These relationships, called spatial relationships, are important because understanding them helps us solve problems. For example, in order to plan a delivery route, you need to know which streets connect, where they cross railroads, and which parts of town they pass through. Selecting a site for a new picnic area might involve finding areas near the river, adjacent to office buildings, and where there are plenty of trees. The relationships between feature locations are visible on a map. Any object can be represented using one of these shapes.
Points represent objects that have discrete locations and are too small to be depicted as areas.
On the Portland map, these include schools, churches, train stations, fire stations, and other buildings such as museums and the Department of Motor Vehicles. MAPS Small buildings, such as train stations, post offices, the YWCA, and the Department of Motor Vehicles, are represented as point features on the Portland map. Lines represent objects that have length but are too narrow to be depicted as areas. On the Portland map, lines represent freeways and roads of all kinds, railroads, bridges, and creeks. MAPS Freeways, bridges, and roads are prominent line features on the Portland map.