Atlas information system “Big cities of Russia”: features of development and possibilities of application

Abstract

Large cities with a population of 100 thousand or more act as the main nodes of the settlement framework of Russia, accumulating human resources as much as possible. At present, about 52 % of the country’s population is concentrated in such cities, which confirms their high role in the formation of the settlement system in Russia. The formation of a modern network of cities at the present stage is taking place against the background of continuing depopulation processes associated with a protracted demographic crisis, a decrease in the migration growth of the population. Thus, a comprehensive view and understanding of the problems of forming a modern network of cities of this population category, taking into account their geographical position, performing different functions, is extremely relevant. At present, atlas information systems have established themselves as an effective tool for spatial monitoring of various processes and phenomena. The developed atlas information system “Big cities of Russia” is an integrated GIS platform capable of providing multi-scale monitoring of demographic, migration, socio-economic processes in a network of Russian cities with a population of 100 thousand and more. This paper describes the author’s approach to creating an atlas information system capable of systematizing relevant knowledge about modern demographic, migration, and other socio-economic processes occurring in the network of large cities of the country. It is important to note that the organization of the system took place in stages, while the author reveals in detail the idea of creating AIS through the requirements for an information platform, a geodatabase, a cartographic basis, geomodeling and mapping, methods of implementation and its testing. The Atlas Information System “Big Cities of Russia” is primarily aimed at expert analysts in the field of spatial planning, demographic and migration processes.