The Retro Subway Map That Design Nerds Love Makes a Comeback

The M.T.A. has unveiled on Wednesday a revamped New York City subway map -- the first major redesign in nearly 50 years. As reported by the New York Times, the map draws inspiration from the modernist but controversial 1972 Unimark version, prioritizing clarity over geographic precision. It's also a part of a broader effort to refresh the system's image amid calls for infrastructure upgrades and political tensions over transit funding and congestion pricing. From the report: The updated version blends elements of the Unimark design with a successor known to some as the Tauranac map, after John Tauranac, a well-regarded New York mapmaker. That design was led by the firm Michael Hertz Associates. The new map is already being displayed on digital monitors, and will be posted in subway cars and platforms over the next several weeks, the M.T.A. said.

For Janno Lieber, the authority's chairman, the occasion was also an opportunity to tie his ambitions for the system to a critical moment in its past. 'This is a linchpin moment, like in 1979, when we started to fix the subway system,' Mr. Lieber said, referring to the year before the M.T.A. debuted its first capital plan to upgrade the aging transit system. As then, the system is in dire need of new trains and infrastructure improvements. So far, the State Legislature has yet to fully fund the latest $68 billion plan.

The Unimark subway map released in 1972. The latest iteration of New York City's map takes cues from the design. Two of the biggest alterations address the legibility of transfer points at some of the busiest hubs and the depiction of the system's accessibility features, said Shanifah Rieara, the authority's chief customer officer. Mr. Lieber declined to say how much the redesign cost, but said it was paid for 'entirely in house,' without a stand-alone budget.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.