Friday Eye Candy: Subway-Style Maps That Explain Everything

Ok maybe not everything, everything—but the recognizable tropes of subway maps do make it easier to explain everything from the development of cities to musical styles to interstellar scale.

1 minute read

March 27, 2015, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Phil Edwards shares a fun and enlightening list of maps that apply the design tropes of subway maps such as the New York MTA's to everything but the subway. It turns out that the color and spatial coding of subway maps is helpful in providing access to many large and complex subjects.

So for instance, maps of all of the national parks in the United States and the travel routes of the world's largest passenger plan make a lot more sense with the help of subway map-style. Other maps make sense of spatial concepts that might never make sense to mere mortals without the help of subway map-style, such as a map showing the thrust necessary to travel between planets in our solar system, a map of the body's inter-related systems, or a map of the Milky Way Galaxy system—of which, for some perspective, our solar system is only a small stop on a tangential line that leads to the Orion Nebula.

My personal favorite is the map that plots cities as subway stops along the routes provided by North America's rivers.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015 in Vox

Black and white Rideshare Pick-Up Zone sign

The Slow Death of Ride Sharing

From the beginning, TNCs like Lyft and Uber touted shared rides as their key product. Now, Lyft is ending the practice.

June 1, 2023 - Human Transit

Red on white 'Room for Rent, Inquire Inside' sign

In Most U.S. Cities, Archaic Laws Limit Roommate Living

Critics argue laws preventing unrelated adults from living in the same home fail to understand the modern American household.

May 24, 2023 - The Atlantic

Vancouver Chuck Wolfe

Ten Signs of a Resurgent Downtown

In GeekWire, Chuck Wolfe continues his exploration of a holistic and practical approach to post-pandemic urban center recovery, anchored in local context and community-driven initiatives that promote livability, safety, and sustainability.

May 24, 2023 - GeekWire

Vacant storefront in historic building on Powell Street in San Francisco, California

Few Landlords Pay San Francisco Vacancy Tax

Less than 3 percent of properties potentially subject to a new vacancy tax were filed as vacant in the last year, but empty storefronts in the city persist.

5 hours ago - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of manufactured home being dropped off or moved by red truck in mobile home park

In Spite of Affordability Crisis, Richmond Rejects Manufactured Housing Plan

After declaring a housing crisis, the Virginia capital’s city council voted against a proposed manufactured home warehouse that would distribute replacements for aging manufactured housing stock.

7 hours ago - Greater Greater Washington

Graphic for '1000 Joys of Planning' with The Planning Commission Podcast

A Planning Commission Podcast Journey: The 1,000 Joys of Planning

The Commissioners explore the facets of the planning profession that fill their cups with joy.

June 4 - The Planning Commission Podcast

Project Manager III

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

UDO Transportation Planner

City of Charlotte - Charlotte Area Transit

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.