Ruth Helkiær Jensen · 1978
This review describes the employment installment of Atlas zur Raumentwicklung, edited by Karl Ganser (Bonn, 1976; 16 sheets). It covers overall employment patterns in West Germany and distributions by industry, enterprise, and public sector. Unemployment analysis extends to maps of labour-market balance, alongside migration and commuting; regional sheets and European overviews conclude the installment. The reviewer notes that its detail and production quality match those of the previously reviewed population atlas.
Werner Witt · 1978
This review evaluates the first published sections of the 1976–1977 Atlas zur Raumentwicklung, devoted to employment and population. Although presented as a continuation of an earlier geographical atlas of West Germany, the new work differs fundamentally in its policy-oriented organization, spatial units, scales, and interpretive ambitions. The reviewer compares both projects and critically examines the atlas’s cartographic methods. Most maps use relative values, changing reference units, and six to eight color classes, making cross-map comparison difficult and increasing the risk of visual misinterpretation. Combining absolute and relative representations could have reduced these problems. Moreover, the maps function chiefly as illustrations rather than independent tools for regional analysis, while accompanying texts emphasize spatial-planning evaluations. The review therefore questions whether the atlas genuinely supports analysis and forecasting or merely visualizes predetermined planning perspectives, highlighting the susceptibility of thematic maps to methodological manipulation.
Michael Blakemore · 1981
Michael Blakemore reviews the first five published thematic volumes of BfLR's Atlas zur Raumentwicklung—work, population, housing, leisure, and land use—within a planned eleven-volume series intended for planners, educational and research institutions, and other users in and outside West Germany. Each volume has about 10–14 large map sheets, moving from an early-1970s overview through temporal and regional comparisons, local examples, European Economic Community comparisons, and updates. Multilingual titles accompany charts and German explanatory text. Although most data date from the late 1960s and early 1970s, Blakemore praises their coherent analysis and graphic presentation. He examines colour schemes, graduated symbols, legends, and computer-assisted production, including storage and generalization of base-map geometry. His criticisms include the delayed administrative-boundaries reference volume, confusing colours on some maps, and partially obscured text. The population sheet 4.12 communicates patterns at several viewing distances, whereas the greens on land-use sheet 7.04 become confusing at a distance. Blakemore nevertheless judges the atlas valuable for West German regional planning and small-group teaching, and credits its use of computers with freeing cartographers to concentrate on design.
