Aims of the Atlas Project
What are the aims of the project?
The British Historic Towns Atlas project was established in 1963 as part of a pan-European project to produce atlases of consistent scale and content for the easy comparison of the growth and development of European cities. Although the style of each country's project is different, they all have a summary map at the scale of 1:2500 at its heart.
The aims of the British project, shared by the larger European project, are to enhance appreciation and understanding of the history and character of towns, to provide information, and to facilitate comparative study. The principle behind the Atlases is the production of easy-to-use maps and text which contribute to knowledge of urban history and provide tools for urban studies.
While the Atlases are bound volumes showing map sections on each page with accompanying notes, the Historic Towns Trust maps are fold-out paper maps displaying the town map on a single large page, with a gazetteer on the reverse. The maps therefore have a different format but follow the same aims as the Atlas project, to produce historical maps of British towns and cities for the purpose of building knowledge and appreciation of Britain’s urban past.
