The New York Subway Map, Explained

An interactive feature reveals the origins and design choices of the New York Subway map.

1 minute read

December 4, 2019, 5:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Subway Map

Photo Kit / Shutterstock

Antonio de Luca and Sasha Portis have created a unique interactive feature about the New York Subway map, which starts in 1979 with the hiring of Manhattan-based design firm Michael Hertz and Associates in creating a new map for the subway, responding to complaints about the readability of the previous map.

Calling the map a "record of how graphic design, politics, and geography have shaped the city over the last 40 years," de Luca and Portis take a deep dive into the most famous transit map in the United States, revealing a few truly surprising and amazing facts about the creation of the map.

Monday, December 2, 2019 in The New York Times

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