This map displays a geographic information system-based spatial analysis representing coastal land use in the island of Gran Canaria. It presents a method of summarizing coastal patterns of land use/cover into arc/sectors of a graph, setting up spatial units of analysis based on compass directions suitable to organize, analyse and depict spatial data. The method allows the easy detection of patterns and visualization of similarities between two or more sets of coastal land use/cover data. This paper outlines the methods used in designing the map.

IntroductionDuring military service, many household costs for both married and single service personnel are subsidised, and transition can leave veterans unprepared for the financial demands of civilian life. Armed Forces organisations such as Sailor, Soldier, Air Force Association (SSAFA) play a central role in understanding the financial challenges that UK veterans face and provide an insight into the financial hardship experienced by veterans. The aim of this study was to use SSAFA beneficiary data as a proxy to identify the nature of financial benefit, the spatial distribution of financial hardship in the Scottish SSAFA beneficiary community and explore factors that might predict where those recipients are located.MethodsUsing an anonymised data set of Scottish SSAFA financial beneficiaries between 2014 and 2019, this study used a geographical methodology to identify the geospatial distribution of SSAFA benefit recipients and exploratory regression analysis to explore factors to explain where SSAFA beneficiaries are located.ResultsOver half of benefit applicants (n=10 735) were concentrated in only 50 postcode districts, showing evidence of a clustered pattern, and modelling demonstrates association with area-level deprivation. The findings highlight strong association between older injured veterans and need for SSAFA beneficiary assistance.ConclusionThe findings demonstrate that beneficiaries were statistically clustered into areas of high deprivation, experiencing similar challenges to that of the wider population in these areas. Military service injury or disability was strongly associated with areas of high SSAFA benefit use and in those areas high unemployment was also a significant factor to consider.

Strictly relying on publicly available data, this study depicts and quantifies the spatial pattern of England's military families with dependent children. England's Service Pupil Premium for the financial years between 2011 and 2019 is used as a proxy variable to estimate the density of service children at the parliamentary constituency level. Methodologically, the approach allows an assessment of spatial movements of a population or a cohort. The results inform policy makers by providing evidence-based findings about the location of England's military families and how the distribution has changed between 2011 and 2019. The results show empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis that, at a macro scale, beyond commuting distance, England's military families are becoming increasingly dispersed. We argue that the findings unveil spatial dynamics that have practical issues of housing, employment, and education regarding military families.

In order to face the challenges of urban planning, there is an increasing need to monitor and quantify urban occupation. This study, conducted within the research project "FURBS: Sustainable Urban Form - Methodological development for Portugal (PTDC/GEO/69109/2006), seeks to examine the urban form of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA), and its occupation between 1990 and 2000, using spatial metrics. The LMA congregates nearly 3 million inhabitants, around 26% of the Portuguese total population. A relevant characteristic of the region is that it has been subject to a constant opening of new areas of urbanization, which had caused in this region, an increase of 18.6% of housing units between 1991 and 2001, while the total population grew only 4.3%. In this study, we sought to apply the use of spatial metrics to CORINE Land Cover urban classes, analysing the evolution of urban area with a wide range of spatial metrics in order to quantify the urban evolution in the region. Spatial metrics have been used in ecology studies where they are known as landscape metrics. These metrics represent the geometric characteristics of the landscape units and the spatial relationships between them. Only recently these metrics started to be used to analyse and classify the urban form in a more systematic way. The applications of quantitative indicators are one of the methodologies showing greatest potential in characterizing urban form, allowing researchers a tool to evaluate the urban form. In a nutshell we aim to contribute to the knowledge of the LMA and to the development of one of the most innovative approaches to the study of urban dynamics.

This article outlines the method used in designing a thematic map of land-use. The aim is to depict the main land-use categories and changes, across the Macaronesian islands of Portugal and Spain, between 1990 and2006. The map presents a novel technique of summarizing land-use/land-cover (LULC) data into a custom-made 2D static graph-based display. The method proposes depicting the region of interest inside a hollow circle chart, commonly known as 'doughnut chart'. The void inside the chart allows placing a complete cartographic representation, whereas the circle chart itself allows displaying statistical data of the encircled cartographic representation. To convey the temporal dimension, the method positions the graphics following a timeline. This custom display provides a framework to study and represent LULC data, overcoming common visual effectiveness issues. The proposed approach is flexible and suitable for application elsewhere, making it possible to draw visual impressions and comparisons in a straightforward manner. ARTICLE HISTORY