The reconstruction of the Siberian cities historical topography by means of GIS technologies (the case of Tobolsk at the turn of the 19th–20th c.)

Abstract

The article presents the analytical results of the project to reconstruct the social space of the city of Tobolsk according to the First All-Russian Population Census of 1897. The project is comprehensive, interdisciplinary in nature and is represented by a multi-stage structure. The source base of the project is represented by various types of sources and allows to recreate an objective and fairly complete model of the topography of urban space. The possibilities and effectiveness of the using of geographic information technologies in the studying of urban space are repeatedly confirmed by both foreign and domestic researchers. Many of these projects are available as interactive maps in the public domain on the Internet. The project for the reconstruction of urban space of Siberian cities at the turn of the 19th–20th c. included the development of the GIS “The population of Siberian cities at the turn of the 19th–20th c.” and the presentation of the results in the form of an interactive resource posted in the public domain with its further analysis. The city can be considered as a constantly developing phenomenon. The development of its environment is influenced by various external factors. In direct relationship with the city is its population. The objective of the project at the stage of analytical work is identification of the features and patterns of the influence of urban space on the distribution of the population, taking into account its estate, confessional, professional affiliation, i.e. the formation of the social topography of urban space. Tobolsk was chosen as a city, which preserved a significant number of written and visual sources (photographs). The results of the project showed the appropriateness of applying GIS technologies, which makes it possible to extend this experience to the study of the topography of other Siberian cities.