Thematic mapping for the definition of territorial development strategies in the Province of Biella

The current research aims at investigating the potential of the mapping process as a tool to support the definition of territorial development strategies in large scale contexts. Particularly, the research refers to the GIS-based spatial analysis that, on the one hand, enables the management of heterogeneous georeferenced data, available through various sources and on the other hand, enables the drawing of synthetic maps which can support decision-makers. The research focuses on the territory of the Province of Biella in northwest Italy, where new territorial strategies need to be developed in order to enhance the widespread heritage of industrial archaeology, mostly related to the textile industry, which was strongly interlaced with this territory and its natural resources. The methodology has been developed with the main aim to map the areas where industrial archaeology settlements, natural/landscapeva lues and infrastructural accessibility overlap spatially. The spatial analysis has been performed by structuring a multilayers geodatabase with GIS tools which allows to find out the most suitable areas in terms of design opportunities. The main outcomes of the research are described by a sequence of thematic maps, about the Province of Biella, which provides an overall visualization of the territory from a different perspective, between analytic and synthetic representations.