Urban Morphology in Historical GIS
The way in which cities spread into their surrounding territories is a long-term process influenced by multiple factors. Some of these are related to physical factors, such as elevation (and more specifically, slopes) and hydrology, while others are related to human activities, such as population, t...
| Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | book part |
| Status: | Versión aceptada para publicación |
| Publication Date: | 2023 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya) |
| Repository: | Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:recercat.cat:10459.1/469246 |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21731-9_12 https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/469246 http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/469246 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Urban morphology UMZ Historical GIS |
| Summary: | The way in which cities spread into their surrounding territories is a long-term process influenced by multiple factors. Some of these are related to physical factors, such as elevation (and more specifically, slopes) and hydrology, while others are related to human activities, such as population, transport infrastructure and economic growth. This is not, therefore, a random process. There are reasons that explain why cities have grown in the way that they have. To better understand this process, it is important to demonstrate how cities have grown in both spatial and morphological terms: their level of compactness. In Europe, for example, the Mediterranean countries have a tradition based on urban compactness, associated with high population densities. However, recent trends have produced different patterns, leading to the consumption of more space. Patterns can change through history. It is therefore necessary to clearly identify the limits of built-up areas in order to know how they spread and to provide the best possible measurements of population density. To analyse this process, we must first compile a comprehensive GIS dataset using a series of historic maps and aerial images. By georeferencing these old maps and aerial images, we will be able to digitise the shapes of cities in different years. It is, however, important to take into consideration the scale and projection of the maps, which may differ. In order to obtain a homogeneous GIS dataset with which to compare the evolution of the cities, we will show how to convert digitised polygons into a 100 × 100 m vector grid. This will enable us to morphologically harmonise all of the cities and periods studied. The result will be a Historical Urban Morphological Zone (H-UMZ) which will make it possible to identify the space occupied by urban zones over time. In this chapter, we will analyse and compare the cities of Barcelona, Manresa, Valencia and Almeria. We have chosen these examples as they allow comparisons amongst what are very different cases in terms of dimensions and characteristics. |
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