DESIGNING AN ELECTRONIC THEMATIC ATLAS FOR THE GREEK INSULAR AREA

M. Myridis1, N. Karanikolas2, P. Lafazani2, D. Ramnalis2

1 - President of Hellenic Cartographic Society, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Cartography, P.O. Box 439, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

2 - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Cartography, Thessaloniki, Greece

myridis@topo.auth.gr

 

During the last decades, various efforts for the protection of natural and human environment have been promoted. Efforts that aimed firstly at the configuration of institutional frame, that could guarantee the maintenance of balance in sensitive regions that constituted and will constitute our heritage for the next generations. Particular importance was given to the protection of historical and cultural sensitive regions as historical and traditional settlements, sensitive built-up areas and other.

 

The scientific and conceptual background, concerning this research, is supported by methods and techniques, that sciences as Cartography and Geography, but also by techniques, as those of Geographic Information Systems, can offer.

 

Many reasons, coming from History, Geography, local social organization, economic factors and many others, are at the beginning of the actual situation of the greek islands ensemble.

 

These cartographic and geographic particularities offer a great and interesting challenge to scientists like cartographers and geographers. The human geography of this particular region is so complex that demands a very special and sophisticated approach.

 

Means like atlases and thematic maps offer usually many and variable possibilities for such a research. The localization of historical and geographically sensitive places, the measurement of different indicators, social, economic, demographic, cultural and others, will be the basis of the concept and structure of an Electronic Thematic Atlas of the greek islands.