David J. Bobinson · 2008
This review evaluates the Nuevo Atlas Nacional de México, compiled by the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Produced over five years by 153 contributors, the atlas contains 726 maps and 353 graphics organized into five sections: general geography, history, society, economy, and nature and environment. Through examples covering historical settlement, demographic change, migration, agriculture, industry, transportation, tourism, and environmental hazards, the reviewer demonstrates the atlas’s exceptional thematic breadth and analytical sophistication. Its principal strength lies not only in mapping high-quality census and remote-sensing data, but also in combining variables to reveal regional inequalities and interactions between social and environmental processes. Precise cartographic documentation, innovative visualization, extensive bibliographies, and outstanding printing further distinguish the volume. The review concludes that the atlas is a monumental contribution to Mexican scholarship and recommends an online edition to broaden access beyond the limited print run.
Pere Sunyer Martín · 2008
This review discusses the Nuevo Atlas Nacional de México, published in 2007 by the Institute of Geography of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) under the direction of Atlántida Coll-Hurtado. The atlas took more than four years and involved 142 specialists and 27 collaborators from 26 institutions, over half of them from UNAM. The reviewer stresses that it is not a new edition of the 1990–1992 atlas: it uses a more manageable format, changes the base scale from 1:4 million to 1:8 million, contains 656 maps at standard scales and 70 at atypical scales across 332 sheets, and was produced entirely in-house using GIS and graphic-design software. Statistical sources were updated to the latest data from INEGI, PEMEX, the Federal Electricity Commission and other public bodies. Four sections are retained (general maps, history, society, economy); the former nature and environment sections are merged, and international relations is dropped, leaving three sheets on foreign trade. The reviewer considers the economy section the most finished, finds the greatly expanded history section under-served by its texts, praises the society section's municipal-scale mapping but calls its two sheets on urban agglomerations a poor summary, and judges the nature and environment section strong on physical description but weak on integrated environmental analysis. He also criticises uneven text and map quality between authors and weak cohesion across sections, and suggests a school edition and future atlases at scales that cross administrative borders.
Aaron Pollack · 2009
This review assesses the Nuevo Atlas Nacional de México, published in 2007 by the Instituto de Geografía at UNAM. Edited by Atlántida Coll-Hurtado with over 150 contributors, the atlas comprises 726 maps and 353 tables, offering a creatively detailed portrait of early 21st-century Mexico across physical, historical, social, economic, and environmental dimensions. The review highlights the economy section as the centerpiece, which transparently demonstrates the impacts of neoliberal policies and NAFTA on agriculture, manufacturing, and services, alongside persistent social inequalities, massive migration flows, and severe environmental degradation. While noting the absence of topics like narcotics trafficking and voting patterns, and an underplayed human-environment nexus, the reviewer praises the atlas as an incredibly useful, well-organized tool for researchers across disciplines beyond geography, predicting it will become a standard reference for Mexican geography.
