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Abstract
Today, the opportunity for potential human activity has gone beyond physical space to virtual space. Based on a proposed conceptual framework that models the relationships between physical and virtual spaces, this paper presents an attempt to adjust the space–time prism concept of Hägerstrand's time geography to identify potential activity opportunities in virtual space, focusing on the virtual space access channels available in physical space. A three‐dimensional (3D) spatio‐temporal Geographic Information System (GIS) design has been developed in this research to accommodate the adjusted space–time prism concept to support the representation, visualization, and analysis of potential human activities and interactions in physical and virtual spaces using the prism representation. Following the design, a prototype system has been successfully implemented in a 3D GIS environment. Such a system can provide powerful analytical tools for studies related to potential human activities and applications such as location‐based services (LBS) and accessibility analysis in the information age.
Acknowledgements
This study is partially supported by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 0616724. The authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.