Mark Ovenden's new book, Transit Maps of the World, a is vibrant 144-page tip of the hat to the world’s urban train systems. From the unusual Hamburg diagram, which lacks curves, to the pitchfork prongs of Buenos Aires, Oveden navigates the history of maps as they have evolved over time. After paging through the lovely volume, we tapped his expertise with a few questions of our own.
What is your favorite transit map?
I'm very keen on the current Moscow map for it's simplification of a complex network into pure geometry; the Paris one as I use it every day, and the London Tube diagram for it's historical contribution to good practice in urban rail map design.
How are transit maps connected to our sense of place?
Because subway maps are so prevalent in society, they have, in some
places at least, virtually replaced the physical geography of the city
in the minds of their inhabitants. This is especially true of the more
iconic maps like Washington, New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo. When
the Madrid map (based on 30 degree diagonals) was replaced this year
with a highly trendy looking but relatively stark diagram made up only
of perpendicular horizontals and verticals, the local population
reacted angrily as many had learned the feel of the city from the old
map!
How do you recommend travelers tackle foreign metro systems?
- Find out before you descend how to tell which direction the trains run in: Some systems use the Inbound/Outbound or North/South/East/West-bound idea. Many others use the terminal station to show the direction they’re heading in. You may have to check lights on the front of each train, side panels, or announcements to know how far or which way your train is running.
- Make sure you have the best value ticket—it’s easy to over- or underpay for a journey. Fines can be high if you ride too far, and day passes are often better value than buying lots of singles.
- Be streetwise, even below ground! Be respectful of local customs and always try to be polite. You may be the only person offering your seat to a pensioner, but better to be performing acts of random kindness than behaving like a cocky tourist.
- Make sure you know the time the system shuts: You probably don’t want to risk being miles away from where you are staying because the last train left ten minutes ago!
What trends do you see on the horizon for transit maps worldwide?
As more people can access the internet (many now from inside the subway trains themselves), transit maps will inevitably evolve into real-time, overlaid on other maps like GoogleEarth and will include more 3-D graphics. However the underlying map is likely to be based on the traditional diagram for some time.
With green living and sustainability becoming catch phrases lately, how do you think this will impact the design of metro systems worldwide?
Urban transit is invariably a more efficient way to move thousands of people quickly around a city. In the next 20 years almost every local authority will be forced to examine how useful mass rapid transport will be in solving their transit issues. With good planning, clean energy, and renewable materials, urban rail systems can play a key role in cutting everyone’s carbon footprint. And that’s good for the economy, good for the passenger, and great news for the environment.
Check out this US Carbon Footprint Map, an interactive United States Carbon Footprint Map, illustrating Greenest States to Cities. This site has all sorts of stats on individual State & City energy consumptions, demographics and much more down to your local US City level...
http://www.eredux.com/states/
Posted by: fred | November 06, 2007 at 11:50 AM
Wow Fred! That's a pretty fascinating map. Thanks for passing it along.
Posted by: Marilyn Terrell | November 07, 2007 at 11:48 AM