THE CONCEPT OF SPACE AND ITS PRESENTATION ON MAPS: THEORETICAL ASPECTS

The author defines cartographic space, i.e., the space encompassed by geographic maps, as the entire “geographic” envelope. Maps as spatial models of the concrete three-dimensional space of this envelope [increasingly this space is viewed as four-dimensional, when the element of time is included] depict geosystems of various levels and complexity and serve as an essential basis for analyzing their properties, internal processes, and relationships. The author argues against divorcing the study of cartographic space from an understanding of the content of the objects being mapped, and critically evaluates positions of other Soviet and East European cartographers on the “dual role” of the cartographic space of maps. Translated from: Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta, geografiya, 1986, No. 2, pp. 3-9.