Regional Cartography as Planning Infrastructure: Implications for Spatial Planning and Governance

Regional cartography has traditionally supported the representation and organization of territorial space; however, its role within contemporary spatial planning and governance systems has evolved alongside the growing emphasis on evidence-based and multi-level governance. This paper examines how regional cartographic frameworks are integrated into spatial planning processes and how they contribute to coordination, monitoring, and implementation capacity. The study adopts a qualitative research design based on systematic document analysis of key European and national planning and policy documents, using an analytical framework that conceptualizes cartography as a structural component of planning and governance systems. The findings indicate that, although cartographic tools, spatial indicators, and territorial monitoring instruments are widely employed, particularly within European analytical initiatives, their institutional integration within planning frameworks remains limited and uneven. Cartography is primarily positioned as an analytical or communicative resource rather than as a binding element of planning architecture. Drawing on the Greek planning experience within a broader European context, the paper concludes that strengthening the institutional embedding of regional cartography as a planning infrastructure may contribute to improved monitoring, multi-level coordination, and a more coherent translation of strategic objectives into spatial policy frameworks.