Simulation of changes of the Warsaw urban area 1969-2023 (application of cellular automata)

It is possible to make analyses within the field of GIS applying cellular automata. One of the purposes of socio-economic geography is indirect understanding of the phenomenon by analyzing spatial patterns and inferring spatio-temporal processes looking rather for local hotspots. The cellular automata are the tool both for spatio-temporal inferring based on local conditions and data visualization. The evidence is the case study of spatial simulation of Warsaw Urban Area (Poland). The author verifies the hypothesis that the present layout and extent of the Warsaw agglomeration determines further directions of the city's spatial development. To this end, he employs a method based on cellular automata theory.