Atlas of the Survey National

Summary

O. Tulippe reports on the origins, compilation and publication progress of Belgium’s Atlas du Survey National in 1957. Following a 1947 proposal to assemble evidence for national spatial planning, the Survey National service, established in 1949, collected existing cartographic documents and mapped statistical data, recording both current distributions and recent change. Its manuscript Atlas Général contained about 400 documents under twenty thematic headings. In 1954, V. Bure authorized publication of this collection as the Atlas du Survey National, using colour reproductions at 1:1,000,000. Plate selection avoided duplicating material planned for the separate Atlas de Belgique and emphasized detailed information useful for spatial planning. By 1957, sixty plates had appeared, chiefly concerning population and employment, with further coverage of tourism, protection, housing and urban facilities. Most used communes as their units; some used arrondissements, and suitable subjects received absolute-number and percentage maps. Notices introducing each series explained the plates and their sources. Tulippe also describes free distribution by justified application, unresolved arrangements for schools, an approved commentary project whose format remained undecided, three related studies, and the staff responsible for production.