Tactile geographical atlas of Moscow
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Medvedev, A.; 2Alekseenko, N.
1INSTITUTE OF GEOGRAPHY RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Email: a.a.medvedeff@gmail.com
2MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY Email: valtuz@mail.ru
Abstract
About 1 million visually impaired people live in Russia, 11 000 − in Moscow. For visually impaired people maps are one of the most important means of social and cultural rehabilitation. Tactile maps in Russia have not yet been created despite the fact that this direction is well develop in the world. The aim of this work was to introduce new ways of information presentation in Russia that would allow people with disabilities use cartographic products. We have started with the creation of a tactile geographical atlas of Moscow. This atlas is not just a promotional publication for blind and visually impaired, but also a scientific publication issued in a form of experimental cartographic product based on advanced technologies and tactile graphics. The user of a tactile atlas requires a more time to get acquainted with the general geographic basis, so a series of basic geographic maps is given in the atlas. After getting acquainted with the elements of the geographical base of the reader can deal with more complex maps, containing a large number of elements. A specific set of geographical base varies depending on the specific topic of the map. Elements remain closely associated with the phenomenon being mapped on the subject or to help navigate the space map. The section “Nature and Ecology” includes 10 topics: geological structure, geomorphology, topography, surface water, soil, vegetation, wildlife, landscapes, the quality of the environment and natural reserves. Section “socioeconomic geography” includes 5 themes: population, production and services, science and culture, health, historical and cultural heritage. The third section – “New Moscow” contains two themes: nature and resources, population and economy. Each of those may contains up to 8 maps. Atlas has a large amount of text that explains the contents of maps. It is expected that this will facilitate the understanding of cartographic material for blind and visually impaired. For example, the soil map shows the basic patterns of soil distribution on the territory of New Moscow: dominating is sod-podzolic soil, which is the zonal and is located mainly on the watersheds. In river valleys are covered with alluvial soil. After reading the texts it would be easier for the user to find the dependence of soil distribution from the relief and the hydrographic network. All diagrams and tables of the atlas as well as map legends and explanatory texts are compiled according to the rules of tactile graphics. The published atlas will be widely circulated in Russia, spread through specialized libraries and visitor centers of museums and natural reserves. It is also recommended for the use in the educational process in specialized schools.
Keywords
tactile atlas; moscow; tactile graphics