Cartographical methods for assisting in project identification

Abstract

Location policy is one whose aim is the rational distribution of economic activity over a given country or territory; it is thus an integral part of general economic policy. Every development plan and each project must answer not only the question of "what to build" but also its corollary "where to build". Anyone who has worked with development plans and their implementation is aware of the vital importance of both questions. It should be added that errors in location policy have one outstanding characteristic: once implemented, they are almost irreversible. Fiscal policy or the pattern of management may be altered swiftly but a plant that has been already built cannot be dismantled without incurring heavy losses.