Rural settlements in the hinterland of the Bay of Boka Kotorska reflect the
centuries-old blend of the outstanding natural values and different local traditions
in the use of space. They were developed in different cultural, historical, social
and economic conditions.
By applying the GIS tools and by overlaying different thematic maps with
high resolution orthophotos, an analysis of spatial structures and causal processes
in these areas is carried out. Topological classification of rural settlements is
done based on morphological, geological and pedological characteristics of the
settlement areas, on the presence of cultural and historical elements and forms of
agricultural patterns. A key criterion in the classification was the presence of
spatial elements that have contributed to the formation of an authentic and
specific identity of these settlements. The three basic types and seven newly
developed subtypes of rural settlements of Boka Kotorska are defined and shown.
The identification of these settlements is done by further overlapping of extracted
polygons with topographic maps.
Introducing spatial values and the historical development of rural
settlements in the hinterland of the Bay of Boka Kotorska represent a solid basis
that can be used to direct the course of their further development and highlight
the importance of preserving the spatial identity. The analysis of traditional
architecture and spatial planning and rational and careful study of the man`s
attitude towards the natural basis in the past enabled the use of former
experiences to plan further development of these areas in order to restore the
abandoned cultural context.
CONCLUSIONS
GIS technologies made typological classification much easier especially
when it comes to the analyses of the the dependence of structural and
morphological characteristics of different types of settlements in relation to
geological and pedological substrate, as well as in relation to the cultural and
historical context in which they were developed.
As result of typological classification in the study area, three basic types
and seven subtypes of rural settlements were identified. The diversity of rural
areas in the hinterland of the Bay of Boka Kotorska was created by combining
the exceptional natural values and various traditional forms of space utilization.
Rural settlements in coastal area were developed mostly on limestone,
flysch and alluvial surface, and even in some sites in the municipality of Herceg
Novi there are rural settlements on the fluvioglacial sediments and moraines. The
mere geological substrate conditioned the quality and thickness of soil suspstrates
and therefore the activity of the population and morphology of these settlements.
Settlements that were developed on slopes are of terraced settlement type.
On limestone, they are mostly traditional terraces with olive groves, while in the
settlements on the flysch and clay terrains with brown land, the quality of soil
stimulated agricultural activities and they are much more present. Rural
settlements of terraced type are very attractive because of a number of traditional
cultural elements which are, not only the specifics of buildings, but also the
elements such as the retaining walls and borders, traditional plant species (olives,
figs, vines and mulberry) and the like. On the other hand, the settlements that
developed in the plains have completely different characteristics. Here again we
have agriculture, but in this case it is a matrix consisting of fields bordered by