This book provides a comprehensive introduction to geographic information systems (GIS). It explains the ideas and methodology behind GIS, and discusses all aspects of the process of collection, processing, analysis, and presentation of geographic information. In this respect, this book differs from more technically oriented literature on GIS. GIS is increasingly employed as a tool to support planning and management across diverse areas of society, and so the emphasis is placed on how GIS works as a geographic language in different contexts. The book is informative, easy to follow, and aims...