I [HEART] maps. I [HEART] NY.

The New York City subway map has been updated.  This is the basic map that has been updated and edited since 1979.  It widens Manhattan, shrinks Staten Island, turns the parks from emerald to olive, and deepens the blue of the Hudson and East Rivers.  It removes extraneous information, like bus connections and landmarks - helpful, but crowded. It looks bolder and cleaner, as seen in the great interactive map feature of the New York Times online.

The previous map, introduced in 1972, designed by Massimo Vignelli, was more stylized and abstract.  I actually quite like it, from an artistic point of view at least.  More conceptual than practical, which is not great for tourists.  I enjoyed this description of the Vignelli map:

It was accurate in the same way a poem could describe a playground in March. Descriptive and accurate. But sometimes puzzling. People got lost using it. 

Here are links to the DC Metro and the London Underground maps.

I love maps.  I love NY.  I love subways and decent public transport.  I love design.