PostGIS Raster : Extending PostgreSQL for The Support of ... - CoDE

Chapter 7
Conclusion
Geography that evolves spatial organization and material character of the Earth’s surface is a
relevant source to decision makers in business and government. For example, underlying all of the
recommendations results that the demand for contributions from geography and the supply capacity of
current resources, are far out of line. Otherwise, faulty actions are taken and taken quickly, geography’s
contributions will be severely constrained or may decline in quality.
Even in the areas where geography is not contributing in a significant way, it could be seen as a
provider giving resources and information for decision makers. Geography provides a valuable way
of thinking about human and environmental issues. Geography integrates phenomena and processes
in particular places, in connection with the search, to contributes to science as an creative effort to
advance the frontiers of knowledge. For example, the relationship between population, society and
environmental resource has been a central issue for science. In this way, geography focuses on the
nature of that relationship and analysis processes to identify relations between changes in population,
environment and society.
In many ways, geography sees the world as a continuous surface of landscapes, movements and
interactions. Research on interdependencies between places can help to explain and predict spatial
interactions. For example, decisions to relocate are the important decisions made by households that
have, as a consequence, significant implications for the links between places. Recent work on the
nature of the migration and mobility process shows that decisions to move are related to age, family
composition and economic circumstances. Studies of interdependencies between places contribute also
to the understanding of several critical issues for society. For example, one of the best illustrations of
spatial interdependence addresses the spread of infectious diseases. The spread of such diseases can
be understood and predicted by using spatial modeling techniques related to location, synthesis and
scale [19].
So a GIS with only vector data type relates to geometric elements (such as roads, houses, trees,
etc.) is not enough. The raster data type made of a matrix of points, suitable to describe continuous
fields, phenomena that are perceived as having a value at each point in space and time, is not only
a necessary complement type of vector but also a powerful feature that makes GIS become a perfect
graphical tool. Current trends in GIS techniques suggest a future in which researchers, students,
business people and public policy makers will explore a world of shared spatial data. They will
request analyses from a rich menu of options, select preferred geographic area and spatial scale for
analysis and export results in multimedia formats. So, in developing GIS tools, developers need to
think more not only about context of problems, but also about knowledge and skill levels of users as
the users of tomorrow will be more numerous than at present.
Furthermore, more development is needed to turn GIS applications into robust, efficient and fully
functional tools. For example, advanced features like a query editor tool providing facilities for formulating
a query, a query viewer that displays result of geographic queries with various additional
features such as an intelligent zoom, different possible visualizations of the same data by navigating
in time and in different perceptions [1].
More importantly, with the demonstrated important role of geographers in decision making, institutions
and leaders in government, business, education and the communications media need to raise
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