A systematic approach to national atlas mapping

Van Elzakker recounts his design of Plate XI-16-S, “Outdoor Recreation”, published in 1981 as part of the supplement to the first edition of the Atlas van Nederland. He describes studying and classifying recreation activities, consulting subject specialists and planning and research institutes, and developing an ideal sheet before assessing available data. Missing information on dispersed day-trip recreation and demand for recreation facilities required some proposed maps to be omitted and others enlarged or divided. He acknowledges that the sheet could not provide the intended complete coverage. The finished sheet contains 18 maps—12 at 1:3,000,000 and six at 1:2,000,000—grouped into long-stay recreation, day-trip recreation and land use. Facilities receive substantial attention, with swimming and fishing maps showing spatial differences between supply and demand.