What is the Atlas Working Group?

The Atlas Working Group is a forum for all those involved in the creation and editing of historical city atlases as part of the joint project "European City Atlases". The working group serves to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience, as well as to coordinate matters relating to content and the technical aspects of atlas production. Chaired by three "convenors", it meets during the annual conferences of the International Commission for the History of Towns.

The members of the working group include cartographers, geodata specialists, project staff, editorial team members and editors of the towns atlas series. The wide range of regional and national projects, some of which, again, are spread across various workplaces, makes the Atlas Working Group an important platform providing information and exchange.

The aim of their work is to ensure the comparability of maps and data in order to establish a suitable foundation for research on urban studies. To establish common data structures for working with geoinformation systems and the re-use of research data, a sub-group known as the Digital Standards Group has been set up, which meets online for monthly discussions.

Events

The next Atlas Working Group meeting will take place as part of the conference of the International Commission for the History of Towns (theme: ‘Forgetting and Remembering the Past in Urban History’) from 10 to 12 September 2026 in Kaunas, Lithuania.