Center for Spatial Studies

The “Future Directions of Spatial Demography” specialist meeting (Santa Barbara, 2011) brought together 41 specialists from multiple disciplines to discuss the future of spatial demography. Whereas the majority of attendees were geographers and sociologists, many other disciplines were represented, including anthropology, economics, epidemiology, health economics, and political science.

This report outlines the primary outcomes of the meeting, including recommendations about training-related activities and cross-site collaborations, and activities that promote spatial demography within the wider academy. The report follows the structure of the meeting, focusing on:

1. The state of the science in spatial demography2. Emergent geospatial data and measurement issues3. Spatial statistical methods4. A synthesis of challenges