Abstract
The ongoing debate in GIS regarding the relative merits of vector versus raster representations of spatial information is usually couched in technical terms. Yet the technical question of the most appropriate data structure begs the philosophical question of the most appropriate conceptualization of geographic space. The paper confronts this latter question in the context of the opposition between the “object” and “field” views of space. I suggest that GIS can turn a rather dry debate into a source of insights regarding the nature of its subject matter by learning from how people actually experience and deal with the geographic world. Human cognition indeed appears to make use of both the object and field views, but at different geographic scales, and for different purposes. These observations suggest a list of desiderata for the next round of thinking about spatial representation in GIS.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Couclelis, H. (1982). Philosophy in the Construction of Geographic Reality. In P. Gould and G. Olsson (eds.): A Search for Common Ground. London: Pion, pp. 105–140.
Couclelis, H. (1991). Requirements for Planning-Relevant GIS: a Spatial Perspective. Papers in Regional Science 70, 1, 9–19.
Couclelis, H. (forthcoming). A Linguistic Theory of Spatial Cognition. Annals of the Association of American Geographers.
Einstein, A. (1960). Relativity: the Special and the General Theory. London: Methuen.
Frank A., Mark D. M. (1991). Language Issues for GIS. In D. J. Maguire, M. F. Goodchild, D. W. Rhind (eds.): Geographical Information Systems: Principles and Applications, Vol 1. Essex: Longman.
Frank A., M. Egenhofer, W. Kuhn (forthcoming). Computational Topology: Data Structures and Algorithms. Cartography and GIS.
Gahegan, M. N., Roberts, S. A. (1988). An Intelligent Object-Oriented Geographical Information System. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems 2, 101–110.
Getis, A. (unpublished). Some Thoughts on Developing Proximal Data Bases.
Garling, T., Golledge, R. (1988). Environmental Perception and Cognition. In E. Zube, G. Moore (eds): Advances in Environmental Behaviour and Design, Vol 2, New York: Plenum Press, pp. 203–238.
Goodchild, M. F. (1989). Modeling Error in Vectors and Fields. In M. F. Goodchild, S. Gopal (eds.) Accuracy of Spatial Databases., New York: Taylor and Francis, pp. 107–13.
Herskovits, A. (1986). Language and Spatial Cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Hooker, C. A. (1973). Metaphysics and Modern Physics: a Prolegomenon to the Understanding of Quantum Theory. In C.A. Hooker (ed.): Contemporary Research in the Foundations and Philosophy of Quantum Theory. Dordrecht: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Lakoff, G. (1987). Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lakoff, G., Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Peuquet, D. J. (1984). A Conceptual Framework and Comparison of Spatial Data Models. Cartographica 21 (14), 66–113.
Sack, R. (1986). Human Territoriality: its Theory and History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Soja, E. (1971). The Political Organization of Space. Resource Paper #8. Washington, DC: Association of American Geographers.
Talmy, L. (1983). How Language Structures Space. In H. Pick, L. Acredolo (eds.): Spatial Orientation: Theory, Research, and Applications. New York: Plenum Press.
Zeigler, B. (1976). Theory of Modelling and Simulation. New York: Wiley.
Zubin, D. (1989). Oral presentation, NCGIA Initiative 2 Specialist Meeting, Santa Barbara. Reported in D. Mark (ed.): Languages of Spatial Relations: Researchable Questions & NCGIA Research Agenda, NCGIA Report 89-2A, NCGIA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Couclelis, H. (1992). People manipulate objects (but cultivate fields): Beyond the raster-vector debate in GIS. In: Frank, A.U., Campari, I., Formentini, U. (eds) Theories and Methods of Spatio-Temporal Reasoning in Geographic Space. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 639. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-55966-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-55966-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-55966-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-47333-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive