Digital land-use cartography—the example of Viçosa, Brazil

This work was carried out in Viçosa, MG, Brazil to present a characterization of this townʹs real geological urban risk. Input data was obtained to develop a digital database that could be useful for future urban planning and provide a more accurate characterization of geological risks. A simple software for storage and graphic visualization of the collected data was also developed. Field work comprised the characterization of 68 selected points in selected places, allow the recovery of several areas in Viçosa and to detect its most common geological risk situations. These points were characterized to standardize their description, and data quality, creating reliable database, and to incorporate the specificity of the area where Viçosa is located. A Geographical Information System (GIS) was then used for information storage and spatial analysis, either graphical or descriptive. Topographic and hydrographic data, street system and location of the points were converted into digital format. This digital topographic information was then used to obtain a digital model of the terrain and slope charts. The database obtained describes the geological processes, field evidences, main geological conditioning, soil or rock type, layer thickness, type of occupation, potential damages, geological risk, other important features observed, photos and sketches.