Progress in Computational Methods for Representing Geographic Concepts M. Egenhofer, J. Glasgow, O. Gunther, J. Herring, and D. Peuquet International Journal of Geographical Information Science 13 (8): 775-796, 1999. Progress in Computational Methods for Representing Geographic Concepts Max J. Egenhofer University of Maine Janice Glasgow Queen’s University Oliver Günther Humboldt University Berlin and Pôle Universitaire Paris John R. Herring Oracle Corporation Donna J. Peuquet Pennsylvania State University Abstract Over the last ten years, a subfield of GIScience has been recognized that addresses the linkage between human thought regarding geographic space and the mechanisms of implementing these in computational models. This research area has developed an identity through a series of successful international conferences and the establishment of a journal. It has also been complemented through community activities such as international standardization efforts and GIS interoperability. Historically, much of the advancement in computational methods has occurred at—or close to—the implementation level, as exemplified by the attention on the development of spatial access methods. Significant progress has been made at the levels of spatial data models and spatial query languages, although we note the lack of a comprehensive theoretical framework comparable to the relational data model in databases management systems. The difficult problems that need future research efforts are at the highly abstract level of capturing semantics of geographic information. A cognitive motivation is most promising as it shapes the focus on the users' needs and points of view, rather than on efficiency as in the case of a bottom-up system design. We also identify the need for new research in fields, models of qualitative spatial information, temporal aspects, knowledge discovery, and the integration of GIS with database management systems. 1. Introduction In the past, much research in the computational domain of geographic information systems (GIS) concerned the development of fast and efficient implementations of traditional cartographic concepts for data storage, retrieval, and analysis. Increased functionality had also characteristically been accompanied by increased conceptual complexity, as improvements were most often motivated by short-term needs, resulting in ad-hoc solutions. With the increasing availability of GISs, there is an increasing need to provide users—from scientists to average citizens—with tools that allow them to solve their problems better in a more intuitive and user-friendly manner. In light of these observations, a subfield within Geographic Information Science (GIScience) has developed over the last ten years that addresses the linkage between human thought about geographic space and the mechanisms of computational models. It is particularly concerned with the interface between the real world as perceived and computational geographic worlds. This aspect is important from a scientific perspective, because through such a cognivitely- motivated approach, geographic concepts that have always been intuitive but never formalized can