Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
cartography. Behind most cartographers there is a patron; and because maps
were crucial to the maintenance of state power in modern Western society, cartog-
raphy was early nationalised. From this external power Harley differentiates a
power
internal
to cartography, which is central to the effects of maps in society.
With 'internal' power Harley describes the power of cartographers over non-car-
tographers (Andrews, 1994); it is the power embedded in the map text or the poli-
tics of maps. The key to internal power is the cartographic process: the way maps
are compiled and the categories of information selected and generalised (Harley,
1989). This process of standardisation and normalisation leads to a standard
image of the world, and a reduction to a graphic formula. However, this process is
not a conscious one, and power is in general not deliberately or centrally exercised.
Still, the effects of abstraction, uniformity, repeatability and visuality in shaping
mental structures, and in imparting a sense of the places of the world, is important
to the understanding of the effect of cartography in society. Ultimately a map is just
one of many alternative visions of what the world is, or what it might be, but, by
articulating the world in mass-produced and stereotyped images, maps express an
embedded social vision. For example, road atlases are among the best-selling
maps in the developed world, but they promote a certain picture of the world: that
of gross simplicity and lack of context beyond motorways and intersections.
TYPES AND FUNCTIONS OF CARTOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATIONS IN
LEGALLY BINDING PLANS AND PLANNING PROCESSES
There is little previous work on the role of cartographic representations in the plan-
ning process, and what is available is usually in the 'home-country language' and
thus requires translation and interpretation. This lack of attention in the literature to
the methods and procedures for preparing planning maps might be related to the
understanding in many planning traditions of the 'plan map' as a specialised tool
which is prepared by planners for other planning experts, with little attention given
to non-expert users and therefore little need for explanation (cf. Hake, 1991).
The literature explicitly discussing the types of cartographic representations
used in statutory planning processes reflects to a certain degree the differences in
the planning systems, and is predominantly focused on the urban or local level. The
exception to this are some German publications on planning cartography in the
hierarchy of spatial plans, including
Länder
and regional spatial plans (cf. ARL,
1991; Moll, 1991, 1992), which are concerned with an improved perception of
complex 'plan maps' and technical aspects of conceptualisation and reproduction
(reflecting the regulatory nature of the planning system). The role of cartographic
representations in formal planning processes has also been considered in some
other countries. For example, Neuman (1996), Gabellini (1996) and Lussault
(1994) have discussed the function of cartographic representations in the local or
