Unit 5:Spatial Analysis

Spatial Analysis
Spatial analysis is the process of examining the locations, attributes, and
relationships of features in geographic or spatial data to understand patterns,
trends, and connections.
Spatial analysis helps us answer questions like:

Where is something located?

Why is it there?

What is nearby?

How are things distributed across space?

Key Concepts:
1. Location – Exact or relative position on Earth (e.g., GPS coordinates).

2. Distance & Proximity – How far apart things are (e.g., distance from schools
to hospitals).

3. Pattern & Distribution – How features (like trees, buildings, crimes) are spread
out (random, clustered, uniform).

4. Spatial Relationships – How objects relate to each other in space (e.g.,

adjacency, connectivity).

5. Overlay – Combining different spatial layers to analyze relationships (e.g.,

population density over land use maps).

Common Tools & Techniques:

GIS (Geographic Information Systems) – Software like QGIS or ArcGIS for
mapping and analyzing spatial data.

Remote Sensing – Using satellite or aerial images for analysis.

Spatial Statistics – Techniques like hotspot analysis, interpolation, and

regression.

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 Buffering – Creating zones around features to analyze proximity.

Network Analysis – Analyzing routes, accessibility, and transportation

networks.

Applications:
Urban Planning (e.g., where to build new roads or parks)

Environmental Management (e.g., tracking deforestation or pollution)

Disaster Management (e.g., mapping flood zones)

Public Health(e.g., mapping disease outbreaks)

Business (e.g., choosing store locations based on customer distribution)

Vector Data Analysis

Vector data analysis is a core part of spatial analysis and focuses on analyzing
data represented by points, lines, and polygons.
Represents spatial data using points, lines, and polygons to depict real-world
features.
Vector data represents geographic features using:

Points – Specific locations (e.g., wells, schools, trees).

Lines – Linear features (e.g., roads, rivers).

Polygons – Enclosed areas (e.g., lakes, land parcels).

Characteristics:
Precise geometric shapes.

Attribute data stored in tables.

Suitable for discrete data.

Examples:
Road networks (lines)

City locations (points)

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 Land parcels (polygons)

Advantages:
High spatial precision.

More compact than raster for certain datasets.

Suitable for topology-based analysis (e.g., network analysis).

Disadvantages:
Complex structure.

Not ideal for continuous data.

Spatial analysis may be computationally intensive.

Some common aspects of vector data analysis are

1. Geoprocessing
Geoprocessing refers to a collection of operations used to manipulate vector data
to extract useful information or prepare it for analysis.

🔧 Examples of Geoprocessing:
Clip: Cuts input features using the boundaries of another feature (like
cropping a map).

Dissolve: Merges adjacent features with the same attribute value into a single
feature.

Merge: Combines multiple datasets into one.

Union: Combines geometry and attributes of two polygon layers.

Intersect: Returns areas/features common to both layers.

🧠 Use Case:
Extract buildings within a city boundary using clip.

Merge districts into provinces using dissolve.

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 2. Overlay Analysis
Overlay analysis involves laying multiple vector layers on top of each other to
analyze spatial relationships and extract combined data.

🗂️ Types of Overlay:
Intersect: Keeps overlapping parts between layers.

Union: Merges all features and retains all attributes.

Identity: Keeps features from one layer and adds attributes from the
overlapping layer.

Symmetrical Difference: Keeps areas that don't overlap.

🧠 Use Case:
Identify agricultural land that lies within flood-prone areas by overlaying land
use and flood zone maps.

3. Buffering
Buffering creates a new zone around a spatial feature (point, line, or polygon) at a
specified distance.

📏 Buffer Types:
Point buffer: Circular zones (e.g., around a well).

Line buffer: Corridor-like zones (e.g., along a road or river).

Polygon buffer: Outer boundary zones (e.g., protected area around a lake).

🧠 Use Case:
Identify houses within 500 meters of a main road for planning noise-reduction
measures.

4. Network Analysis
Network analysis examines how movement or flow occurs across a connected
system of lines (like roads or pipelines).

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 🚦 Types of Network Analysis:
Shortest path: Find the quickest or least-cost route (e.g., Google Maps route).

Service area: Find areas reachable within a certain time/distance.

Closest facility: Find the nearest hospital, police station, etc.

Vehicle routing: Optimize delivery routes for multiple stops.

🧠 Use Case:
Find the fastest route from a school to a hospital during an emergency.

Raster Data Analysis

Raster data analysis involves examining and manipulating grid-based data, where
the world is represented as a matrix of cells (pixels), each with a value
representing information such as elevation, temperature, land cover, etc.

Represents spatial data as a grid of cells (pixels), where each cell has a value
representing information such as temperature, elevation, or land cover.

Characteristics:
Grid-based (rows and columns).

Each pixel holds a single value.

Suitable for continuous data.

Examples:
Satellite images

Digital Elevation Models (DEM)

Land use/land cover maps

Weather maps

Advantages:
Efficient for representing continuous data.

Simple data structure.

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 Ideal for image processing and modeling.

Disadvantages:
Large file sizes.

Lower spatial accuracy compared to vector.

Difficult to represent discrete features (e.g., roads, buildings).

Common Aspects of Raster Analysis

1. Local Operation (Cell-by-Cell Operation)

Definition:

Applies a function to each cell independently based on its value or the same cell
in multiple layers.

Example Operations:

Add, subtract, multiply rasters

Apply conditions (e.g., if cell > 100 then 1 else 0 )

NDVI: (NIR - Red) / (NIR + Red)

Use Case:

Calculating vegetation index

Applying classification rules

2. Focal Operation (Neighborhood Operation)

Definition:

Calculates the output value of each cell using the values of its surrounding cells
(a moving window or kernel).

Example Operations:

Mean, max, min filters

Edge detection using convolution

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 Terrain analysis (slope, aspect)

Use Case:

Image smoothing or sharpening

Detecting spatial patterns or anomalies

3. Zonal Operation
Definition:

Applies functions on raster cells grouped by zones (defined by another raster or

polygon layer), aggregating values within each zone.

Example Operations:

Mean temperature per land use type

Max elevation per watershed

Use Case:

Calculating average rainfall per district

Analyzing land cover within protected areas

4. Resampling
Definition:
Changes the resolution (cell size) or alignment of a raster, often required for
analysis between different datasets.
Methods:

Nearest neighbor (for categorical data)

Bilinear interpolation (for continuous data)

Cubic convolution (for smoother results)

Use Case:

Aligning satellite images

Matching resolution for overlay analysis

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 5. Distance Measurement
Definition:
Computes distance from each cell to the nearest source cell (point, line, or
polygon).

Types:

Euclidean distance: Straight-line distance

Cost distance: Distance considering barriers or friction (e.g., terrain)

Use Case:

Finding areas within 1 km of roads

Modeling wildlife corridors avoiding steep slopes

6. Mosaic
Definition:
Combines multiple raster tiles into a single continuous raster.
Use Case:

Stitching together satellite scenes or DEM tiles

Creating a unified land cover map

7. Clip (Masking)
Definition:

Extracts a portion of a raster by "cutting" it to the shape of a vector or another

raster mask.
Use Case:

Extract land use data within a country boundary

Mask analysis to an area of interest

Spatial Interpolation

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 Spatial interpolation is a technique used in GIS and spatial analysis to estimate
unknown values at unsampled locations based on known values from sampled
locations. It is commonly used when you have measurements at specific points
(like weather stations) and want to predict values across a continuous surface
(like a temperature map).

Why Use Interpolation?

You only have point data, but need raster/grid data.

You want to create continuous surfaces (e.g., rainfall, elevation, pollution).

Helps in predicting environmental conditions at unsampled locations.

Geostatistics
Geostatistics is a branch of spatial statistics that focuses on modeling spatial
phenomena using statistical methods. It deals with data that varies in space
(and sometimes time), helping us to analyze, model, and predict values at
unsampled locations with an understanding of spatial relationships.

Key Features of Geostatistics

It recognizes that locations close to each other are more likely to have similar
values (spatial autocorrelation).

It uses both descriptive and predictive methods.

It’s widely used in natural resource estimation, environmental monitoring,

and risk mapping.

GIS Modeling
GIS modeling refers to the process of using GIS technology to create, analyze and
visualize spatial relationship and patterns in geographic data

GIS modeling is the process of using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to

simulate real-world scenarios, solve problems, and support decision-making by
analyzing spatial data. It combines layers of geographic data and applies logic,
rules, and operations to produce meaningful insights or predictions.

Why GIS Modeling?

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 To simulate natural or human processes (e.g., flood prediction, land-use
change).

To analyze multiple spatial factors together (e.g., site suitability analysis).

To make data-driven decisions in urban planning, agriculture, disaster

management, etc.

Types of GIS Models

Type Description Example

Descriptive Represents existing conditions Land cover classification

Predictive Forecasts future scenarios Urban growth modeling

Prescriptive Suggests optimal decisions Best location for a hospital

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