you have not been before.
Action: You open up your Street Directory and find the map page and street
location on the map using the restaurant's address information supplied to you.
Information used: You think of your location relative to where you need to be,
using the index, page number, reference system (eg. A10, C2, etc.) used by the
street guide, etc.
• You are planning the route for a school excursion.
Action: You identify the starting place and time, and destination. You identify a
route and determine the distance for travel. You work out how long it will take to
get there. You determine any stopping points along the way for resting, toilet
breaks, refuelling, etc.
Information used: You use a map of the area showing locations and roads to
identify the route to be taken. You use Google Earth to work out what land
topography and features are located at the destination of interest. You get your
students excited about knowing something about the destination even before you
set off on the excursion.

Note how the level of spatial awareness and of how

information about space is represented varies among each
scenario.

To assist you in using spatial information, you could use a

computer-based system to represent the information (ie.
locations, roads, restaurants, addresses, fuel stations, etc.) and
help you answer your queries (which route? how far? how long? etc.). One such
computer-based system is called a geographic information system (GIS).

Spatial information almost everywhere

Spatial information is found across and used throughout many aspects of society,
including:

• government
• industry
• community
• home

It is widely used in a range of disciplines and fields including:

• geography
• natural resources management
• environmental management
• engineering
• urban and regional planning
• health and epidemiology
• mining and exploration
• agriculture
• infrastructure planning and management
• etc.

In fact, the number and diversity of users of spatial information is rapidly expanding in
Australia and, indeed, worldwide! We are becoming more aware of the local and global
village in which we live, and the need to be good stewards of our world! Representing
our world as spatial information, and managing and analysing that information is a
key step in that process.

Space and location

More properties of "space"

In fact, location is only one property of

'space' that can be queried. There are more
spatial properties:

Much of what concerns us exists somewhere

in space; features of interest have a place,
position, or location. That means that there is Query Property
a spatial aspect to consider. Where is it? Location
What is there? Attributes
What is its size? Area, perimeter
What shape is it? Shape
Dimensions? Length, width
How far/long is it? Distance
What is it linked to? Topology
What is around it? Neighbourhood
How close is it? Proximity
Location may influence the nature and characteristics of a feature as well as its
relationship with other features. For example, perhaps you:

• Live in a suburban home. How far is it to the shop, the park or the doctor? How
do you get to those places? The relationship is the road connecting this service to
your home.
• You are a retailer. What market has easy access to your store? The relationship is
between the store and the neighbourhood.
• You are a farmer with a farm in a wheat and canola growing region. Can you
grow rice? The location is important, and its relationship to growing conditions
(ie. temperature, rainfall) for particular crops.

Your location is a very important consideration! It affects how you live, how you conduct
business, and how you make choices. Obviously, it is important that we are able to
specify location in some manner, so that we can identify the location of features in space,
relate different features by their locations, or use "location" to determine properties like
"distance".

Referencing location

Given that location is a position in space, how do we

specify that location? How do we refer to the location
where, in space, a geographic feature is located?

In fact, there are numerous ways of specifying location,

some of which are more commonly used, others less
common. For example, consider the following ways that
are used to identify location:
 • Street address. Example: 1234 Smith Street, Perth 6000 Western Australia
The combination of street number, street name, locality, postal code and state
(province) are commonly used to identify residential and business locations.
• Feature name. Example: Parliament House of Australia
For features that are more commonly known, their names alone can suffice to
identify location. Everyone in Australia knows that Parliament House in located
on a hill in Canberra, Australia.
• Map index. Example: B4 of Map 85 of the Street Directory
A particular row/column label (eg. B4) on a map in a map book can be used to
define the proximity of one or more features that one is trying to locate.
• Relative directions. Example: Restaurant is down the street from the monument,
turn left, 2nd place to the right
Giving directions relative to a known location can be used to identify a further
location.
• GPS directions. Example: Click on your fishing spot on your GPS and it shows
you on a map where you are relative to your favourite fishing hole.
More and more use is being made of GPS where you can enter your location and
use it to navigate your way around in space.
• Map coordinates. Example: 395642 meters Easting, 6458242 meters Northing or
(for same location) 115°53'42.34"E 32°0'25.59"S
This location is provided in units of meters as eastings and northings and is used
commonly for map sheets and on GPS units. Units of degrees of latitude and
longitude can also be used.

You can probably now also identify a problem. Given that there are many ways we can
refer to location, how do we start comparing features whose locations are identified in
different ways? For example, how would I now find the distance from my house to
Parliament House?

In other words, how can we find a common way of identifying locations to enable us to
relate multiple features at different (or even the same!) locations in space?