Using old cartography for the inventory of a forgotten heritage: The hydraulic heritage of the Community of Madrid

Hydraulic heritage is a legacy that has generally been forgotten in territorial management and protective actions. This heritage expresses the way in which inhabitants have used their water resources and related structures for centuries. For proper management, it is necessary to draw up an inventory...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Blanco González, Alberto, Bustamante Gutiérrez, Irene De|||0000-0003-4214-3424, Pascual Aguilar, Juan Antonio
Format: article
Publication Date:2019
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Alcalá (UAH)
Repository:e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/64597
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10017/64597
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.133
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Hydraulic heritage
Old cartography
Spatial distribution
Material and immaterial heritage
Heritage database
Geología
Geology
Description
Summary:Hydraulic heritage is a legacy that has generally been forgotten in territorial management and protective actions. This heritage expresses the way in which inhabitants have used their water resources and related structures for centuries. For proper management, it is necessary to draw up an inventory. Using Geographical Information System (GIS) tools, we have created a spatial and thematic inventory of the hydraulic heritage located in the Community of Madrid. This inventory shows the good conditions, both in abundance (more than 5800 point type entities) and diversity (28 categories in the point entities type layer), of historical hydraulic elements in the region. All the information in this work has been extracted from old maps (1870?1960). A database was designed to provide spatial, thematic and temporal information on this heritage. Element distribution was concentrated mainly in the river plains and the metropolitan areas of the region, and it has been proven how hydraulic elements are endangered due to increasing urban pressure. This phenomenon and agricultural modernisation are the main factors influencing the survival of this type of assets. Thanks to this methodology, it should be possible to analyse the status of the heritage ensemble included in the inventory.