This course is designed to equip students with a foundational and applied understanding of spatial analysis within an interdisciplinary context, with particular emphasis on environmental and ecological applications. Students will explore the expanding role of spatial analysis in an era of abundant spatial data, various applications, and increasing demand from a broad range of users, from technical analysts to policy decision-makers. The course will introduce students to geographic information systems (GIS), including tools available through desktop platforms, cloud-based services, and on-premises solutions. In second semester of the course, students will focus on spatial information analysis, emphasizing how each method supports critical thinking, objective evaluation, and responsible analytic practice. Topics will include spatial measurements and statistics used to quantify patterns and relationships, assess the geographic distributions of features (such as patterns or clusters), and test the statistical significance of analytical outcomes.

Andy Mitchell, Lauren Scott Griffin (2020) The ESRI Guide to GIS Analysis 2. Spatial Measurements and Statistics. Second Edition. ESRI Press, Redlands, California.