Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 4
THE STYLE AND CONTENT OF CARTOGRAPHIC
REPRESENTATIONS IN STRATEGIC SPATIAL
PLANNING IN THE NETHERLANDS, GERMANY AND
ENGLAND
Earlier chapters in this topic have shown that the analysis of cartographic
representations in planning processes is a complicated matter. Yet, there are
several pointers in the literature which can offer partial explanations for the style
and content of 'planning maps'. In this chapter a framework for the comparison of
'maps' in planning is proposed, based on the literature and theoretical approaches
reviewed. This framework is then used to analyse strategic spatial plans in three
north-west European countries: the Netherlands, Germany and England. The
chapter concludes with a discussion of the significant differences in the style and
content of cartographic representations in different 'planning traditions'.
AN ANALYTICAL TOOL FOR THE COMPARISON OF THE
CONTEXT OF ELABORATION, AND OF THE STYLE AND
CONTENT OF CARTOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATIONS IN
STRATEGIC SPATIAL PLANNING
The different disciplines and theoretical notions discussed in the earlier chapters of
this topic can offer partial explanations for the content, style and use of carto-
graphic representations in spatial planning processes. The argument for combining
these different perspectives into one comprehensive framework lies in their epis-
temological underpinnings, which could be described as being post-structuralist.
1
All theory strands presented in earlier chapters have undergone a paradigm
change from a scientific and rational approach towards a more communicative,
reflective, hermeneutic and interpretative epistemological position. The underlying
thesis of the different theoretical approaches presented in the previous chapters
can therefore be seen as converging, and their epistemological turn towards the
understanding of the production of power with their related factors such as user or
actor focus and the influence of the social context on the creation of meaning
offers the possibility of combining elements of the different theoretical approaches
into one conceptual framework.
