Cartographies of Catastrophes
Disaster Documentation and Reconstruction Plans in Europe, 1821-Present
Will be published approx. on 16. February 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
300 pages
978-94-6270-507-4 (ISBN)
Description
Disaster mapping and reconstruction from the 19th century to the present, with European case studies illustrating diverse regional and cultural approaches.
Cartographies of Catastrophes is an in-depth exploration of how disasters, whether due to wars or to natural calamities, have been documented and mapped over the past two centuries. This interdisciplinary volume brings together historians, urban planners, and architects to examine the role of maps in understanding, responding to, and reconstructing after catastrophic events. From the Greek War of Independence to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, this book offers a unique perspective on how maps shape our perception of disasters and their aftermath. With case studies spanning Europe, it provides a compelling narrative of resilience, reconstruction, and the enduring impact of catastrophes on our cities and landscapes. Essential reading for anyone interested in the intersection of history, cartography, and urban planning.
Cartographies of Catastrophes is an in-depth exploration of how disasters, whether due to wars or to natural calamities, have been documented and mapped over the past two centuries. This interdisciplinary volume brings together historians, urban planners, and architects to examine the role of maps in understanding, responding to, and reconstructing after catastrophic events. From the Greek War of Independence to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, this book offers a unique perspective on how maps shape our perception of disasters and their aftermath. With case studies spanning Europe, it provides a compelling narrative of resilience, reconstruction, and the enduring impact of catastrophes on our cities and landscapes. Essential reading for anyone interested in the intersection of history, cartography, and urban planning.
Reviews / Votes
This transdisciplinary collection is an important contribution to the role of cartography in responding to disaster and catastrophe. Spanning a long historical period from the early nineteenth century to the present with examples judiciously assembled from across Europe it graphically illustrates the techniques and underlying politics and polemical purposes brought into play. It is an essential source for understanding the role of maps in, for example, on the one hand nation-building or, on the other, histories of planning and reconstruction. - John Pendlebury, Newcastle University A valuable resource for cartographers and those interested in post-war reconstruction, this book offers an innovative, interdisciplinary perspective on the documentation of destruction and its role in reconstruction processes. Spanning the period from the nineteenth century to contemporary European conflict, it broadens our understanding of how destruction has been observed, recorded and systematised over time. Its contribution to the universalisation of knowledge about these processes makes it an essential reference for researchers in the field. - Michal Chodorowski, Bialystok University of TechnologyMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Leuven
Belgium
Target group
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
65 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 170 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
670 gr
ISBN-13
978-94-6270-507-4 (9789462705074)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Laura Demeter is a researcher at the Centre for Heritage Conservation Studies and Technologies at the Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg. She holds a PhD in cultural heritage management and development (2017). Her research focuses on heritage-making processes in the context of conflict and regime change, discourses of value creation, and war damage documentation. Carmen M. Enss is an architectural historian and specialist in urban conservation at the Centre for Heritage Conservation Studies and Technologies at the University of Bamberg. She is head of the UrbanMetaMapping research network. Piotr Kisiel is a historian affiliated with the Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space (IRS), specialising in urban history, heritage and nationalism studies. After studying law and history in Poland and Scotland, he completed his PhD in Florence. Carol Ludwig is a social geographer and city planner, with expertise in postwar planning strategies and heritage conservation at Saarland University. She has worked in planning practice and universities in UK and Germany.
Content
Acknowledgements
Introduction. Critical Approaches to Disaster Documentation and Damage Cartography, 19th-21st Century
Carmen M. Enss, Piotr Kisiel, Laura Demeter
Part I. Maps as Data Sources: Surveys, Strategies and Models
Chapter 1. Ruins after the Greek War of Independence: The Work of the French Scientific Mission of Moreas, 1828
Eleni Gkadolou
Chapter 2. Standardization of City Damage Maps in Nazi Germany, 1944: Konstanty Gutschow's National Mapping Guidelines and the Map Collection of the 'Working Group for the Reconstruction of War-Damaged Cities'
Carmen M. Enss and Georg-Felix Sedlmeyer
Chapter 3. Panciu (1940-1945): A Model for the Planned Reconstruction of the Earthquake Damaged Romanian Small Towns
Laura Demeter
Chapter 4. Emotionalization Through Maps and Texts: Semantic Strategies for Post-Catastrophic Territories in Central Europe
Elisa-Maria Hiemer
PART II. Disaster Mapping and Post-War Reconstruction Planning
Chapter 5. Bomb Damage, Opportunity and Rebuilding in Post-War Britain
Peter J. Larkham
Chapter 6. Mapping the Destruction and Reconstruction of Italian Cities in World War II: The Case of Brescia
Carlotta Coccoli
Chapter 7. From War Damage Mapping to Urban Design: Heritage Conservation in the Context of Reconstruction Planning in Austria during and after World War II
Birgit Knauer
Chapter 8. Mapping Terra Incognita: Planning Post-War Szczecin
Piotr Kisiel
PART III. Digital Technologies and Media: Challenges to Visualizing Catastrophes
Chapter 9. The Frontline Around Madrid: Comparison Between Battle Maps and War Remnants Density Maps of the Spanish Civil War in Madrid
Nicolas Marine
Chapter 10. War Never Changes, But War Maps Do? Critical Examination of How Digital Cartography Represented Russia's War in Ukraine in 2014 and 2022
Mykola Makhortykh
Chapter 11. Catastrophe: What Comes After the End? Mapping in the Exhibition Space: A Cartographic Investigation
Stefanie Plappert
Concluding Remarks
Carmen M. Enss, Laura Demeter, Piotr Kisiel
Contributors
Index
Introduction. Critical Approaches to Disaster Documentation and Damage Cartography, 19th-21st Century
Carmen M. Enss, Piotr Kisiel, Laura Demeter
Part I. Maps as Data Sources: Surveys, Strategies and Models
Chapter 1. Ruins after the Greek War of Independence: The Work of the French Scientific Mission of Moreas, 1828
Eleni Gkadolou
Chapter 2. Standardization of City Damage Maps in Nazi Germany, 1944: Konstanty Gutschow's National Mapping Guidelines and the Map Collection of the 'Working Group for the Reconstruction of War-Damaged Cities'
Carmen M. Enss and Georg-Felix Sedlmeyer
Chapter 3. Panciu (1940-1945): A Model for the Planned Reconstruction of the Earthquake Damaged Romanian Small Towns
Laura Demeter
Chapter 4. Emotionalization Through Maps and Texts: Semantic Strategies for Post-Catastrophic Territories in Central Europe
Elisa-Maria Hiemer
PART II. Disaster Mapping and Post-War Reconstruction Planning
Chapter 5. Bomb Damage, Opportunity and Rebuilding in Post-War Britain
Peter J. Larkham
Chapter 6. Mapping the Destruction and Reconstruction of Italian Cities in World War II: The Case of Brescia
Carlotta Coccoli
Chapter 7. From War Damage Mapping to Urban Design: Heritage Conservation in the Context of Reconstruction Planning in Austria during and after World War II
Birgit Knauer
Chapter 8. Mapping Terra Incognita: Planning Post-War Szczecin
Piotr Kisiel
PART III. Digital Technologies and Media: Challenges to Visualizing Catastrophes
Chapter 9. The Frontline Around Madrid: Comparison Between Battle Maps and War Remnants Density Maps of the Spanish Civil War in Madrid
Nicolas Marine
Chapter 10. War Never Changes, But War Maps Do? Critical Examination of How Digital Cartography Represented Russia's War in Ukraine in 2014 and 2022
Mykola Makhortykh
Chapter 11. Catastrophe: What Comes After the End? Mapping in the Exhibition Space: A Cartographic Investigation
Stefanie Plappert
Concluding Remarks
Carmen M. Enss, Laura Demeter, Piotr Kisiel
Contributors
Index