From historical map to online 3D recreation: the 1861 cadastral map of Horta (Barcelona)

Abstract

The recent study and classification of over 200 cadastral maps created in the nineteenth century in Catalonia have provided a valuable source of information about the agricultural landscape country’s past, but by linking them with data recorded in tax books known as amillaramientos, it is possible to gain a better knowledge of the past. By applying this method to the 1861 cadastral map of Horta and its corresponding amillaramiento, a planimetric map showing the land use distribution in the town was created. The resulting land use map was subsequently overlaid on top of a digital elevation model to create 3D visualizations which show the altitudinal distribution of crops and other features. Finally, the article explores a way of distributing the results online, making them accessible to the public and increasing the research impact of future findings. Therefore, the method described in this article allows the systematic recreation and distribution of past landscapes by using Catalan cadastral maps of the nineteenth century, something which can help enrich the scientific knowledge of many disciplines.

Keywords:

• historical cartography
• cadastral maps
• distributed GIS
• visualization
• Horta

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the comments received during the AGILE 2012 conference which helped improve the final article.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Spanish Science and Innovation Ministry [CSO2008-06031-C02-01/GEOG].