Geografiska Annaler B (2004) 86(4): 267-280.
GIS Methods in Time-Geographic Research:
Geocomputation and Geovisualization of
Human Activity Patterns
Mei-Po Kwan
Abstract: In the past 40 years
or so, human activities and movements in space-time have attracted considerable
research interest in geography. One of the earliest analytical perspectives for
the analysis of human activity patterns and movements in space-time is time
geography. Despite the usefulness of time geography in many areas of
geographical research, there are very few studies that actually implemented its
constructs as analytical methods up to the mid-1990s. With increasing
availability of georeferenced individual-level data and improvement in the
geocomputational capabilities of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), it is
now more feasible than ever before to operationalize and implement
time-geographic constructs. This paper discusses recent applications of
GIS-based geocomputation and three-dimensional (3D) geovisualization methods in
time-geographic research. Usefulness of these methods is illustrated through
examples drawn from the author’s recent studies. The paper attempts to show
that GIS provides an effective environment for implementing time-geographic
constructs and for the future development of operational methods in
time-geographic research.
Key Words: time geography, space-time paths, GIS, geocomputation,
geovisualization
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