Spatial analysis

'The art and science of using a GIS is to know how to combine the analysis functions available on a particular system to provide the required information using the available data' (Aranoff, 1989).

GIS differs from other types of information systems because it has the ability to perform spatial analysis.

We have already established that a GIS database is a model of the real world. Models can be used to look at what exists now, or what has existed in the past in order to predict what will happen in the future. GIS offer great potential in making predictions of the consequences of certain actions.