The first law of geography was developed by Waldo Tobler in 1970 and it makes the observation that ‘everything is usually related to all else but those which are near to each other are more related when compared to those that are further away’.
This principle, often summarized as “near things are more related than distant things,” has become a foundational concept in the field of geography and spatial analysis.
Who was Waldo Tobler?
Waldo Tobler (November 16, 1930 – February 20, 2018) was a Professor of Geography and Professor of Statistics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Tobler was a National Academy of Sciences and an Honorary Fellow of the American Geographical Society.
Relationship to Other Scientific Laws
This observation which Tobler made is closely related to the ‘Law of Universal Gravitation’ and the ‘Law of Demand’ as well. The Law of Universal Gravitation, formulated by Isaac Newton, states that every mass attracts every other mass in the universe, and the force of attraction is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
Similarly, the Law of Demand in economics indicates that there is an inverse relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded. Both laws highlight the significance of distance or proximity in determining the strength of interactions or relationships.
Free weekly newsletter
Fill out your e-mail address to receive our newsletter!
By entering your email address you agree to receive our newsletter and agree with our privacy policy.
You may unsubscribe at any time.
Initial Applications and Reception
Tobler first applied this concept to urban growth systems, using it to model and predict patterns of urban expansion. Despite the innovative nature of his work, it was not popularly received when it was initially published. The academic community at the time was not yet ready to fully appreciate the implications of spatial relationships in urban planning and geography.
Recognition and Importance in GIS
It wasn’t until the 1990s when this formulation of the concept of spatial autocorrelation became an important underlying concept in the field of GIS.
Spatial autocorrelation refers to the degree to which a set of geographic data points is correlated to itself in space. In simpler terms, it measures how much nearby or neighboring locations resemble each other. The recognition of this concept in GIS helped to advance the field significantly, enabling more accurate and meaningful spatial analyses.
Impact on Spatial Analysis and Modeling
Tobler’s first law of geography has had a profound impact on spatial analysis and modeling. It underpins many of the techniques used in GIS, such as spatial interpolation, which predicts unknown values based on known values at nearby locations. It also informs the design of spatial regression models, which take into account the spatial dependence between observations. The concept of spatial autocorrelation has been crucial in various applications, including environmental monitoring, urban planning, and public health.
Applications in Various Fields
In environmental science, the first law of geography helps in understanding and predicting patterns of natural phenomena such as climate change, deforestation, and species distribution. Urban planners use it to design more efficient and sustainable cities by analyzing patterns of land use, transportation networks, and population density. In public health, spatial autocorrelation aids in tracking the spread of diseases and identifying hotspots of health issues, leading to better-targeted interventions.
The enduring influence of the First Law of Geography
Waldo Tobler’s first law of geography has become a cornerstone of spatial analysis, significantly influencing various fields that rely on spatial data. From its initial application in urban growth systems to its widespread acceptance in GIS, the principle that “near things are more related than distant things” continues to shape our understanding of spatial relationships and their impact on the world around us.
Further Reading about the First Law of Geography
Tobler W., (1970) “A computer movie simulating urban growth in the Detroit region”. Economic Geography, 46(2): 234-240.
References
Goodchild, Michael. n.d. “Methods: First Law of Geography” http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~good/papers/474C.pdf
Hecht, B., Moxley, E. 2009. “Terabytes of Tobler: Evaluating the first law in a massive, domain-neutral representation of world knowledge”. In Hornsby, K.S., Claramunt, C., Denis, M., Ligozat, G., eds.: Spatial Information Theory, 9th International Conference, COSIT 2009, Aber Wrac’h, France, September 21-25, 2009, Proceedings. Volume 5756 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science., Springer (2009) 88-105.
Sui, Daniel Z. 2004. “Tobler’s First Law of Geography: A Big Idea for a Small World?” Annals of the Association of American Geographers V. 94 Is. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8306.2004.09402003.x.
