ArcUser
Spring 2012 Edition
Virtual Geographic Environments
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Virtual Geographic Environments
Edited by Hui Lin and Michael Batty
Virtual Geographic Environments is a collection of papers by leading members of the geospatial community that discusses the development, value, and future of virtual geographic environments (VGEs). As editors Hui Lin and Michael Batty observe, moving GIS to the web has changed the way people interact with GIS and has led to a more decentralized and experimental approach to the use of GIS for problem solving. VGEs extend GIS by creating an environment in which users are immersed. The book's essays are organized into five sections. The first discusses the changes in technology that led to the development of VGEs. The second section serves as a primer on VGE virtual cities and landscapes. The third section covers interface design and public participation. Essays in the fourth section discuss the challenges associated with constructing mobile and networked VGEs. The final section addresses the challenges of combining mobility with VGEs. Lin, professor and director of the Institute of Space and Earth Information Science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is also the founding president of the International Association of Chinese Professionals in Geographic Information Science and the chief editor of the journal Annals of GIS. Batty is the Bartlett Professor of Planning at University College London, where he directs the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. Esri Press, 2011, 364 pp., ISBN: 978-1589483187
