FRANCESCO CITARELLA OPPOSING TRENDS IN MODERN ECONOMIES – CARTOGRAPHY AS A TOOLKIT FOR ANALYSIS Cartography is a basic tool for rationalising knowledge of a territory in order to ascertain the extent of physical and anthropical transformations and to interpret the complex relations existing between Man and his environment. Cartography is also extremely useful in the context of regional territory planning in that it underpins the construction of models, the identifying of potential solutions and the formulating of diagnoses: in a preliminary phase. furthermore, it helps to analyse the complex mosaic that characterizes an eco-sysytem, in order to determine which components - above all natural components - have conditioned or influenced the formation and evolution of a specific geographical space; in a subsequent phase, it enables the rational overlapping of specific factors for the purpose of delimiting homogeneous zones, characterised by geo-environmental peculiarities. Cartography is the most widely used tool in planning, by virtue of the fact that compared to other means of knowledge and divulgation, its instant expressive capacity enables the visualisation of components that are capable of affecting geographical contexts, it helps in simulating operative decision making, verifying environmental balance and identifying and resolving incongruences. Consequently, cartography and planning are an inseparable binomial of a simulation model structured upon a vast amount of information and documents through which vertical (diachronic charts/maps) and horizontal (synchronic maps/charts) readings can be obtained. From the Author's considerations outlined above, it clearly emerges that cartography could facilitate the interpretation of economic phenomena, imbalance and ongoing conflicts in various parts of the world. It could help to perform interdisclipinary in depth analyses and, in harmony with modern trends, investigate the reasons underpinning different rates of development based on parameters of international standing. Consequently, cartography, in concurring to interpret hierarchical and territorial functions, would enable on the one hand, the examining of core economic issues – from the exploiting of resources to identifying the different types of flows that affect the planet thus fostering a tight network made up of nodes of distribution and production - and on the other, the studying of forms and managerial systems of agriculture, the evolution of the industrial system and its gradual expansion, commercial relations, the role of science and research and technological innovation and not least, the capacity of finance to create links. In the light of such levels of complexity, only with a combination of visual representations is it possible to create a scenario of synthesis adhering to global reality, in an attempt to underline the intrinsic counterposing of trends in modern economies.
IL CONTRIBUTO DELLA CARTOGRAFIA ALL'ANALISI DELLE DINAMICHE DELL'ECONOMIA MODERNA.
CITARELLA, Francesco
2006-01-01
Abstract
FRANCESCO CITARELLA OPPOSING TRENDS IN MODERN ECONOMIES – CARTOGRAPHY AS A TOOLKIT FOR ANALYSIS Cartography is a basic tool for rationalising knowledge of a territory in order to ascertain the extent of physical and anthropical transformations and to interpret the complex relations existing between Man and his environment. Cartography is also extremely useful in the context of regional territory planning in that it underpins the construction of models, the identifying of potential solutions and the formulating of diagnoses: in a preliminary phase. furthermore, it helps to analyse the complex mosaic that characterizes an eco-sysytem, in order to determine which components - above all natural components - have conditioned or influenced the formation and evolution of a specific geographical space; in a subsequent phase, it enables the rational overlapping of specific factors for the purpose of delimiting homogeneous zones, characterised by geo-environmental peculiarities. Cartography is the most widely used tool in planning, by virtue of the fact that compared to other means of knowledge and divulgation, its instant expressive capacity enables the visualisation of components that are capable of affecting geographical contexts, it helps in simulating operative decision making, verifying environmental balance and identifying and resolving incongruences. Consequently, cartography and planning are an inseparable binomial of a simulation model structured upon a vast amount of information and documents through which vertical (diachronic charts/maps) and horizontal (synchronic maps/charts) readings can be obtained. From the Author's considerations outlined above, it clearly emerges that cartography could facilitate the interpretation of economic phenomena, imbalance and ongoing conflicts in various parts of the world. It could help to perform interdisclipinary in depth analyses and, in harmony with modern trends, investigate the reasons underpinning different rates of development based on parameters of international standing. Consequently, cartography, in concurring to interpret hierarchical and territorial functions, would enable on the one hand, the examining of core economic issues – from the exploiting of resources to identifying the different types of flows that affect the planet thus fostering a tight network made up of nodes of distribution and production - and on the other, the studying of forms and managerial systems of agriculture, the evolution of the industrial system and its gradual expansion, commercial relations, the role of science and research and technological innovation and not least, the capacity of finance to create links. In the light of such levels of complexity, only with a combination of visual representations is it possible to create a scenario of synthesis adhering to global reality, in an attempt to underline the intrinsic counterposing of trends in modern economies.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
