Effective use of today s vast geographic information (GI) resources requires more than just powerful technology for problem solving. It requires science to help us understand the way the world works, and to help us devise effective procedures for making decisions. Three previous editions have established this text as a defining multidisciplinary treatment of the scientific principles that underpin the use of geographic information technologies for problem solving. This extensively revised and updated edition provides a guide to the enduring scientific principles and information systems that support effective use of today s GI. It also provides a primer on essential methods for analysis of GI, and the ways in which effective management of GI informs policy and action.

Praise for the Second Edition:

"A tour de force. Anyone seeking a combined primer and state-of-the-art summary on almost any facet of current geographical information systems (GIS) will find it here."
--International Journal of Geographical Information Science

"Stands as a definitive reference to GIS . . . a thorough and up-to-date overview of the subject."
--Australian Geographical Studies

"Remains the single-most valuable source for the dedicated GIS scholar and practitioner."
--Annals of the Association of American Geographers

"Conveys the continuing excitement that exists in GIS, the multitude of perspectives, issues, and solutions."
--Transactions in GIS

Since the publication of the First Edition of Geographical Information Systems in 1991, the "Big Book" of GIS has become the definitive work on the science, application, and practice of GIS. This new Abridged Second Edition of Geographical Information Systems brings this definitive reference to a whole new audience, with a streamlined format, a new chapter covering recent developments in GIS, and the full text of the Second Edition of Geographical Information Systems, seventy-two chapters in all, on the accompanying CD-ROM in searchable PDF format.

Unmatched in scope by any other reference on the subject, Geographical Information Systems, Second Edition provides crucial background on basic GIS concepts and addresses the radical shifts and changes that have taken place in GIS technology and its uses. Included in this Abridged Edition are twenty-four chapters covering topics as diverse as issues of space and time in GIS, problems with data quality, uncertainty and error detection, spatial analysis, developments in GIS architecture and spatial databases, GIS data collection, data transformation and linkage, implementing GIS and using it as a management tool, and the societal and legal implications of GIS and spatial information.

This affordable Abridged Edition provides a convenient reader for students taking any of a wide range of GIS courses, and serves as a concise reference for professionals working with GIS.