The New York Times recently ran an article on how subway maps are drawn here, specifically contrasting the relatively geographically accurate maps we have with the more abstract, diagram-like subway maps of other major cities like London (considered a design masterpiece by many experts). The New York map gives you an approximate idea of where you are, and the London one doesn’t even pretend to do it. Why are these maps answering different questions?

I know the London Underground map is a design icon, but I don’t just need to find out how to get from station to station–getting from one address to another is what I’m trying to accomplish. I’ll often be going to a place where I don’t know the neighborhood that well. It’s not a problem in most of Manhattan, but I am lost in large parts of Brooklyn, and entirely lost in Queens. The New York map gives you a basic idea of how far and in which direction you need to go to get to your final destination, but even it can’t be large enough to finish the job, by providing names for all the streets. Other people are trying to solve this problem, so I know I’m not alone.

It seems to me that the London map is oriented to help you get around the Underground, but not around the city; it assumes you’re familiar with the above-ground city, but not with the trains. This would imply a city whose population doesn’t change that much, and doesn’t move often. But since London is as cosmopolitan as New York, that explanation doesn’t work.

Then again, the original Tube map was designed in 1931. At that time, London wasn’t a center of immigration, while new York certainly was. So what we may have is a beloved legacy design that serves an audience that doesn’t exist anymore.

Or it’s possible that the waterways surrounding New York make geography more important than in London, which just has to deal with the Thames. I dunno, but it’s an interesting question.

Update: I think this new subway map from Kick Design, which has been discussed a lot lately, strikes a nice balance between geographical accuracy and ease of use. One really nice touch is that when trains share a tunnel, they still get a separate line, so it’s easy to figure out where a line starts and ends.

Note: This post inspired by a link from Khoi Vinh’s blog.