Quantized spatial analysis: A new framework for analyzing the relations among the distributions of spatial objects

This paper develops a new framework for analyzing the relations among distributions of spatial objects. Existing analytical methods usually focus on the distribution of one or two specific types of spatial objects. This paper, on the other hand, deals with the relations among more than two distributions of spatial objects. The framework is applicable independent of the type of spatial objects. It consists of four steps: 1) quantization, 2) analysis, 3) visualization, and 4) evaluation. Quantization introduces the concept of parts, bodies, and tags to describe spatial objects as abstract elements. Analysis explores spatial relations among the distributions of objects. Visualization graphically presents the spatial relations among objects. Evaluation measures the significance of the result of analysis. The paper applies the framework to the analysis of the distributions of commercial facilities in Chiba City, Japan. The result supports the technical soundness of the method as well as provides empirical findings.