GIS “Demographic map of the Stavropol Territory”

Abstract

The transformation of settlement network in Russia is an obvious and pronounced process in the conditions of the current demographic and migration situation. The spatial polarization of the country’s territory as a whole is typical in particular for Stavropol Territory. Firstly, the population is obviously converging around the regional center—the city of Stavropol, secondly, the settlements of the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody agglomeration remain attractive for migrants, thirdly, there is a decrease in the population in the peripheral regions of the territory, both in urban and rural areas. In urban areas, there is a redistribution of the population in favor of large and large cities (Stavropol, Pyatigorsk, Yessentuki, etc.), which subsequently leads to the formation of new microdistrict development, as well as the formation of suburbanization zones around the cores of agglomerations. These processes are complicated by the multi-ethnic structure of the population of the region—the ethnic groups with a low and failed urbanization transition are included in the urbanization processes, and in rural areas there is a rapid change in the ethnic composition of the population. These processes require a systematic research approach based on GIS technologies, allowing a comprehensive approach to assessing the transformation of the settlement network in Stavropol Territory. GIS have proven to be an effective tool for organizing monitoring, and the ability to combine data from diversified sources of information makes it possible to assess the demographic and migration potential of settlements, to identify the implementation effects of infrastructure and investment projects on population dynamics, including in its qualitative dimensions. Geoinformation monitoring system application approbation shows high results, which are expressed both in quantitative and qualitative measurements.