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Books : Transit Maps of the WorldIn association with Amazon.comRating:  - Impressive Collection of Subway Maps Smartly Organized and with Illuminating ContextI took one look at the evolution of the BART maps in the two pages devoted to San Francisco's transit system and knew I had to purchase this soft-cover coffee-table book. A writer with an obvious passion for cartography, Mark Ovenden has put together a most intriguing and idiosyncratic design history book examining the maps that depict the world's transit systems. This is not an in-depth book for urban planners or for anyone interested in the workings of a transit system for that matter. Rather, it looks specifically at how transit system maps have been designed to meet the needs of commuters and travelers alike. For travelers especially, these maps often represent the first impression of the geographic breadth of a city. Instead of organizing the maps in alphabetical order of the nearly one hundred cities included, Ovenden cleverly breaks down the maps into six zones. On one end is Zone 1, which covers the eight most elaborate metropolitan systems, all with extensive histories and maps that evolved in style over time. Particularly fascinating is the evolution of the New York subway from the intricate 1905 map that places Manhattan on its side to the nearly unreadable 1948 version to the austere, straight-angle design by Massimo Vignelli in 1972 to the current version that attempts to minimize the inevitable clutter. The other Zone 1 cities are predictably Berlin, Chicago, London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris and Tokyo. On the other end of the spectrum, Zone 6 itemizes maps for relatively new systems or those still in development. Thumbnail maps are provided for these cases. In between the two zones are cities with subway maps that look surprisingly similar in their diagrammatical design, a likely intentional decision based on usability ease. Consequently, Ovenden gives good reason for not making topographical accuracy a top priority. Maps become unwieldy and inevitably more difficult to read in a hurry. He supports this reasoning by lucidly sharing key aspects of urban transportation history that have culminated into a general preference for the angular, Beck-style diagrams. Map enthusiasts will find this all quite enthralling. Rating: - A treasure for those who love mapsThis is definitely one of those great books you'll be pulling out for years to look at. For me this book is special because I love to travel and there is something very sentimental about looking at the Metro grid of a city you've been to and used. I'm also planning to reference it for upcoming trips I take. I enjoyed seeing the progression and history of some of the maps as well. Awesome book! Rating: - Transit Maps of the WorldAn excellent and perhaps, unique look at maps of the subway and mass transit systems of over 200 cities, large and small from around the world. The transit systems range from the large complex systems of London and New York, to the smaller basic systems of Genoa and Detroit. The book covers both the general development of transit map as the evolved from complex geographical accurate renditions of reality to the simplified, easy to read diagram like maps in common use today. The book also looks at the evolution of a number of specific city maps, including London, Berlin, Moscow and Chicago, among others. The last section of the book covers over a hundred of the smaller transit lines, including a number of proposed systems and expansions. This book should be of special interest to transit fans, as well as those interested in maps or graphic design. Rating: - informative and a fun readGave this book as a gift to my cousin who is a world traveler and public transporation buff. He loved it! I ended up buying a copy for myself. Fun to read as well as a useful reference. The book is uniquely organized into 'zones' filled with colorful pictures new and old. Rating: - Beautiful Book!After seven months, Atlanta's transit people still haven't sent me their system map. This book provides me with their train system map, but not the bus system map. Anyway, the book reads like an Edward Tufte book - old maps show the development of today's simple, readable designs. |
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