Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
the 'policy maps' under study and many of the key diagrams - although sailing
under the flag of 'sustainable development' - therefore give the message of 'busi-
ness as usual' with the depiction of built-up areas and transport networks.
The power of 'being on the map' should not be underestimated, and the lack
of consideration of heterogeneous areas (such as rural areas) and policy issues
without a clear geographical 'location' (such as ICT) shows that although planning
discourse has moved on to reflect a wider understanding of 'spatial planning', the
insistence on the 'traditional planning agenda' in visualising presents a problem.
The debate about the 'network society' and relational and dynamic aspects in plan-
ning demonstrates the need to adapt the traditional mapping approaches, and
maybe to begin to question the underlying conceptions of space which are based
on proximity. The visualisation of 'network space' might require geographical distor-
tion, as has been shown by Brunet (1980, 1987) with his
cartes-modèles
, though
the in many cases still dominant belief in the undistorted, unbiased and objective
map might hinder the general acceptance of approaches to mapping that repre-
sent dynamic aspects and functional interdependences to the detriment of a well
known Cartesian representation of space.
THE DESIGN AND USE OF CARTOGRAPHIC
REPRESENTATIONS IN TRANSNATIONAL SPATIAL POLICY
PROCESSES
The analysis of how cartographic representations are constructed and used to
communicate spatial policy in transnational spatial policy processes was under-
taken by using the example of the development of the European Spatial Develop-
ment Perspective (ESDP) (cf. Chapter 5). The development of the ESDP was a
novel experience, and this was reflected in the uncertainty about the function
that this strategy should have in influencing the spatial development of the EU
territory. This uncertainty also affected the approach to 'mapping', which was left
rather late in the process, although it could be argued that visualisations as a
central element in the discussions could have helped to structure the debate on
appropriate policy responses and to overcome language barriers in a transnational
policy process. The consensus-led approach to agreeing spatial policy options for
the EU territory furthermore meant that many of the ESDP policy principles are of a
rather vague nature, and therefore do not lend themselves easily to cartographic
depiction.
However, although the function that the strategy should take was not always
clear during the process (and has only after adoption of the ESDP been more
widely discussed), different EU presidencies have been quite successful in
