Plans are used to show the distribution or location of objects in a space or to indicate where buildings or places are located.
A town plan shows the location of houses, buildings, parks, etc, over a geographical area.

• Orthogonal checkerboard plans are usually used in cities where the streets are arranged in orderly, straight, parallel lines.

• Radiocentric plans are used in cities or towns which have circular avenues or streets that lead to a common point in the city.

• Linear plans show elongated places, usually near motorways or main roads.

• Irregular plans usually show smaller towns or villages which do not have a definite structure.

The cardinal points

A compass rose shows the four cardinal points: north, south, east and west. This helps us orient the objects on a map.

Symbols and legends

Many plans use symbols to show different landmarks and places. A symbol is a picture which represents something in the real world. We need to have a map key or a legend.

The scale and toponymy

Maps also have a scale. Maps are smaller than the real-life places they portray, but they maintain the same proportion. For example, one kilometre in real-life is shown as one centimetre on a map.
All the names of the different places on a map are called the toponymy of that place.