Digital Mapping and Demographic Challenge: A Case Study of Application in an Andalusian Municipality

Drawing and graphic representation is a powerful tool in any design process. As social challenges have become more complex, the drawing techniques used to address them have evolved. Therefore, digital tools such as the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) facilitate the management of complex information about landscape and society to develop a cartography able to improve decision-making processes through graphical representation. In this context, the aim of this paper is to analyze how the use of GIS tools facilitates the development of maps for the visualization of complex problems such as the demographic challenge. The study focuses on the case of Arroyomolinos de León (Huelva), a municipality affected by demographic decline where empty and abandoned housing is located. To this end, the creation of digital maps based on data from diverse sources of information is proposed in order to geolocate the empty and rehabilitated housing of the municipality. These maps allow to visualize the housing situation of the municipality through graphic diagnosis and could be used to define strategies for the activation of this vacant stock as well as the regeneration of the area.