Aerial photographs as a means of communication in land use planning

摘要

Does the use of aerial photographs signify a technocratic approach to land use planning or are they an appropriate technology? Experience in Africa and Asia is used to explain the great practical benefit of this technology, also as a means of communication in participative land use planning. Spatial mapping and the use of aerial images ate almost as old as humanity - a child's drawing of houses and gardens, a sketch in the sand to show a stranger where a village is, climbing a hill to get an idea ofthe lie of the land. Economic, navigational and military purposes were added at a later stage and cartography became a specialized profession.