Analysis of Discording Geodemographic Structures and Space Polarization in Regional Context Using GIS Technology Case Study: Apuseni Mountains Romania

The Apuseni Mountains is the most populous mountain range in the Romanian Carpathians chain, but also the most vulnerable to demographic depopulation and urban polarization. From a methodological perspective, data structures were collected from the National Institute of Statistics, and after, its will be analyzed and processed using GIS. The analysis and mapping of research were done using QGIS 3.0 Girona and Microsoft Excel 2016. After using the Hot Spot Analysis (Getis-Ord Gi*) and Kriging tools, we created the theme maps. Research results reveal tremendous disparities in terms of population distribution in the mountain area, demographic pressure being exacerbated by the proximity to urban centers. The total population is 262,220 inhabitants, in 4,177 grids with a surface area of 1 km(2). The most populated cell numbers 5048 people while the least populated only one. General density reaches 23 inhabitants/km(2). There are 129,792 males, while females 132,428. Territorial polarization is weak and inefficient, unable to cover the area. The urban centers have been in full decline for the last 25 years, unable to economically recover. This is the main cause of their ever-increasing demographic decline.