Book reviews: Atlas of the Netherlands

Summary

This review examines seven sheets added in 1971–1972 to the Atlas of the Netherlands. Accompanied by explanatory material, they address regional geology, urban catchment areas, land consolidation, municipal industrialization and twelve industrial branches, transport networks, and a national structural scheme for 2000. The reviewer highlights the atlas’s use of classified colors, interlocking zones, patterned boundary bands, proportional symbols, and multiple scales to synthesize complex spatial information. The urban catchment map and long-term planning sheet are especially notable for integrating hierarchy, population projections, land use, recreation, and industry. The small-scale industrial maps are judged clearer and more attractive than the coarser base-scale presentation. Overall, the installment provides a systematic picture of Dutch spatial organization, infrastructure development, and planning ambitions, demonstrating the national atlas’s value for geographical analysis and public communication.