Urban space & geographic representation

Urban space & geographic representation

Professor: Markos KATSIANIS

This course builds on the representation of the urban space from Antiquity to the present. Examples of historical maps and spatial representations are explored and milestones in the History of Cartography are presented, as well as alternative types of cartographic compositions (e.g. topological maps). The modern implications of the use of digital media are described through the exploration of new spatial imaging methods with examples of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and relevant technologies (Google Earth, 3D city models), while modern methods for the representation and analysis of the urban space (such as Space Syntax, Mental Maps) are discussed. This overview of the different cartographic products aims at understanding the basic cartographic design elements in the light of the symmetrical analysis of the map as a material actor, a communication medium and an element of sociopolitical configuration in the urban environment.