Importance of Spatial Analysis
Following are some of the reasons why spatial analysis is so important in today’s world.
- Decision-making – Since the spatial data used is collected from multiple sources, the data-driven insights provided can be used by decision-makers to choose an action based on the need. For example, geographic information about the outbreak of a specific disease can help the authorities make a decision as to which area has to be put under lockdown and also develop a vaccination strategy.
- Omnipresent Technology – Spatial Analysis is a very important technology used in today’s most used applications like food delivery applications like Zomato and Swiggy, transportation applications like Ola and Uber, and GPS systems like Google Maps where the geographic information is used to get the shortest route between two points.
- Recognizing Spatial Patterns – Using spatial analysis, you can visualize spatial data like population density, heat maps, and disease outbreaks that help develop patterns between various data. For example, population density and heat maps can be used to determine that some areas with high heat values are also areas with high population density thus creating a relationship between the two attributes.
What Is Spatial Analysis, and How Does It Work
Have you ever wondered how city planners come up with decisions like what is the best location for a school, hospital, or park? How did during the COVID outbreak the spread of the virus was recorded and monitored to effectively alienate affected areas to decrease the spread? How vaccination strategies are made for various diseases and monitored to ensure an equal distribution. How are such accurate maps created? How does our GPS know all the high-traffic routes in the area and help find the shortest and fastest route?
It can all be done using spatial data and spatial analysis. Spatial analysis involves understanding patterns and relationships based on spatial data. In this article, we will discuss what is spatial analysis and how it works.