Analyzing Patterns with ArcGIS Tools

The Analyzing Patterns toolset in the Spatial Statistics Tools toolbox contains a series of tools that help evaluate if features or the values associated with features form a clustered, dispersed, or random spatial pattern. These tools generate a single result for the entire dataset in question. Tools in this category generate what is known as inferential statistics or the probability of how confident we are that the pattern is either dispersed or clustered.

In this chapter, you will learn how to use many of these tools to determine if a dataset is dispersed or clustered, including the following:

• Using the Average Nearest Neighbor tool
• Using the Spatial Autocorrelation tool to analyze patterns
• Using the Multi-Distance Spatial Cluster Analysis tool