Progress in computational methods for representing geographical concepts

Over the past ten years, a sub® eld of GIScience has been recognized that addresses the linkage between human thought regarding geographical space, and the mechanisms for implementing these concepts in computational models. This research areahas developed an identity through a series of successful international conferences and the establishment of a journal. It has also been complemented through community activities such as international standardization e€ orts andGIS interoperability.Historically,much of the advancement in computational methods has occurred atÐ or close toÐ the implementation level, as exempli® ed by attention to the development of spatial access methods. Signi® cant progress has been made at the levels of spatial data models and spatial query languages, although we note the lack of a comprehensive theoretical framework comparable to the relational data model in database management systems. The di cult problems that need future research e€ orts are at the highly abstract level of capturing semantics of geographical information. A cognitive motivation is most promising as it shapes the focus on the users’ needs and points of view, rather than on e ciency as in the case of a bottom-up system design. We also identify the need for new research in ® elds, models of qualitative spatial information, temporal aspects, knowledge discovery, and the integration of GIS with database management systems. International Journal of Geographical Information Science ISSN 1365-8816 print/ISSN 1362-3087 online Ñ 1999 Taylor & Francis Ltd http://www.tandf.co.uk/JNLS/gis.htm http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/JNLS/gis.htm M. J. Egenhofer et al. 776