City map
Encyclopedia
A city map is a large-scale
thematic map
of a city
(or part of a city) created to enable the fastest possible orientation
in an urban space
. The graphic representation of objects on a city map is therefore usually greatly simplified, and reduced to generally understood symbology
.
Depending upon its target group or market, a city map will include not only the city's transport network
, but also other important information, such as city sights or public institutions.
In addition to linear true to scale maps, there are also maps with variable scale, for example where the scale gradually increases towards the city centre (a fish-eye projection).
Central to the information provided by a city map is the street
network, including its street names (often supplemented by at least a selection of individual house numbers), along with buildings, parks and waterways. Streets and points of interest
are usually also listed in a legend or register, locating objects on a map grid
on the map. Important places such as administrative buildings, cultural institutions, attractions, etc. may be highlighted with the assistance of pictogram
s. The map may also be complemented by representations of public transport
facilities.
, clay tablet
s were being produced with scaled, graphical representations of cities. Excavations of the Sumer
ian city of Nippur
brought to light a fragment of an approximately 3,500-year-old city map, which is sometimes referred to as the oldest known city map. The clay tablet depicts the temple of Enlil
, a city park, the city wall including its gates, along with a canal and the river Euphrates
. The individual objects on this map were already labelled, in a Sumerian cuneiform
.
, cities are often shown in profile, or viewed from an elevated standpoint. Nautical chart
s of that time sometimes depict partly stylized cityscapes drawn in pictogram form - for example in Cristoforo Buondelmonti's
Liber insularum archipelagi (Book of Islands), from the year 1422.
The Nuremberg Chronicle
, which first appeared in 1493, is one of the most important collections of city views of the late Middle Ages, with over 100 such illustrations. Nevertheless, panoramas like this one, or the one in Bernhard von Breydenbach's Travelogue from 1483, had more narrative or representative functions.
Illustrated in these works are the local conditions and relevant characteristics - such as ports, magnificent buildings, walls, etc. - as a background for highlighting historical descriptions or economic benefits of the city. On the other hand, less emphasis was placed on accuracy: in the Nuremberg Chronicle, merely one quarter of the city views represented the actual appearance of the subject city, and some individual images were even used simultaneously to represent several different cities.
had extensive knowledge of mathematical perspective
s and projection
s. This knowledge also affected the work of cartographers and the production of cityscapes (especially in Italy). A key innovation was that the city was no longer portrayed simply from an imaginary or real perspective, but drawn initially as a two-dimensional map, and then, using a process of accurate perspective drawing, transformed into a three-dimensional image. An early example of a geometrically exact and highly detailed work of this kind is the city map of Venice created by Jacopo de' Barbari
in around 1500..
Whereas the illustrations of the late Middle Ages are usually still simple small-format woodcut
s, an increasingly common process from 1500 onwards was the creation of prints from huge woodcuts and woodblock
s. Jacopo de' Barbari's map of Venice was already as large as 139 centimetres (54.7 in) x 282 centimetres (111 in), and consisted of six individual panels. From the middle of the 16th century, the copperplate process, originating in Antwerp, began to compete with the woodcut, and allowed far more refined and detailed illustrations.
.
Scale (map)
The scale of a map is defined as the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground.If the region of the map is small enough for the curvature of the Earth to be neglected, then the scale may be taken as a constant ratio over the whole map....
thematic map
Thematic map
A thematic map is a type of map or chart especially designed to show a particular theme connected with a specific geographic area. These maps "can portray physical, social, political, cultural, economic, sociological, agricultural, or any other aspects of a city, state, region,nation , or...
of a city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
(or part of a city) created to enable the fastest possible orientation
Orientation (mental)
Orientation is a function of the mind involving awareness of three dimensions: time, place and person. Problems with orientation lead to disorientation, and can be due to various conditions, from delirium to intoxication...
in an urban space
Urbanity
Urbanity refers to the characteristics, personality traits, and viewpoints associated with cities and urban areas. People who can be described as having urbanity are also referred to as citified. The word is related to the Latin urbanitas with connotations of refinement and elegance, the opposite...
. The graphic representation of objects on a city map is therefore usually greatly simplified, and reduced to generally understood symbology
Symbology
Symbology concerns the study of symbols.Symbology may also refer to:-Academics:* Semiotics, study of signs and symbols* Iconography, branch of art history which studies images...
.
Depending upon its target group or market, a city map will include not only the city's transport network
Transport network
A transport network, or transportation network in American English, is typically a network of roads, streets, pipes, aqueducts, power lines, or nearly any structure which permits either vehicular movement or flow of some commodity....
, but also other important information, such as city sights or public institutions.
Content and design
The scale of a city map is usually between 1:10,000 and 1:25,000. Densely settled downtown areas will sometimes be partly drawn in a larger scale, on a separate detail map.In addition to linear true to scale maps, there are also maps with variable scale, for example where the scale gradually increases towards the city centre (a fish-eye projection).
Central to the information provided by a city map is the street
Street
A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...
network, including its street names (often supplemented by at least a selection of individual house numbers), along with buildings, parks and waterways. Streets and points of interest
Point of interest
A point of interest, or POI, is a specific point location that someone may find useful or interesting. An example is a point on the Earth representing the location of the Space Needle, or a point on Mars representing the location of the mountain, Olympus Mons.The term is widely used in...
are usually also listed in a legend or register, locating objects on a map grid
Grid reference
Grid references define locations on maps using Cartesian coordinates. Grid lines on maps define the coordinate system, and are numbered to provide a unique reference to features....
on the map. Important places such as administrative buildings, cultural institutions, attractions, etc. may be highlighted with the assistance of pictogram
Pictogram
A pictograph, also called pictogram or pictogramme is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to considerable extent pictorial in appearance.Pictography is a...
s. The map may also be complemented by representations of public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
facilities.
Ancient Near East
As early as the time of the Ancient Near EastAncient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia...
, clay tablet
Clay tablet
In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age....
s were being produced with scaled, graphical representations of cities. Excavations of the Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
ian city of Nippur
Nippur
Nippur was one of the most ancient of all the Sumerian cities. It was the special seat of the worship of the Sumerian god Enlil, the "Lord Wind," ruler of the cosmos subject to An alone...
brought to light a fragment of an approximately 3,500-year-old city map, which is sometimes referred to as the oldest known city map. The clay tablet depicts the temple of Enlil
Enlil
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...
, a city park, the city wall including its gates, along with a canal and the river Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
. The individual objects on this map were already labelled, in a Sumerian cuneiform
Cuneiform
Cuneiform can refer to:*Cuneiform script, an ancient writing system originating in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC*Cuneiform , three bones in the human foot*Cuneiform Records, a music record label...
.
Late Middle Ages
In manuscripts and early printed books of the Late Middle AgesLate Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
, cities are often shown in profile, or viewed from an elevated standpoint. Nautical chart
Nautical chart
A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land , natural features of the seabed, details of the coastline, navigational hazards, locations of natural and man-made aids...
s of that time sometimes depict partly stylized cityscapes drawn in pictogram form - for example in Cristoforo Buondelmonti's
Cristoforo Buondelmonti
Cristoforo Buondelmonti was an Italian monk and traveler, and a pioneer in promoting first-hand knowledge of Greece and its antiquities throughout the Western world....
Liber insularum archipelagi (Book of Islands), from the year 1422.
The Nuremberg Chronicle
Nuremberg Chronicle
right|thumbnail|240px|Fifth dayThe Nuremberg Chronicle is an illustrated Biblical paraphrase and world history that follows the story of human history related in the Bible; it includes the histories of a number of important Western cities. Written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in...
, which first appeared in 1493, is one of the most important collections of city views of the late Middle Ages, with over 100 such illustrations. Nevertheless, panoramas like this one, or the one in Bernhard von Breydenbach's Travelogue from 1483, had more narrative or representative functions.
Illustrated in these works are the local conditions and relevant characteristics - such as ports, magnificent buildings, walls, etc. - as a background for highlighting historical descriptions or economic benefits of the city. On the other hand, less emphasis was placed on accuracy: in the Nuremberg Chronicle, merely one quarter of the city views represented the actual appearance of the subject city, and some individual images were even used simultaneously to represent several different cities.
Renaissance
In the 16th century, the artists and scholars of the RenaissanceRenaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
had extensive knowledge of mathematical perspective
Perspective
- Literally, in visual topics :* Perspective , the way in which objects appear to the eye.* Perspective , representing the effects of visual perspective in graphic arts- Metaphorically, in relation to cognitive topics :...
s and projection
Projection (linear algebra)
In linear algebra and functional analysis, a projection is a linear transformation P from a vector space to itself such that P2 = P. It leaves its image unchanged....
s. This knowledge also affected the work of cartographers and the production of cityscapes (especially in Italy). A key innovation was that the city was no longer portrayed simply from an imaginary or real perspective, but drawn initially as a two-dimensional map, and then, using a process of accurate perspective drawing, transformed into a three-dimensional image. An early example of a geometrically exact and highly detailed work of this kind is the city map of Venice created by Jacopo de' Barbari
Jacopo de' Barbari
Jacopo de' Barbari, sometimes known or referred to as de'Barbari, de Barberi, de Barbari, Barbaro, Barberino, Barbarigo or Barberigo , was an Italian painter and printmaker with a highly individual style. He moved from Venice to Germany in 1500, thus becoming the first Italian Renaissance artist...
in around 1500..
Whereas the illustrations of the late Middle Ages are usually still simple small-format woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
s, an increasingly common process from 1500 onwards was the creation of prints from huge woodcuts and woodblock
Woodblock
Woodblock may refer to:* The wood block, a percussion instrument* A woodblock or woodcut is used in woodblock printing, a method of printing in which an image is carved into the surface of a piece of wood, which is then inked, and the image is stamped onto a page* Woodblock graffiti is a type of...
s. Jacopo de' Barbari's map of Venice was already as large as 139 centimetres (54.7 in) x 282 centimetres (111 in), and consisted of six individual panels. From the middle of the 16th century, the copperplate process, originating in Antwerp, began to compete with the woodcut, and allowed far more refined and detailed illustrations.
19th Century pocket atlasses
One of the first City pocket atlasses, and the first pocket atlas of London, was "Collins' Illustrated Atlas of London" published in 1854 and drawn and engraved by Richard JarmanRichard Jarman
Richard Jarman was an artist, map-maker, and engraver who was active in London prior to 1857 and in Tasmania between 1857 and the 1870s.-Career in England:...
.