Tamar Soffer; Arie Shachar · 2001
The Atlas 2000, the fifth edition of the renowned Atlas of Israel, is scheduled for publication in 2004, nine years after the fourth edition in 1995. This paper examines the fundamental differences between the fourth edition and Atlas 2000, focusing on two main axes: contents and sources of information. In terms of contents, the new edition introduces two emerging national agenda topics: global climate change and its implications for Israel's agriculture, water supply, and geopolitical stability, and economic globalization, which reshapes industrial distribution, transportation patterns, and socio-economic disparities. Regarding sources, the edition leverages advanced statistical databases, GIS laboratories, high-resolution satellite imagery, and the 1995 census to enhance cartographic accuracy and expand the atlas to nearly double the size of its predecessor. Atlas 2000 aims to represent the state of the art in cartography and geography for the early 21st century, with the potential to transform geography education in Israel.
Haim Srebro · 2013
Editor-in-chief Haim Srebro describes the redesign and production of The New Atlas of Israel – The National Atlas, published in Hebrew in 2009 and in English translation in 2011. A legibility study of 105 university students informed the redesign, finding benefits from combining symbol shape and color and difficulties in interpreting satellite imagery. Production integrated Israel’s National GIS with government thematic data, using topological adaptation, generalization and automated name placement. Srebro reports that this workflow improved precision and updating, while initially requiring costly programming, slow editing and compromises in graphic quality. Teaching-oriented innovations included comparisons of maps with satellite images, orthophotos and oblique photographs. Expanded coverage addressed international comparisons, boundary status, desert-frontier development, metropolitan areas, planning, and demographic and economic change. Srebro explains that broader national coverage prompted the expanded title, but time, format and schoolbag-weight constraints prevented completion of a comprehensive national atlas. An interactive digital atlas and three- or four-dimensional GIS remained future intentions.
