San Francisco Topography

The Atlantic Cities has done a piece on my transit map work with SPUR. Allison Arieff, who is also the editor to SPUR's Urbanist publication, interviewed me for the piece titled "A Fantasy Transit Map for San Francisco".

Courtesy Mary Ellsworth

In the piece, I described how to make the best map of a complex transit system. "Finding the 'Goldilocks' point, not too schematic, not too geographic, but highly legible is how a final map should look..."

Thanks to the multiple English authors who crafted the story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" throughout the 1800's. The story's repeated use comparison for finding the right point ("not too cold, not too hot, but just right", or "not too hard, not too soft, but just right) has proven quite powerful for us in the 21st century. Whether you're talking about the location of planets adapted for life, or describing the best price to set parking meter rates, Goldilocks is there to help you out with the perfect in between point.

Thanks to Allison for putting the article together.

Courtesy nytimes.com

Courtesy sfpark via npr.com