APPLICATION OF GIS IN SETTLEMENT MORPHOLOGY
Abstract
Analytical and testing methods of GIS provided us with a faster technique based on quantitative techniques to test phenomena like settlements' structure and their structural nature, formerly tested by soft techniques and as a result we are able to automatically obtain a large amount of data for the research. This means that the settlement morphology researches, which could only provide quantifiable results thanks to disproportionate time and energy investment, typically resulted in a surplus of information like the feature and height of installation and the functions of the area. With these data the morphological researches provided spectacular and useful results about the inner structure of the settlement. The main disadvantage of this method is that these information are difficult to obtain and become obsolete quickly.
The purpose of our research is to create a methodology that can rank settlements solely based on the morphological attributes using GIS tools. The advantage of a solely morphological categorization is that with the omission of the relatively variable indicators the results are long-term and their reproduction is easier. Its handicap is that it's less accurate than a classification based on functions and other qualitative attributes, however it can help settlements in its current form to specify which settlements have roughly similar structure so when a problem arise the council can approach the leaders of these settlements for ideas and examples.
Our former methodological experiments show that a sole GIS tool or method is not capable of the description of such a complex phenomenon like settlement morphology. Separately, they can describe one particular morphological attribute so later it's necessary to combine these part methods. In our current research we introduced a few former results which we compared to the results of the orientation test as independent results of a part method. By applying the rose diagram, which is used by meteorology and geology long since, on the built-in areas of the settlement we get an abstract townscape. In a time-series test these draw the main directions of a settlements growth, the changes of these directions and in horizontal test they show the determinative axes of the settlements shape and their particular orientation.
In addition to the fact that as a part method it can be built in a complex GIS settlement morphological method, the orientation-test can be useful directly, primarily in spatial and community planning. The knowledge of the direction of a settlement's growth and installation can help to incorporate or offload certain areas, it becomes easier to discover the factors obstructing the growth and furthermore knowing the spontaneous growth processes the council can take steps to prepare for further expansion, can coordinate, control it, so it can moderate, minimize the conflicts and problems within the settlement.
