Everybody that has ever watched crime series or movies has probably seen the mapping of crime patterns in one form or the other. While Sherlock Holmes used red pins to mark the locations of a crime on a paper map, the sophisticated use of GIS can reveal more detailed, statistical crime patterns.

Some of the spatial patterns of crimes and offenders can be explained by environmental variables. Within environmental criminology, the influence of the environment on the offender is analysed. While socio-economic disadvantages may have an effect on offences such as theft, other crimes might in part be caused by the effects of environmental pollution on people. The detected patterns of crime can be used to fight and prevent crime. As crime prevention is the ultimate goal of any authority, understanding patterns and their possible causes helps to develop effective strategies and allocate appropriate resources to reduce crime.

To infer information about the spatial distribution of health, GIS are a powerful tool. Health and ill-health are influenced by environmental as well as socio-economic variables. Many correlations between these and health have been identified and catechized using GIS, such as the distribution of hazardous blood lead concentrations  (Aboh et al., 2013) or access to health and socio-economic status (Brunsdon et al., 2011). Spatial epidemiology aims to explain and predict the spreading and spreading rates of diseases such as the infectious E. coli virus called EHEC (Kistemann et al., 2004). In the times of the global corona pandemic, the modelling of the disease distribution is more relevant than ever, and governments base their measures on scientific epidemiology models.

Useful spatial data is often found in census data or measurements of environmental factors. For some studies, surveys are conducted to collect information about perceived status and health access. Even remotely sensed data, e.g. on air quality inferred from hyperspectral satellite imagery, can be used in health geography.

References:
Brunsdon C., Comber Alexis J, & Radburn R. (2011). A spatial analysis of variations in health access: linking geography, socio-economic status and access perceptions. International Journal of Health Geographics, 1, 44.

Innocent Joy Kwame Aboh, P., Manukure Atiemo Sampson, Mp., Leticia Abra-Kom Nyaab, Mp. N., Jack Caravanos, D. C., Francis Gorman Ofosu, P., & Harriet Kuranchie-Mensah, Mp. (2013). Assessing Levels of Lead Contamination in Soil and Predicting Pediatric Blood Lead Levels in Tema, Ghana. Journal of Health and Pollution, 7.

Kistemann T., Zimmer S., Vågsholm I., & Andersson Y. (2004). GIS-Supported Investigation of Human EHEC and Cattle VTEC O157 Infections in Sweden: Geographical Distribution, Spatial Variation and Possible Risk Factors. Epidemiology and Infection, 132(3), 495.

Landscapes are heterogeneous mosaics of ecosystems or different habitat niches, which are of interest for ecologists. The patterns of the elements within landscapes are studied at may different scales to draw conclusions about wide range of ecology topics such as species distributions dynamics, habitat loss & fragmentation and invasive species. Nowadays, the most pressing issues within landscape ecology relate to disturbance caused by human activity and many popular topics such as the loss of keystone species due to land cover conversions are broadly acknowledged.

GIS is used as a tool to visualize and quantify the patterns occurring within a landscape and evaluate the influence of processes acting on the landscape. Four groups of processes are distinguished here: abiotic, biotic, anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Abiotic factors are the underlying conditions governing the appearance of any place on Earth. The climate, soil properties and slope of a site determine the range of species that can possibly live here. Biotic interactions are given by the ecosystem itself in the from of competition or symbiosis, which create spatial autocorrelation. Disturbances happen naturally in the form of fires, storms, floods or other natural disaster. In recent history, humans have caused an unprecedented change in the landscape by land conversion, the introduction of species and even an greatly accelerated change of climatic conditions.