2 Representations of Space and Spatial Representations
2 Representations of Space and Spatial Representations
Scott Bell
We live on an Earth-sized and Earth-shaped world. Even if we assume away (model) size and shape (flat, spheroid, ellipsoid, or geoid), the phenomena that geographers and others are interested in studying are impossibly complex. In order to explore, examine, model, describe, and understand the world around us, we simplify, generalize, ignore, and represent various aspects of that world. For geographers an important aspect of what we study will inevitably include space. Furthermore, for anyone interested in communicating in a form other than text and numbers, space will be used in a meaningful way to compel our audience to believe our thesis. This presents a conundrum involving what we want to represent (which might be spatial or not) and how we might choose to represent it (spatially or non-spatially).
Geography is a discipline of space and place. Geographers study and use space to explore phenomena. Space influences the outcome of processes and can be used to communicate how a process results in an outcome. With such a tightly bound relationship with space, it is no wonder that representations of space and spatial representations are central to our discipline. While a map might seem the principal or logical representation employed by geographers, we also readily employ diagrams, graphs, charts, cartoons, stories, narratives, models, doodles, and representations of many other types to communicate. Furthermore, the concepts, ideas, theories, etc. that can be communicated might be spatial or non-spatial.
Representation of Space
Reality is composed of spatial and non-spatial elements. We can use many means to define or draw attention to something’s spatial character. Take for instance the arrangement of doctors and dentists in Saskatoon; the arrangement is the central element and it is spatial, no matter what units of analysis is used (point locations, aggregations to neighbourhoods, dissemination areas, or tracts) (Aspen, Bell, Shah, & Wilson, 2012; Harrington, Wilson, Bell, Muhajarine, & Ruthart, 2012; Jones, Bell, Hayes, & Uswak, 2015).
To communicate the arrangement, we could write a narrative that describes it, or we can make a map of locations of dentists and doctors. Such a map is a spatial representation of that arrangement, the narrative is not (despite the narratives ability to support the comprehension of the arrangement). We could also take that spatial arrangement and use GIS to calculate the density of doctors or dentists by neighbourhood and rank order the neighbourhoods. While perhaps not as logical (to a geographer), such a ranking would be a more efficient method of identifying the 5 densest neighbourhoods.
On the other hand, there are many non-spatial things (phenomena, process, objects, etc.) that geographers and others are interested in representing or communicating. Some of these might have aspects of space, such as topophilia, but the spatial component might not