WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT

SPATIAL DATA?

Dr. Eric Delmelle

March 6 2014
 What?

What is spatial data?

2

Any form of data that can be georeferenced

-longitude and latitude information

Spatial data is everywhere

-Social media (Volunteered Geographic Information), cell
phone data
+ temporal stamp

Geolocation is explicit or implicit

-Explicit: from a Global Position System
-Implicit: coordinates are estimated
 Why?

Why is spatial data necessary?

3

If several layers of data are georeferenced, we

can examine causal relationships
-Are clusters of disease related to the environment?
-Are epidemics related to travel?
-Co-occurrence to explain
crime pattern
 How?

Acquiring implicit spatial data?

4

Geocoding, a process converting addresses to

geolocations on the surface of the Earth
DATE TIME CRIME LOCATION CITY STATE
21994 2100 GAMBLING 0599 AMHERST E ST BUFFALO NY
32594 2102 GAMBLING 0553 FOURTH ST BUFFALO NY
32694 2006 GAMBLING 0111 SPRING ST BUFFALO NY
32894 2205 GAMBLING 0015 HARBOR WK BUFFALO NY
41894 1544 GAMBLING 0497 BUSTI AV BUFFALO NY
42994 1920 GAMBLING 0039 HARBOR WK BUFFALO NY
42994 2104 GAMBLING 0548 FOURTH ST BUFFALO NY
50294 2140 GAMBLING 0087 WOODLAWN AV BUFFALO NY
50494 1702 GAMBLING 0087 NORTHLAND AV BUFFALO NY
52294 2225 GAMBLING 0261 LOCUST ST BUFFALO NY
52794 1939 GAMBLING 0457 FOURTH ST BUFFALO NY
60994 1941 GAMBLING 0515 CLINTON ST BUFFALO NY

911calls for gambling

Buffalo, NY (1994)
batchgeo.com

Visualize location of events in space.

Suggest and identify location of clusters.
 Examples…

How is spatial data used?

5

Brent geese (Netherlands) USGS maps tweets of

Different Earthquake in Virginia, 2011
scales
reveal
different
patterns

Time offset from

the first tweet
 Examples…

How is spatial data used?

6

Where 2 individuals can meet Difference in travel time

New York City, Monday AM Seattle, Saturday PM
 Examples…

How is spatial data used?

7

Through geocoding and GIS, we can obtain

travel estimates from origins to destinations
So what?

Geocoded children with spina bifida (birth

defect) born in Florida, 1998-2007 along
with their hospitalization

Travel pattern
 Challenges…

Statistical issues
9

We would generally say that nearby observations tend

1 to exhibit similarity (Tobler first law of geography).

If this is the case, we violate assumptions of regression

2 models which state independence in the observations.
Snow ~ elevation, temperature, latitude
Coefficients will vary in
the geographical space…
3 since nearby locations will
tend to exhibit similarities

4 Spatial pattern in the residuals

 Challenges…

Other statistical issues

10

Different datasets may be collected at different

1 scales, raising the issue of the Modifiable Areal Unit
Problem (MAUP)
17 11.7 13.7
17 15 22
18 10 7
5 10 12 18
11.7
9

There is inherent spatial and temporal uncertainty

2 in the data
 Challenges…

What to do about it?

11

1 Test for autocorrelation in residuals

Conduct spatially-based regression

2 Local and global level

Evaluate if residuals are lower and pattern

3 appears more random with spatial regressions
 Conclusions…

Is Spatial data Special?

12

Some individuals may argue that it is not different

1 than X and Y data.

Yes, spatial data is special. Location does matter.

2 Nearby events are more correlated to one another.

Spatial data calls for special techniques to tackle

3 autocorrelation problems.

As software improves and is able to handle real 3D

4 spatial data is going to become even more important