The Alpine settlement system: capturing relevance beyond size

The Alpine settlement system is of key relevance for sustainable development in the mountain region. However, maps on the European scale indicate almost no cities in the Alps but only a few small towns. We argue that a differentiated mapping approach should involve medium and small settlements in mountain regions, as they have a high functional importance for the surrounding area. We present an analytical mapping of the Alpine settlement system based on demographic and accessibility arguments and reflect on two research questions: How to put Alpine towns on the map of spatial development without taking a metropolitan bias? To what extent does this approach help to overcome the ‘size problem’ of the Alpine settlement system? Our ‘new’ map covers the rural area and ‘sees’ small towns, shows the relevance of efficient spatial organisation along valley axes and illustrates the cross-border dimension of towns in spatial proximity to national borders.

阿尔卑斯山地定居系统（Alpine settlement system）对于山地区域的可持续发展具有关键意义。然而，欧洲范围的地图几乎未标注阿尔卑斯山区的城市，仅零星标识少量小镇。本研究认为，差异化制图方法应纳入山地区域的中小型定居点，因其对周边区域具备极高的功能重要性。本研究基于人口统计与可达性逻辑，构建了阿尔卑斯山地定居系统的分析性制图，并对两个研究问题展开探讨：其一，如何在规避大都市中心偏向的前提下，将阿尔卑斯小镇纳入空间发展图谱？其二，该方法在多大程度上有助于解决阿尔卑斯山地定居系统的“规模问题”？我们绘制的“全新”地图覆盖了乡村区域，能够识别中小型定居点，展现了沿河谷轴线构建高效空间组织的重要性，并阐释了毗邻国界的小镇所具备的跨境属性。