Development of the information retrieval system to analyze the dynamics of the formation of settlements network

Abstract

The use of geographic information systems provides an effective solution to the goal of mapping the results of the population distribution and redistribution of the population in the region of primary development, as well as to study the dynamics of settlement by key time slices. For effective spatial analysis of the results of the distribution and redistribution of the population, it is advisable to adapt the functionality of the information retrieval system using a map server, as well as a web application that provides data processing and interaction with a database that includes geodata and attributive information. The article presents the experience of developing an information retrieval system in the form of a cartographic web application and its application to establish the territorial logic of the regional settlement system for five historical and geographical periods (from the middle of the 18th century to date). The information retrieval system provides an option of graphic selection and display of settlements on the map, taking into account the formation of the settlement system according to the historical and geographical stages, as well as an option of searching by both modern and historical names of settlements. The performance efficiency of the information retrieval system was demonstrated using the case study of one of the Northern Black Sea regions, where the interests of Poland, Turkey and Russia clashed from the middle of the 18th century; and the spatial and temporal dynamics of the settlement system reflected the change in state borders. A series of electronic maps on five historical and geographical stages of the formation of a network of settlements was obtained thanks to its import into the geodatabase of an information retrieval system and the automatic distribution of settlements by chronological intervals (up to 1794, 1795–1860, 1861–1905, 1906–1918, 1919–2020). The final stage of stabilizing the growth of the number of settlements, which determined the settlement network density of 3.7 units per 100 km2, falls during the period of 1906–1941.