Spatial Interaction Models: From the Gravity to the Neural Network Approach

Spatial interaction models describe and predict spatial flows of people, commodities, capital and information. They are one of the oldest and most widely used of all social science models. This chapter provides a coherent state-of-the-art overview of the field that has witnessed the progression from gravity models to entropy maximising and random utility maximising models and finally to models based on neurocomputing principles that represent the most recent innovation in the design of spatial interaction models.