The GeoDa Center for Geographical Analysis & Computation, led by
ASU Regents' Professor Luc Anselin, has just released a new
version of its signature software, OpenGeoDa. The software
provides a user-friendly interface to implement techniques for
exploratory spatial data analysis and spatial modeling. It has
been used to better understand issues ranging from health care
access to economic development to crime clusters. It is freely
downloadable and open-source. The software is used
internationally, with more than 75,000 unique downloads, and lab
installations at universities such as Harvard, MIT and Cornell.
The new version, OpenGeoDa 1.2.0, provides the most significant
enhancements since the first release in 2003. A key addition in
the new version is space-time analysis – maps and charts that
make it possible to track changes in spatial patterns over time.
"For example, a series of maps could plot variations in
educational achievement by school district, for a series of
years," says Anselin. "An individual