Geographic Information Systems and Their Socioeconomic Applications (Hardcover)

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have grown out of a number of technologies and application fields concerned with the geographic location of their objects of study. An extraordinary tool, GIS allows the dynamic modelling of geographic reality. Increasing use is made of GIS in geodemographic applications such as marketing, health, transport and planning. The existing material on GIS is either technical in nature or concerned with applications in the physical environment or focuses on specific areas such as computer cartography and remote sensing. This book reviews the development and present applications of GIS technology, and presents a theoretical framework in which to understand the piecemeal, technology-led evolution of GIS. The reader is then taken step by step through the collection, input, storage, manipulation and output of data in GIS. Finally, the potential for the development of sophisticated socioeconomic information systems is considered. Providing a concise and non-technical introduction to the rapidly expanding field of GIS, this book should be of value to students and professionals in applied socioeconomic fields. This book should be of interest to lecturers and