Posts tagged Maps
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A city is only as accessible as its sidewalks. This map shows DC’s are often blocked.
The walk score of a neighborhood is important to many people. It can determine where you choose to live. However, what is not factored into the walkability score of a neighborhood is the actual condition of the sidewalks. Keep reading…
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This map shows a 40s-era plan to make East Capitol an expansive avenue
In the 1940s, there was a proposal to make East Capitol Street into a wide, monumental avenue. This map shows what it would look like, and provides some other glimpses into what DC was like at the time. Keep reading…
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Why do we use colors to name our transit lines?
There are numerous ways to distinguish transit lines, including using unique names or symbols. Here and many places elsewhere, our subway goes with colors. That’s because colors are a simple and user-friendly way to organize a system. Keep reading…
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Maryland and Virginia’s commuter rail look great together on one map
Maryland’s MARC train and Virginia’s VRE are very similar regional rail systems. This map shows what they might look like as a single integrated regional network. Keep reading…
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These beautiful maps show how the region’s population density changed since 1970
DC’s population growth has slowed since the 2009 boom 10 years ago, but the population still continues to climb. In December, the US Census Bureau announced that DC’s population reached 702,455, officially passing the 700,000 mark. Keep reading…
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These maps illustrate how big Dulles and BWI airports are
Dulles and Baltimore Washington International airports can sometimes feel like they’re not all that close to the District. But what would happen if they were built closer to DC? Like, in DC itself? Keep reading…
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Check out this map of DC’s horse-drawn streetcar routes
New York-based artist Jake Berman created and shared this unique map of streetcar routes in DC. But this isn’t a map of the modern, sleek streetcars we have today. Nor is it a map from the 20th century showing electric streetcar routes, such as the map Berman made that detailed streetcars and proposed subways from 1944. Keep reading…
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Where the wealth is in the Washington region, so is the exclusion
Our region is experiencing a 40-plus-year economic boom. We can see it, feel it, and hear it. Stories about the pressure exerted by the high cost of living in DC and its inner suburbs, particularly on longtime residents, abound—and rightfully so. But this economic boom hasn’t been constrained by geography. Keep reading…
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Happy Pride month! Check out this map of historic LGBTQ spaces in DC
Pride month has just begun. It’s a time of celebration, but also of protest, as the fight for rights for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities is still very much ongoing. The above map and its accompanying history tell the story of the bars, bookstores, group homes, clinics, and churches that have played essential roles in DC’s gay community for the past half century. Keep reading…
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Urban areas represent what cities really are. See them with this map.
How do you compare the population of cities across the country, correcting for the randomness of political borders? You can't use official city populations, and metropolitan areas are only a little better. Here's a better method. Keep reading…
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Video: Da Vinci’s early 16th Century techniques carved a path for mapping cities
Prior to the era of flight, accurately mapping cities was a cumbersome process. The intricate twists and turns of cities and the different footprints of their buildings posed major challenges to producing the accuracy and scale we enjoy today with our satellite-based maps. Keep reading…
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How would you improve the Metro map when it’s reprinted?
The Yellow Line will go to Greenbelt starting in July, and soon after, the Silver Line's phase two will open. This means that Metro will have to reprint all of its rail maps. Are there other things they should improve? Keep reading…
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This map shows you where to find cherry blossoms across the District
It's cherry blossom season, and local nonprofit Casey Trees is back with its updated Cherry Blossom Map to help you find the blooms. They've mapped out all of the different kinds of cherry trees across the District, not just the showy Yoshino trees tourists flock to by the Tidal Basin. Keep reading…
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Check out this map of Washington streetcar and proposed subway lines in 1944
Jake Berman, an artist living in New York City, recently sent us this beautiful map of existing streetcar routes and proposed subway lines in DC and surrounding areas in 1944. Keep reading…
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Portland’s transit agency made a rail system map styled like WMATA
Yesterday TriMet, the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon which operates transit in the Portland metropolitan area, created a fantasy map of its rail system modeled after WMATA. Keep reading…
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See a week of Amtrak trips on one animated map
This animation shows how every Amtrak train in America is scheduled to move, over the course of one typical week. Keep reading…
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Top posts of 2018: Rail in the region used to be far more robust. Here are all the railroads we had in 1921.
In 1921, you could take the train from downtown DC to Annapolis, from Baltimore to Harrisburg, or Winchester to DC. I built a subway-style map of the rail service our region once had. Keep reading…
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A mapping project shows how racial discrimination in housing persists in DC
A local mapping project from two local historians sheds light on the impact of racially-restrictive deed covenants that kept housing in DC segregated during the first half of the 20th Century. Keep reading…
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National links: This LA-area school used kids to protest a subway project
A school in Beverly Hills has gotten into hot water for using students to protest a subway project. All those bankrupt Sears buildings leave a lot of empty space in malls across the US. While most of the town of Mexico Beach was wiped away, this one house was left standing mostly unscathed. Keep reading…
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Newly proposed DC Comprehensive Plan language prioritizes affordable housing and preventing displacement
It’s been almost seven months since the epic spring hearing on the DC Comprehensive Plan, a planning and land use document that guides how the city will grow for years to come. Yesterday, the DC Office of Planning (OP) released an “additional assessment” of the bill under consideration and offers new suggested language to the DC Council. Keep reading…