An Exploratory Method for Analyzing a Spatial Tessellation in Relation to a Set of other Spatial Tessellations

Abstract

Spatial tessellation is one of the most important spatial structures in geography. There are various types of spatial tessellations such as administrative units, school districts, and census tracts. Spatial tessellations are often closely related to each other; school districts are determined by, say, administrative units and land uses; electoral districts are related to administrative units, local communities, census tracts, and so forth. Such relationships among spatial tessellations have drawn the attention of geographers; to what extent is the development of a spatial tessellation affected by a set of other tessellations? To give a clue to the answer to this question, in this paper I propose three methods for analyzing a spatial tessellation in relation to a set of other tessellations: the region-based method, the boundary-based method, and the hybrid method. They are all designed for exploratory spatial analysis rather than confirmatory analysis. The methods are evaluated through an empirical study, analysis of the administrative system in Ponneri, India, in the late 18th century.