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Patterns in spanish urban mapping: a historical analysis


Barcelona, Spain
Organisation: Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Cartografia (GEHC) | Museu d'Història de Barcelona (MUHBA)
In the historical development of urban mapping is not possible to distinguish a single linear path and cumulative progress. Instead, the mapping of cities has evolved following different models or specific traditions, each of which has a peculiar origin, its own language and techniques and defining operational characteristics.
In the case of Spanish cartography it is possible to distinguish between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries four distinct traditions:
  • the views of cities,
  • urban military topography,
  • urban cadastral surveying and
  • town planning maps.

The different types of urban maps formed in such large historical sequence only become fully understandable by considering their own tradition. The main aim of this symposium is to study the genesis of these models or patterns of urban mapping, to describe its essential features and analyze their mutual influences.
Venue: Martí l’Humà Room of Museu d'Història de Barcelona (MUHBA), placed at Plaça del Rei, 1, Barcelona
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