GIS analysis of relationships between human settlement and the natural environment

利用GIS和空间数据分析了聚落与自然环境的关系。重点是人口分布与地形参数（如高程和坡度）之间的关系。对包括明治时代和大正时代在内的现在和过去的情况进行了调查。由于一些数据格式复杂，GIS数据库首先被构建。研究的地区包括：1)整个日本和尼泊尔；2)关东、关西、中国-四国地区；3)东京大都市区和Mogami地区，这意味着分析涵盖了不同的空间尺度。此外，作为人口以外的人类活动指标，考察了水车位置、废弃农田、每个火车站的乘客数量、土地价格与地形等自然因素的关系。作为人类活动对自然环境影响的一个例子，讨论了与水质有关的问题。分析了关东地区和东英格兰地区土地利用对河流水质的影响。还开发了一种可视化世界城市人口的方法，并研究了其教育意义。研究结果表明，地形条件对人类活动具有较强的影响，且影响方式和程度随时间的变化而变化。这种时间变化既反映了社会条件的变化，也反映了人类对自然的控制（如减轻洪水）的变化，表明自然与人类活动之间存在强烈的相互作用。该项目的研究结果还表明，要讨论一个区域的可持续性，既要考虑人类活动对水质的影响，也要考虑水质对人类活动的影响。与人类和社会环境及地理信息系统有关的其他应用研究也进行了。

Relationships between settlement and the natural environment were investigated using GIS and spatial data. Emphasis was placed upon relationships between the distribution of population and topographic parameters such as elevation and slope. Both the current and past conditions including those in the Meiji and Taisho Eras were investigated. GIS databases were first constructed because some data have complex formats. The areas studied include 1) whole Japan and Nepal 2) the Kanto, Kansai, Chugoku-Shikoku Districts, and 3) the Tokyo Metropolitan Area and Mogami District, meaning that analyses encompassed various spatial scales. In addition, as indicators of human activities other than population, locations of water wheels, abandoned farm land, the number of passengers at each train station, and land price were investigated in relation to natural factors such as topography. As an example of influences of human activities on the natural environment, issues related to water quality were addressed. The effects of land use on riverine water quality were analyzed for the Kanto District and East England. A method to visualize population in cities in the world was also developed and its educational implications were studied. The results of this project show that topographic conditions exert strong influence on human activities, and the mode and degree of the influence has been changing with time. This temporal change reflects changes in both social conditions and human control on nature such as flood mitigation, pointing to strong interactions between nature and human activities. The results of this project also suggest that to discuss sustainability of a region, both the impact of human activities on water quality and that of water quality on human activities should be taken into account. Other application studies related to the human and social environments and GIS were also conducted.