**3. The metropolitan area of Ioannina**

In 2015, Ioannina was upgraded for two main reasons. Initially, it is now a crossroads of two major roads of the country. The Ionian and Egnatia Odos are joined 9 km from the city. The Ionian Sea connects the town with Patras and Athens, while Egnatia connects Ioannina with the Ionian Sea, Thessaloniki, and Istanbul. Also, the city is a cultural, historical, environmental, tourist, and administrative center of Greece. The increase in tourist flows through neighboring Italy and other Balkan towns contributed to the rise of visitors.

The unique natural beauty areas of the neighboring mountains are a mixture of the environment, natural beauty, and tradition. Also, the benefits of the traditional mountain settlements are significant. The buildings of the settlements were

**Figure 9.** *The urban area of Ioannina.*

**Figure 10.** *The historical center.*

**Figure 11.** *The metropolitan area of Ioannina.*

preserved. The main factors in the development of the wider region are the churches, monuments, restaurants, large hotel units, hiking trails, lakes, and traditional celebrations.

**Figure 12.** *The shape of the city in 2007.*

Finally, **Figures 9** and **10** are two images of the urban fabric and the historic center of Ioannina. The historic center has been preserved and modernized. Also, the city's urban fabric shows an increase in the west and east pieces (**Figure 11**).

The following images show the city in 2007 and 2015. In **Figure 12**, the urban fabric of the city is gray. **Figure 13** shows the shape of the urban fabric in gray—the green color of the forest cradles and parks. The urban fabric's urban density, perimeter, and area increased from 2007 to 2015. Cartography is usually carried out during building design, planning, and construction. The map contains a variety of important information [5].

In the end, the mapping process is a tremendous spatial example. The analysis of data, topological information, attribute information, and overlay study explores scenarios for the practical knowledge of the perimeters, area, and land covers of Ioannina.

The methodology of spatial representation in the city's shape became the QGIS software. Initially, the images were added to the spatial surface. Also, the shapefiles were created in 2007 and 2015. In continuous, digitization began with the editing tool of the city. Each shapefile was formed based on the urban fabric in the two chronological periods on the image. In the field of descriptive characteristics, the area, the perimeter of the urban fabric, and vegetation were added [3].
