Plenary meeting of the Commission on National Atlases of the International Geographical Union in London, 22–24 July 1964

Summary

This report describes the plenary meeting of the International Geographical Union’s Commission on National Atlases, held in London on 22–24 July 1964. The available opening and closing sections cover the review of work in 1960–1964, exchanges on atlas production, and future tasks; the commission became a permanent commission in 1964. Publications discussed include Soviet research on regional atlases, an expanded Polish bibliography of national and regional atlases, and the proceedings of the 1962 Budapest meeting. Technical discussions address standardization and comparability of map content and legends: scale-dependent, comparable geomorphological legends; partial standardization of soil legends; a decimal classification of industry; and population-map recommendations informed by international consultation. The closing section examines the socioeconomic emphasis of a recommended programme for French regional atlases. Population and economic maps account for over two-thirds of its sheets, and coverage of services expands, while maps of external economic relations and regional roles within the country remain absent. The planned 84-sheet Atlas of Paris would include Paris’s role in France. An atlas exhibition involved 39 countries. Adopted resolutions call for continued atlas analysis, bibliography, and international cooperation; propose working groups on agriculture, transport, and water resources; encourage synthetic maps; authorize a survey of atlas prices, sales, and users; and request funding arrangements with organizations such as UNESCO and FAO to support working groups and atlas production for developing regions.