Focuses on the relationship between geographic information systems and society. This book situates GIS in broader social relations, showing how this technology operates in a broader context than many of its practitioners suppose.

1. Introduction: Presenting A GIS in Practice, Breaking Open the Black Boxes to Expose the Negotiations Embedded in the Data and the Software 2. Origins: How did GIS Arise? Multiple Origins and the Irrelevance of the Origins Game 3. Hazy Fun-House Mirrors: How does a GIS (or a Map) Represent? 4. Making Information: How a GIS Constructs New Information from Spatial and Attribute Relationships 5. Dreams of Neutral, Transparent Decision Support: How does a GIS Help Make Decisions? Why do Public Groups Adopt a GIS Strategy? 6. Reversing the Arrow of Progress: Technical Decisions are not Always Cast in Stone; Old Arguments can be Revisited and Decisions Overturned 7. Geographies of Geographic Information: Local Implementations of GIS Vary Around the World, and Why 8. Closing Some Circles: Conclusions