Mapping the Future with the Topographic Map

The topographic map is a special kind of representation. Combining both natural and manmade features, this kind of map represents the actual physical surface of an area, and all the buildings, road networks and other infrastructure that has been placed within it. As such, the usefulness of topographic cartography extends beyond simple route finding.

When an organisation, like for example a planning organisation, starts looking at areas of the country that may be good for development, it needs to know a lot more than just how high a place’s elevation might be, or what kind of surrounding geography it contains. This information is necessary, obviously, but it doesn’t deliver a full enough picture. The topographic map can be used to connect information about the landscape with information about current installations of service provision – telegraph wires; gas and electricity; water mains; roads – and information about the existing infrastructure of surrounding buildings.

The topographic representation allows a planning organisation or a construction company to identify likely development areas in advance, and to construct a feasible picture of the way the area will look and work once a proposed project has been completed. This kind of information is vital in isolating the right places to build – and in securing the proper funding and permissions for the building to go ahead.

The topographic map is all about understanding. It’s about understanding what the man made world is like now and what it will be like in the future. It allows development companies to plan their future building to make the best use of available geography and infrastructure – and, where possible, to introduce buildings and services into areas where they are sorely needed. This need can be financial, if an area is looking to inject some new business capital, or it can be fundamental – as in the case of hospitals, fire stations and police stations.

The topographic map is equally useful for some of the services that use those much needed installations – the police service; the ambulance service; and the fire service. Forward planning for potential emergency situations is imperative wherever a large event is on the horizon – a Royal visit, say, or the Olympic opening ceremony. The emergency services are able to use a topographic representation of an area to isolate potential threats and hazards – and to pre plan points where service provision (fire risers, for example) can help in their handling of a situation.

Similarly, the topographic map can be used by the military to plan operations – both practice and real. The reason that emergency services and military units are so well equipped to deal with real world situations is their insistence on planning. When you are already familiar with terrain and infrastructure you can deliver a much better solution to any event – because that solution has, in whole or in part, been pre planned.