【Introduction】

   Virtual Geographic Environments (VGEs) build on the development of geographic information systems and geographic information science in ways that focus on how users are able to embed themselves within such systems. VGEs thus constitute environments in which the user interacts with the geographical or spatial systems of interest through immersion in its spatial representation, the methods used to model it, and the processes used to utilize such environments in problem-solving. Virtual reality technologies, computer-aided design, games, animations, movies, indeed the whole plethora of multimedia with geo-coded data and geo-process models, can be enlisted to enrich and extend such environments.

【Main Contents】

Foreword
Preface
Chapter1 Virtual Geographic Environments: A Primer
Part 1 Online Virtual Environments and Web 2.0 Technologies
Chapter 2 Virtual Geographic Environments as Collective Constructions
Chapter 3 The Renaissance of Geographic Information: Neogeography, Gaming and Virtual Environments
Chapter 4 Toward Integrated Space-Time Analysis Environments
Chapter 5 Empowering the Web with Location
Part 2 Virtual Citied and Virtual Landscapes
Chapter 6 Virtual Kyoto as 4D-GIS
Chapter 7 Visualizing Future 3-Dimensional Neighborhoods in Phoenix: An Application Incorporating Empirical Methods with Computational Graphics
Chapter 8 Evaluating Real-Time Landscape Visualization Techniques for Public Communication of Energy Crop Planting Scenarios
Chapter 9 A GIS and CG Integrated System for the Automatic Generation of 3D Building Models
Part 3 Users Interfaces, Public Participation and Visualization
Chapter 10 Affordance and Reflex Level of Geovisualization
Chapter 11 Modeling Contextual Knowledge for Adaptive Geographic Visualization
Chapter 12 Non-photorealistic Visualizations on Mobile Devices and Usability Concerns
Chapter 13 An Online Design Review Tool: Agreeing Townscape Rules Among Stakeholders on the Internet
Chapter 14 O’Jerusalem: A Decision Support System for Jerusalem
Part 4 Constructing Mobile and Networked Virtual Geographic Environments
Chapter 15 Exploring Spatial Uncertainly of GPS Coordinates and DEM Interpolation in Virtual Environments
Chapter 16 Quantifying Information Displayed on Mobile Phone Screens
Chapter 17 Digital Earth with Digital Measurable Images
Chapter 18 Networked Collaborative Virtual Geographic Environments: Design and Implementation
Part 5 Mobility and Dynamics in Visualization
Chapter 19 Simple High-dimensional Geocoding by Matching Natural Spatial Descriptions with Sidewalk Network Databases
Chapter 20 Multi-Agent-based Simulation of Pedestrian Crowds in Outdoors Events in Hong Kong
Chapter 21 Visualizing Children’s Walking Behavior Using Portable Global Positioning Units and Activity Monitors
Chapter 22 Videogames: The New GIS
Subject Index