Proximity Analysis
Explore how to apply proximity analysis with GeoPandas by calculating distances between geospatial points and finding nearest features. This lesson teaches you to project spatial data correctly and use GeoPandas methods like .distance() and sjoin_nearest() to analyze real-world cases such as finding closest airports to parks or remote locations.
We'll cover the following...
Introduction
The application of proximity analysis principles spans an impressive array of practical scenarios. For example, it assists in identifying service areas within a set distance from a specific point of interest, determining the nearest hospital or emergency service to an accident site, and even predicting the spread of diseases or wildfires based on geographic proximity.
In this lesson, we'll concentrate primarily on two fundamental operations within proximity analysis: calculating distances and identifying the nearest features.
Note: It's important to note that, in order to perform any distance analysis, it is suggested to avoid unprojected data (e.g., latitude and longitude) as distances are best not measured in degrees. Consider projecting to a coordinate system with a linear unit in feet or meters, for example.
Calculating distances
In GeoPandas, distance computation is provided at the ...