Christophe MIMEUR, Laboratoire MATRIS - CY Cergy Paris Universite, France
Thomas THEVENIN, Laboratoire ThéMA - Université de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
Patrick MILLE, Laboratoire ThéMA - Université de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
The long run is the ideal point of view to study the succession of transportation networks, their substitution, there competition. The literature often deals with the growth of railways or roads. Historical GIS are common tools to analyze the evolution of networks and assess accessibility measures along these networks. The graph theory is also a simple language to evaluate structural properties of networks.
Retrace waterways however poses new challenges: they are following natural ways; they have undergone multiple technical changes. Several technical and topographic particularisms have consequences on the acquisition, structuration and analysis of the waterways network in France since the 18th century. This communication aims to show the strategies of acquisition and structuration of the database, by using primary and secondary sources. Methodological issues ask a choice between automatic or manual operations and suppose to implement historical details to assess speed along the waterways network: sluices, direction of navigation, size, maritime interface, entry point into the network. After presenting the database, we will discuss about the graph we have to build to identify the steps and characteristics of network growth and to assess travel times in France, next to other networks.
Mots clés : France|waterways|network|HGIS|graph theory
A104947CM