SPATIAL PATTERNS OF DISEASE PREVALENCE
An example of an analysis of spatial position related to public health is a paper by Siquiera and others (2004). Locations of households with dengue fever are mapped and a point pattern analysis is used to determine where significant clusters of the disease exists. Once these clusters are found, they may be explained by a combination of neighborhood and household factors.
SOCIAL AND SPATIAL FACTORS IN HEALTH
Another example of analysis of distribution across territories is a paper by Turrell and others (2005) who look at differences in death rates in different parts of Tasmania, Australia. The differences between areas are traced to different forms of social disadvantage. Sridharan and others (2007) similarly look at the relationship between mortality and local disadvantage, this time in the UK. They additionally make use of exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), including a consideration of spatial auto-correlation to consider the effects of clusters.
LINKAGES WITH TRANSPORTATION ISSUES
Chakraborty and others (2002) map a local road network in Iowa to determine the types of neighborhoods that are most affected by pollution. They begin with an analysis of position in establishing the reach of airborne pollution, then move on to consider the distribution of pollutants across neighborhoods defined by Census Tracts. An analysis of the distribution of pollutants across territories can determine if certain types of neighborhoods suffer more greatly from pollution.