The Role of Spatial Analysis in Demographic Research

Developing and validating a road travel time network for cost path analysis.posure opportunities: Estimating relative risk for motor neurone disease in Finland. almost. De~ographyi s an in~eren~ly spatial science, since it always deals WIth human populations In a defined geographic region, but spatial analysis has thus far played only a small role in the development and testing ofdemographic theory. There are several reasons for this, including the recency of many of the more usefu~ spatial statistical approaches, and the fact that most people practicing demographic s~lence are not in geography and have not been encouraged to think spatially. Yet, e:en In geography, few population specialists adopt specifically spatial approaches to their research beyond t.he measurement of the movement of people from one region to another, or the companson of demographic trends among different regions. .In the past few decades, demographic research has focused particularly on the analysis of survey data drawn from interviews conducted at the household level, and as a con~equenc~, theory has focused heavily on individual-level influences on demographic behavior, The development of surveys such as the National Survey of Family ?rowth in the Unite~ States, and the U.S.-funded Demographic and Health Surveys In less developed nations represented an important step in demographic research be-c~use th~ ~revious heavy reliance on aggregated data, especially from censuses and Vital statistics, left gaps in our knowledge about how individuals think and behave. ~ow, however,. the confl~ence of powerful geographic information system technologies , advances In the desl.gn of spatial statistics, and the increasing availability of geo-referenced databa~eshas Improved vastly the ability of demographers to think spatially. :-s .a ~esult, .there IS a .reawakening of interest in models of human behavior that place Individuals In the environmental context of space and time.