Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
literal reality (VROM, 2000). In planning traditions following the 'comprehensive
integrated approach' (CEC, 1997), such as the Netherlands, Germany or
Denmark, such 'target images' are a favoured means of steering everybody
towards an often abstractly formulated long-term goal. In countries that follow an
'urbanism' tradition, such as Spain or Italy, maps are interpreted more as a blue-
print.
Besides these different understandings of 'planning', the ESDP process also
made the differences in approach and understanding about the European territory
obvious, which might be a reflection of planning traditions and dominant disciplines
in planning, but also influenced by individual's preferences and initiative. On the
one hand, one can distinguish the 'qualitative' approach, as used for the French
trend scenarios. Here, maps were not geo-referenced, but instead highly gener-
alised (using what the French call a 45° map), and putting emphasis on attractive
design and layout. Subsequently, and in order to arrive at a comparable database
for Europe, this moved towards a more quantitative approach using GIS and geo-
referenced data. However, the GIS software packages currently available restrict
the level of generalisation that can be achieved, resulting in somewhat more
detailed maps with clearer boundaries (and thus making the identification of one's
territory easier). Furthermore, and possibly more fundamental than the actual layout
and design of the map, there is the still dominant understanding of analytical
mapping and GIS as presenting a scientific and unbiased picture of the territory.
The layout and production process of any cartographic representation thus needs
to be considered carefully, as besides the actual content of the map its appear-
ance will communicate a certain status to the user. There is a place for both spatial
analysis maps as well as highly abstract policy maps in transnational spatial plan-
ning processes, yet it needs to be clear what their respective functions are. The
purpose and function of a map are extremely important in a transnational spatial
planning process, and need to be discussed openly in order to avoid misunder-
standings. Clarity needs to be achieved early on whether an analysis of the current
situation, trends or policy intentions are represented, and this has to be reflected in
the cartographic design. Different aspects need to be considered for different
types of map at this level of scale. For spatial analysis, GIS software packages
might be the appropriate tool, and the major determining factors are the availability
of comparable data, definitions and indicators. In contrast, for abstract policy maps
a highly generalised design should be chosen for which graphic design software
packages might be more appropriate. The basis of these policy maps might be
analytical geo-spatial data, though the emphasis for the representation of policy (or
of spatial trends) is clearly on communicative aspects. In order to gain approval for
an informal strategy in a diverse planning community due attention therefore needs
to be given to an attractive representation.
