A common spatial model for GIS

Abstract

This chapter attempts to describe the role of tessellated models of space within the discipline of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). We look at some of the basic operations in GIS, including dynamic and kinetic applications. We examine issues of topology and data structures, and produced a tessellation model that may be widely applied both to traditional “object” and “field” data types. Based on this framework it can be argued that tessellation models are fundamental to our understanding and processing of geographical space, and provide a coherent framework for understanding the “space” in which we exist.