A Framework for Integrating Space, Place, and Human in GIScience
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Date
26 Nov 2025
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Organiser
Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI)
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Time
10:30 - 12:00
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Venue
Z414 Map
Speaker
Prof. Shih-Lung SHAW
Remarks
Moderator: Prof. Yang XU, Associate Head & Associate Professor of LSGI
Summary
Conventional Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have largely emphasized locations in physical space, often overlooking the multifaceted human perspectives of space and place. Recognizing that humans are autonomous and dynamic beings who fulfill their diverse needs through a range of activities and interactions, it is critical to move beyond the traditional GIS paradigm, especially in today’s increasingly hybrid physical-virtual world enabled by modern technology. This presentation introduces a human-centered space-place (splatial) framework designed to more effectively capture the intricate relationships between human, space, and place within the context of GIScience. The framework integrates the concepts of location in absolute space, locale in relative space, identity in relational space, and sense of place in mental space to extend the current scope of GIScience. This integration aims to better reflect how humans perceive, experience, and interact with the world via various space-place concepts. Examples will be provided to illustrate broader theoretical and practical implications of this framework to GIScience research and applications.
Keynote Speaker
Prof. Shih-Lung SHAW
Chancellor’s Professor & Alvin and Sally Beaman Professor
Department of Geography and Sustainability
University of Tennessee
Prof. Shih-Lung SHAW is Chancellor’s Professor and Alvin and Sally Beaman Professor in the Department of Geography and Sustainability at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research interests cover GIS for transportation, space-time GIS, time geography, transportation geography, and human dynamics. His recent research has focused on both conceptual and empirical studies of human dynamics in a hybrid physical-virtual world. Dr. SHAW is a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a Fellow of the American Association of Geographers (AAG). He is a recipient of the Edward L. Ullman Award for Outstanding Contributions to Transportation Geography and the Outstanding Scholar Award in Regional Development and Planning from the American Association of Geographers (AAG). He served as President of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) as well as Interim Associate Provost for International Education and Head of the Department of Geography at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Dr. SHAW currently serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Annals of the American Association of Geographers, International Journal of Geographical Information Science, Journal of Transport Geography, Travel Behaviour and Society, Computational Urban Science, among others.
