Spatial Autocorrelation and Spatial Interaction

Definition Spatial interaction refers to all cases in which a relationship (a flow of persons, goods, communications, citations, and so on) is observed between pairs of spatial units. Differently from the standard areal or point units often analyzed in spatial science, spatial interaction data are denoted by their bilateral nature. They have an origin and a destination (in the particular case, the two being the same). Such origins and destinations may have observable characteristics. Moreover, each pair of spatial units may be described according to some measures of separation (such as distance) or of commonality (e.g., the presence of a common language). Such descriptors are typically employed in spatial interaction models, the most commonly used analytical framework for modeling flow data. Problems occur when the aforementioned descriptors exhibit correlation between the values of different spatial units or dyads which is due to the spatial configuration of the units themselves (e.g., ... This is an excerpt from the content