contiguity

Articles

• Contiguity
  6 October 2004, by D. P.

  (from Latin contingere "to touch")
  Two geographical units are contiguous if they have a common border. A contiguity matrix is a square table whose cells indicate (generally by means of one or zero) whether the geographical units mentioned in row and in column are contiguous or not. A contiguity constraint may be added to a program of automatic classification in order to produce a (...)

• Neighbourhood
  26 August 2004, by D. P.

  The term neighbourhood is used for everything that is close, nearby, contiguous. Distance as measure of separation, of interval between two places may not be dissociated from the definition of a neighbourhood. The neighbourhood reaches its limit point (immediate neighbourhood) when the spatial units are contiguous, adjoining. A neighbourhood is always expressed into a metric space. The measure of topological relations may be used to express contiguities between objects or places which are (...)

• Aggregation
  13 October 2004, by D. P.

  Process of grouping of persons or activities together in a same place or in an area of limited size. Settlement nodes develop through aggregation of migrants, cities through aggregation of houses or even of urban municipalities when speaking about agglomerations. Services and facilities of a same range aggregate to form a same functional level: it is one of the fundamental assumptions of Christaller’s central places theory. Aggregation processes suppose that similarities or (...)