March, 19th 2012 15:30:52 / by Katrin Scheikl
The New York City Subway is the fourth busiest rapid transit rail system in the world. There are 26 subway lines with 468 stations. Not an easy thing to visualize.* In 2010 a major design relaunch tried to improve the maps’ readability. But subway map design has a long history.
1931: The London Underground, Harry Beck
In 1931 Harry Beck, an electrical draughtsman at the London Underground, was the first to produce a diagrammatic map. According to the New York Times this map would “go down in history for its graphical ingenuity”. Beck based the map on the circuit diagrams; the result was an instantly clear and comprehensible chart. This revolutionary design has survived to the present day. Beck also made some drafts of diagrammatic maps for the Paris Métropolitain.
1972: New York Subway, Massimo Vignelli
In 1972 Massimo Vignelli reduced the boroughs of New York to white geometric shapes and eliminated most of the topographic details and the level of visual noise by using gray (not green) to denote Central Park and beige (not blue) to shade New York’s waterways. This new and more comprehensible design was radical and often criticized. In 1979 Vignellis map was replaced by a more traditional topographical version, including the New York City street grid and blue color for the waterways.
2010: New York Subway, The Weekender
The new subway map for New York, introduced in 2010, was said to be a huge improvement but is still struggling to serve two purposes: the aim was to comprehensively represent the streets and to help navigation through the New York underground. There was, however, a great digital improvement: ‘the Weekender’, a little online guide to service interruptions.
Source: Fastcodesign.com, New York Times, Transport for London
Tags: London, NYC, subway
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February, 15th 2012 22:07:24 / by Steven Woollard
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Which is your favorite means of transport?
A bicycle is a wonderful thing, with feet for when it’s not. And those BIGREDBUSES. Get on for fun.
Why?
Eco warrior? No. I just like to be independent.
I get to see more on my bike.
I’m fully aware of left, right, up and down, forward and, to a degree, behind. Take nothing for granted.
Tags: bike, London
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February, 1st 2012 13:37:09 / by Saadath Blickle
In 2010, London launched its first two cycle superhighways. Joe Peach tested CS3 which links Barking in the east to London’s famous Tower Bridge and gives an overview on the pros and cons.
Source: This Big City
Tags: bikes, London, streets, UK
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January, 13th 2012 18:16:53 / by marion luttenberger
Which means of transport do you use usually?
As I already said: My bike.
Why do you use it?
It’s still convenient and I’m independent =)
Which is your favorite means of transport?
I can’t really tell. They all have pros and cons.
Why? What else?
I really love the way people in London reinvent everyday goods. We just happend to pass by an old car which was turned into an advertising pillar. =)
Tags: Bus, London
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December, 21st 2011 18:41:35 / by Katrin Scheikl
By swiping the Oyster card in London’s subway you can be part of “Chromaroma”. The app combines traveling and location based gaming. The Chromaroma player earns points for every access to the city’s underground, all journeys are visualized in technicolor. The tasks vary: Users can join a team to help “capture” a station, complete missions by checking in at special places or just spice up their daily commute.
Source: Chromaroma
Tags: London, subway
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December, 7th 2011 10:39:57 / by Katrin Scheikl
You might think the savest areas for pedestrians are pavements and sidewalks but this urban street design concept will prove you wrong: Studies show that drivers in “Shared Space” streets are 14 times more likely to give way to pedestrians.
“Shared Spaces” is a dutch design concept for urban areas which removes lane markers, curbs and pavements. Cars, cyclists and pedestrians are using the same street level. It makes the streets riskier and therefore safer – because it forces everyone to slow down and be aware of other people on the road.
Some European cities already adopted this design concept: You can find “Shared Space” streets in London (Exhibition road), Brighton New Road and even Graz (Austria).
Source: This Big City, Good.is, Wikipedia
Image source: Nurpax (Flickr)
Tags: bike, Brighton, cars, cyclists, Graz, London, pedestrians, shared space
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