Representing Vague Places : Determining a Suitable Method

The representation of places with vague or ill-defined boundaries continues being an issue for information systems. Despite the presence of multiple representation methods, it is still unclear how to determine which approach is best suited for a particular task. This paper proposes a set of characteristics based on the application domain, conceptual, and logical levels and differentiates the approaches according to these characteristics. We demonstrate how they are matched with the task requirements and influence the choice of representation method.