A geospatial analysis of the influence of landscape and climate on the location of Greek vernacular settlements using GI
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ORIGINAL PAPER
A geospatial analysis of the influence of landscape and climate on the location of Greek vernacular settlements using GIS Aristotelis Vartholomaios 1 Received: 15 November 2018 / Accepted: 23 January 2019 # Società Italiana di Fotogrammetria e Topografia (SIFET) 2019
Abstract A core argument of several studies that focus on Greek vernacular settlements is that climate and landscape had a significant impact on their spatial distribution and growth. For the majority of these studies, this argument is primarily underpinned by qualitative observations at the geographical scale or by detailed microscale analyses of specific case studies. A nationwide analysis of the relation of vernacular settlement locations with key environmental factors has not yet been conducted in Greece. The present study seeks to cover this research gap by adopting a geospatial analysis approach. It utilises Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to relate the location of Greek vernacular settlements with the sea, the sun, the wind and the local geomorphology. The results of the study provide valuable insight on these relations and ultimately support the argument of the environmental responsiveness of vernacular settlements with quantitative data. Keywords GIS . Geomorphology . Vernacular settlements . Environmental analysis . Climate . Landscape . Greece
Introduction Vernacular settlements in Greece constitute an essential component of the Greek tradition, cultural heritage and the rural landscape. Lifestyles, techniques, aesthetic preferences and social relations, as well as the wealth and diversity of Greek anonymous architecture of the post-Byzantine era, are imprinted in vernacular settlements networks and their surrounding landscape (Phillipidis and Lavvas 1995; Moutsopoulos 2004; Doukellis et al. 2005; Dimitsantou-Kremezi 1995). Their spatial distribution and growth were largely unplanned, since it was guided by the historic, social and economic circumstances and folk wisdom amassed throughout the centuries. The adaptation of settlement and building form and function to the local climate and landscape constituted a central aspect of this wisdom. Thermal comfort, safety, surveillance and the utilisation of available natural resources were key human needs of that era that rendered this adaptation a necessity (Mpouras 1992a, 1998; Phillipidis and Lavvas 1995). The documentation and analysis of the environmental responsiveness of vernacular * Aristotelis Vartholomaios [email protected]; [email protected] 1
Department of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54 124 Thessaloniki, Greece
settlements are not only a matter of preservation and regeneration of the old, but also a matter of learning from the past to adapt the modern cities and societies to contemporary challenges. While the ideas of ‘bioclimatic regionalism’ (Olgyay and Olgyay 1963; Fathy 1986) and ‘learning from the past’ (Butina and Bentley 2007; Lanier 2009) are not new, there is a globally ever-growing need for enhancing the r
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