SETTLEMENTS VIABILITY ASSESSING: A GEOSPATIAL APPROACH

Abstract

This article examines the problem of assessing the viability of urban and rural settlements in the context of accelerating urbanization, global crises, and uneven territorial development. The authors analyze modern approaches to studying territorial resilience, noting the fragmentation of existing methodologies, which often focus on individual economic or demographic indicators without considering spatial characteristics and the interrelations between social, environmental, and infrastructural factors. The proposed solution is a geospatial approach based on the implementation of a comprehensive analytical system that combines geoinformation technologies, multi-criteria analysis, the integration of open data (municipal reports, Rosstat, OpenStreetMap), and interactive web visualization. The methodological foundations of the system are described, including the selection, normalization, and weighting of criteria, spatial analysis of object density taking into account population and area, and fuzzy matching mechanisms for processing heterogeneous data sources. Examples of analysis and display of the results of assessing the condition of settlements based on individual indicators and an overall score are provided. The conclusion emphasizes that the platform, created in accordance with the geospatial approach, is a scalable and adaptable tool that can be implemented in various regions to increase the transparency and validity of management decisions in the field of urban and rural planning.