Covisibilité et peuplement aux Açores. Estimation de l’importance du facteur de covisibilité dans la répartition des populations aux Açores

• Published in: Cybergeo 2009-10
• Main Authors: Louis Marrou, Frédéric Rousseaux
• Format: Article
• Language: ger
• Subjects: archipelago; Azores; co-visibility; digital elevation model; settlement
• ISSN: 1278-3366
• DOI: 10.4000/cybergeo.22725

This article uses co-visibility analysis to study the relationships between different islands in the Archipelago of the Azores, in the context of a geographical analysis of the distribution of populations. The issue of whether “to see” or “to be seen” is a relevant factor influencing the choice of zones of habitation in the specific setting of the Archipelago of the Azores. The literature often focuses on the relationships of co-visibility maintained between the different islands. Using an analytical method based on an algorithm of co-visibility, we propose a quantification of these connections using a method based on a co-visibility algorithm. The computing of co-visibility algorithms is time-consuming. To overcome this problem, we propose in the first section a method of computing time based on the reduction of the number and the optimization of the placement of the viewpoints used for the calculation. The results show a significant drop in computing time. A second section of the paper presents a method of spatial analysis that makes it possible to determine and to quantify the grouping of inhabitants that can be seen from one island to another. The results are then analysed, and a chart is drawn up, and the chart is then discussed in a final section. Contributions to the study are on two levels. The first is related to the methodology, and is described before the second one. The second one, more geographical, points to the co-visibility factor: of course the co-visibility factor on its own does not explain the distribution of populations, but it sheds new light on the question. It also facilitates an understanding of the complex relationships that motivate these islands, in the very contemporary perspective of a reflection on new planning issues in the Azores Archipelago.