Propuesta de metodología para la generalización cartográfica para el mapeo topográfico de áreas urbanas

Abstract

Cartographic generalization can be describe as a process which preserves the char- acteristics of the features represented on a map, when its scale is reduced, in a way that the user can easily understand the information presented. It is a process of quantitative and qualitative adaptation. The production of topographic maps in different scales by generalization is performed in many countries, and this makes the production and the actualization of basic maps more efficient. Set in the gener- alization context, this research aims to define a methodology to represent buildings, property boundaries and street features in scale 1:5.000 by generalization of the topographic maps in scale 1:2.000. This was made by the analysis of the feature classes in reduced scale, identification of the representation problems, definition and application of the generalization operators. The results were achieved using ArcMap and the generalization operators of elimination, simplification and amal- gamation. Each one was applied according to the representation problem. Manual generalization it is a subjective and intuitive process, then the results depend on the generalization operators and the degree of their application, and these factors are consequential of the decisions taken by the cartographer.