Geographic Information Systems

Abstract

The role of GIS within the discipline of geography, not to mention its role within the daily operation of a very large range of human enterprises in the developed world, has undergone major changes in the decade-plus since the first edition of Geography in America (Gaile and Willmott 1989) was published. Not the least of these major changes is an important redefinition of the acronym. In 1989, GIS meant only “geographic information systems” and referred to an immature but rapidly developing technology. Today, many geographers make an emphatic distinction between the technology (GISystems or GIS) and the science behind the technology (GIScience or GISci). This important transition from a focus on the technology to a focus on the farranging theoretical underpinnings of the technology and its use are clearly reflected in the research progress made in this field in the past decade. This chapter highlights some of the significant aspects of this diverse research and its related impacts on education and institutions. The chapter focuses on the work of North American geographers, though reference to the work of others is unavoidable. We recognize the many and increasing contributions of our colleagues in other disciplines and overseas to the development of GISci, but focus our attention to the scope defined by the present volume. The chapter closes with speculations on the future of GIS in geography in America in the coming decade. In the late 1980s, geographic information systems (GIS) were large stand-alone software and information systems being applied to a growing range of application areas. Today GIS are well integrated into the normal operations of a large range of industries as diverse as forestry, health care delivery, retail marketing, and city planning. Developments in the capabilities of and access to GIS technology during the past decade have paralleled developments in the computer industry as a whole. Similarly, academic research into the fundamental concepts and theories that underlie GIS has matured and become better connected across multiple disciplines. Drawing on fields as diverse as computer science, cognitive science, statistics, decision science, surveying, remote sensing, and social theory, “geographic information science” (Goodchild 1992b) has emerged as an important synthesizing influence during the 1990s.