TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction written by Lena SANDERS.
The spatial dimension plays a key role in many social phenomena. On the one hand, things are unequally distributed through space, creating spatial differentiation, segregation and discontinuities. On the other hand, there is a feedback loop between a society's organization and a space's configuration. Most of the time, the modeling of spatial phenomena and processes requires the combination of knowledge and skills from various fields, some involving the theme of research, others originating from computer science, statistics, physics or mathematics. These latter subjects are relevant because they provide stimulating methodological prospects to theorists interested in the organization of space and the evolution of its structures (whether they be geographers, urban planners, archaeologists, ecologists, agriculture scientists, etc.). Besides, they also offer useful technical frameworks for formalizing the thematician's theoretical models. On the other hand, the latter provide problems and data that can be used to implement and test models designed by mathematicians, statisticians and computer scientists. In such a context, the phrase spatial model takes on different meanings. Even though researchers in different fields may agree on a relatively broad definition of the concept of a "model" as "a schematic representation of reality, developed with the goal of understanding and explaining it" [1], the referents are significantly different from one subject to another.
In order to illustrate the diversity of meanings that come with the word "model" in a given application, in the following sections we will rely...
