Dirichlet neighbours: revisiting Dirichlet tessellation for neighbourhood analysis

Abstract The analysis of neighbourhood for point features is reviewed in terms of requirements and available techniques; the application of Dirichlet/Voronoi/Thiessen tessellation techniques are discussed. Robin Sibson's Natural Neighbours (Sibson, 1980, Natural neighbourhood interpolation. In V. D. Brunner, Graphical methods for multivariate data . New York: Brunner/Mazel) technique for Dirichlet Tessellation is discussed and benefits demonstrated in the consequently available neighbourhood descriptors of distance, bearing and nearest neighbours. The application of Dirichlet Tessellation derived neighbourhood analysis is shown in terms of the study of badger territories and other potential applications in the sciences and social sciences are outlined.

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