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Geography and computers: Past, present, and future
Author(s) -
ArribasBel Dani,
Reades Jon
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
geography compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.587
H-Index - 65
ISSN - 1749-8198
DOI - 10.1111/gec3.12403
Subject(s) - embeddedness , perspective (graphical) , critical geography , field (mathematics) , data science , space (punctuation) , economic geography , human geography , time geography , historical geography , geography , development geography , sociology , social science , computer science , mathematics , artificial intelligence , operating system , pure mathematics
The discipline of Geography has long been intertwined with the use of computers. This close interaction is likely to increase with the embeddedness of computers and concomitant growth of spatially referenced data. To better understand the current situation, and to be able to better speculate about the future, this article provides two parallel perspectives: first, we offer an historical perspective on the relationship between Geography and computers; second, we document developments—in particular the nascent field of data science—that are currently taking place outside of Geography and to which we argue the discipline should be paying close attention. Combining both perspectives, we identify the benefits of tighter integration between Geography and Data Science and argue for the establishment of a new space—that we term Geographic Data Science—in which cross‐pollination could occur to the benefit of both Geography and the larger data community.