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Cartographies of danger : mapping hazards in America.

Material type: TextTextPublication details: Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1997Description: xiv, 363 p. : ill., mapsISBN:
  • 0226534189 (hc)
  • 0226534197 (pbk)
DDC classification:
  • 363.340223 21
Contents:
Subject: Maps can tell us a lot about where we can anticipate hazards, but they can also be dangerously misleading. California, for example, takes earthquakes seriously, having instituted a comprehensive program of seismic mapping, whereas Washington has been comparatively lax about earthquakes in the Puget Sound area. However, as the Northridge earthquake in January 1994 demonstrated, even reliable seismic-hazard maps can deceive anyone who misinterprets known fault-lines as the only places vulnerable to earthquakes. A better goal of hazard-zone maps is to highlight more insidious hazards and raise awareness among planners, local officials, and the public. Demonstrates how hazard mapping reflects not just scientific understanding of hazards, but also perceptions of risk
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Includes bibliographical references (p. 297-349) and index

Map scale, danger zones, and safe places -- Shaky preparations -- Lavas and other strangers -- Uncertain shores -- Death tracks -- Floodplains, by definition -- Subterranean poisons -- Ill winds -- Short-lived daughters and ELF fields -- Nuclear nightmares -- Imagining vulnerability -- Crimescapes -- John Snow's legacy -- Emerging cartographies of danger

Maps can tell us a lot about where we can anticipate hazards, but they can also be dangerously misleading. California, for example, takes earthquakes seriously, having instituted a comprehensive program of seismic mapping, whereas Washington has been comparatively lax about earthquakes in the Puget Sound area. However, as the Northridge earthquake in January 1994 demonstrated, even reliable seismic-hazard maps can deceive anyone who misinterprets known fault-lines as the only places vulnerable to earthquakes. A better goal of hazard-zone maps is to highlight more insidious hazards and raise awareness among planners, local officials, and the public. Demonstrates how hazard mapping reflects not just scientific understanding of hazards, but also perceptions of risk

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