The Analysis of the Ground Plan Variations of a Town Located in a Floodplain. The case of Szeged, Hungary

Péter GYENIZSE1, Zita BOGNÁR2
1 University of Pécs, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Geography, Pécs, HUNGARY
2 University of Pécs, Doctoral School of Earth Sciences, Pécs, HUNGARY
E-mail: gyenizse@gamma.ttk.pte.hu, bognarzi@gamma.ttk.pte.hu
Pages: 119-126

Abstract. Natural environment influences the life of the settlements even today. It directly affects the built environment. It can be better noticed in the mountainous areas but it is not negligible in case of the towns located in the lowlands either. In our research we numerically surveyed the variations of the built areas (ground plan) of a lowland town, Szeged, Hungary, and compared these results with the microrelief and hydrological characteristics. We determined that in the last about 230 years the ground plan of Szeged grew by 10.4 fold and its perimeter by 9.0 fold. The shape index grew by 2.8 fold between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 21st century, which refers to the fact that today the built area of the town is strongly fragmented and so it is better exposed to the environmental impacts. We investigated whether the timely change of the numerical indicators of the ground plan (perimeter, area, shape index) show any statistical coherence with the mean height of the ground plan above sea level. The rank correlation shows a weakly positive relation (r=+0.61). With the help of a digital relief model we localised those built-in areas where the microrelief and the hydrological relations may endanger buildings and population. Problematic areas can primarily be found in case of the lower located private house quarters in the Northern, Southern and Eastern parts of the city.

K e y w o r d s:  town, shape index, ground plan change, microrelief, inland waters, flood, GIS, Szeged