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Reviewed by:
  • Advancing Geoinformation Science for a Changing World ed. by Stan Geertman, Wolfgang Reinhardt, Fred Toppen
  • Benjamin D. Hennig
Advancing Geoinformation Science for a Changing World / Ed. Stan Geertman, Wolfgang Reinhardt, and Fred Toppen. Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography. Heidelberg: Springer, 2012. Pp. 538; illus. (201, 15 col.). ISBN 978-3-642-19788-8 (cloth), £153.00. Available from http://www.springer.com.

The 14th Conference on Geographic Information by the Association of Geographic Information Laboratories in Europe (AGILE) took place in 2011 at Utrecht University. The conference theme, “Advancing Geoinformation Science for a Changing World,” provides the title for this book of peer-reviewed conference proceedings edited by Stan Geertman, Wolfgang Reinhard, and Fred Toppen, published in the Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography (LNG&C) series.

The book is a comprehensive collection of current research, undertaken under the broad umbrella of geoinformation science, that demonstrates why some researchers make a strong case for GIScience as a separate field of science. The range of topics presented demonstrates the diverse nature of work undertaken; regardless of topical focus, there is a strong emphasis on the GI element. The chapters range from studies about the geographic analysis of Wikipedia contributions (as presented by de Alencar and Davis) to an analysis of historical earthquake trends in Tehran (by Hashemi and Aleheikh). The spatial component and the central role of some form of geographic information system are the elements that bring this research together.

Beyond the conference participants, therefore, this book will appeal mostly to the reader with a broad geographical interest who seeks stimulating examples of research in which GIScience has the potential to provide new answers to sometimes old (but more often new) questions and topics. A remarkable feature of this volume is the understandable presentation of most of the case studies. Only rarely does overly technical language prevent readers from relishing examples more distant from their own interests, although some of the case studies appear very specialized – such as the contribution by Haunert, who uses string matching for detecting symmetries in building footprints.

While conference proceedings are often heterogeneous in quality, this compilation does not disappoint the reader with an interest in GIScience. The quality of the papers is remarkably and consistently high, indicating a thorough review process (as the editors state in the Foreword, only 26 of 70 submissions were accepted for publication, an acceptance rate of 37%). This volume therefore provides an interesting and substantial snapshot of relevant research in the fields of geoinformation science. A reader looking for less technical discussions and more for the topical side of a Changing World may be more disappointed, but such a reader will probably not find any title in this series useful.

The papers are divided into six sections that reflect the inter- (or multi-) disciplinary nature of the field: “Spatial-Temporal Modelling and Analysis,” “Road Network and Mobility Research,” “GeoSensor Development and Application,” “Socio-spatial Modelling and Analysis,” “Spatial Data Processing and Structuring,” and “GI-Information Generation and Dissemination.” The papers range from technical solutions for better data interoperability (Nüst et al.’s solution involves connecting the software R to Sensor Web) to classic GI modelling questions (Hecker et al. discuss micro-movement variability in mobility studies). There are also papers addressing data questions related to scalability and generalization (e.g., Thiemann et al.’s approach for generating landcover data for Germany).

A full list of contributions would exceed the extent of this review, and highlighting the most interesting does little justice to those not mentioned – not least because every reader will find different topics interesting. Advancing Geoinformation Science is a theme throughout, and the papers are almost all more than just demonstrations of applications or case studies applying existing techniques. The reader will therefore find many new ideas in the contributions that are at the forefront of the field, which makes the book a valuable overview of the diverse nature of the research in the area and helps us understand why GIScience has started to develop its own identity as a (sub)discipline within the spatial sciences.

The publication of this volume as part of the LNG&C series, however, also makes it rather pricey...

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