Prospects for a Space–Time GIS

Abstract

Space and time frame all aspects of the discipline of geography. Integration is normally interpreted by geographers as a straddling of the environmental–social divide, but a more profound interpretation stresses the issues involved in coupling environmental and social processes: a science of integration rather than an integration of sciences. Seven examples of distinct data types and scientific questions are examined, leading to the conclusion that a space–time geographic information system is unlikely to emerge in the near future. Instead, attention should focus on the systematic study of the issues involved in integration through the formal environment of a computational system.