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A Circular New York City Subway Map To Straighten Things Out
Daniel_Stuckey writes "The U.K.'s Max Roberts, a mapmaker and critic, has created a map that sees this problem and then solves it by adopting a similar distortion strategy to the MTA map, but to a far greater degree. The map heads in the direction of a diagram and away from a map representing features. It may be the most lucid reinterpretation of the New York City subway map I've seen yet."
"The U.K.'s Max Roberts, a mapmaker and critic, has created a map that sees this problem and then solves it"
Sees what problem?
Seriously, if you're going to summarise an article event then fucking do so the right way...
Concise description: a map of the New York subway system drawn in the style of the London Tube system map.
Where is the real map so that we can compare it to it?
Why can't people write good articles? Including the current map for comparison should have been an obvious thing to do.
But that's the point, these stylised maps are to navigate the transport system, not to get around at a surface level. They serve different needs. When you've a map where all the lines are geographically correct it makes it hard to understand how to get from station A to station B, make out the station names and there is a lot of wasted space! Have a look at the London underground geographical map vs the actual tube map for example.
Far better to have a map that fits the purpose. If you want to navigate at the surface level, buy a proper map.
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The subway system's colors weren't designed for Brooklyn. They were designed for Manhattan.
No, because its not the point of the map. its purpose is to make it easier to navigate the transit system. For example when your on a train, do you want a clear and concise diagram of the system so you can see where to change lines, or do you want a map that is geographically correct but is all squished together?
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The subway map is roughly geographically correct while not being all squished together. It's easy to see what stops you need to get off when you need to transfer and also it works as a real map for most tourists since a lot of attactions are displayed on the map (Rockefeller Center, Natural History Museum, Central Park, etc.) As a native New Yorker that uses a subway map almost daily, this circular design doesn't seem to add any benefit.