Glossary of Geography, Cartography, and Geopolitics Terms
Geography, Cartography, and Geopolitics Glossary
Cartography and Geography
Contour (Isohipsas)
Solid lines used in the representation of relief on topographic maps. The equidistance (difference in altitude between two successive curves) is 20 meters in the National Topographic Map scale 1/50000. Master curves are thicker and represent elevations that are multiples of equidistance.
Geographic Area
Understood as a social product (i.e., a result of human activity on nature), its objective is the study of social processes that create and change geographic space.
Landscape
A reflection of human performance in the physical environment, interrelating the physical environment and the transforming actions of human beings.
Scale
The relationship between a length on the map and the corresponding length in reality.
Map Legend
A repertoire of signs, inks, and lettering used in a map, indicating their meaning.
GIS (Geographic Information System)
Includes hardware and software for working with geo-referenced databases (i.e., with information from various geographical elements).
Map
The representation of the Earth’s spherical surface on a plane. This requires a projection system and scale.
Plan
A large-scale map (scale denominator less than 10000).
Longitude
The angular distance from any point on Earth to the 0° or Greenwich meridian.
Latitude
The angular distance (measured in degrees) from any point on Earth to the Equator.
Geopolitics and Socioeconomics
Globalization
The process of building a single economic space across the planet where the production and circulation of goods and services are regulated by market laws. Its expansion is based on new technologies that increase the capacity to generate and transmit information, enabling companies to operate synchronously and in real time, encouraging financial concentration. While extending the areas of production and market, it establishes a dense network of streams that interconnect businesses and territories. The importance of the distance factor reduces, and the myth of a “global village” is born. Critics of the system believe that with globalization, traditional social and spatial imbalances continue or even grow, while new ones emerge.
Human Development Index (HDI)
Established by the UN, it is calculated using the average of three indicators: GDP/per capita, life expectancy, and literacy and enrollment rate (primary, secondary, and higher). Each country receives a score between 0 and 1: High (0.8+), Medium (0.5-0.8), Low (-0.5). Spain’s HDI in 2005 was 0.9, placing it 13th in the world.
Welfare State
A European social policy, with variations between northern and southern EU countries, consisting of government measures and actions providing services and benefits to ensure decent living conditions and welfare for all citizens. The welfare state, of social democratic inspiration, was threatened after the 1975 crisis and the implementation of neoliberal policies.
Cohesion Fund
Established by the Maastricht Treaty to reduce disparities between national economies and facilitate the convergence of the least developed EU countries. Member states with a GNP per capita less than 90% of the EU average in 1992 and a program meeting convergence conditions may benefit. Currently, these countries are Greece, Spain, Ireland, and Portugal. It focuses on environmental projects and transport, telecommunications, and energy infrastructure.
Structural Funds
Aid packages aimed at reducing regional disparities within the EU. Allocated to regions meeting Objectives 1, 2, and 3. Objective 1 promotes development through infrastructure creation in regions with a GDP per capita less than 75% of the EU average. Objective 2 addresses the socioeconomic conversion of agricultural, fisheries, industrial, or urban crisis areas. Objective 3 promotes human resources through the adaptation and modernization of education, training, and employment policies and systems. The main EU structural funds are the ERDF, EAGGF, and ESF.
Community Initiatives
Initiatives taken by the EU to improve conditions in member countries and achieve a sustainable balance.
Maastricht Treaty
Signed in 1992 and effective in 1993, it transformed the European Community into the European Union and established a timetable for economic and monetary union, foreign and security policy, and cooperation in justice and home affairs. Signatories included the six founding members, Denmark, Ireland, the UK (1973), Greece (1981), Spain (1986), and reunified Germany (1991).
State of Autonomy
A state organization recognizing the right of self-government to regions and nationalities. Introduced in Spain by the 1978 Constitution, which established the conditions and process for achieving autonomy.
Cabildo
A modern administrative institution exclusive to the Canary Islands (Spain), originating from the Councils or governing councils of the Old Regime. These island-wide bodies exist on El Hierro, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, La Palma, Lanzarote, and Tenerife.
Territorial Compensation Fund
Economic compensation provided by a country’s government to its regions as aid for improvement.