Check out the picture above: that’s what a U.S. map looks like once everything except roads is stripped off.
Boston-based design firm Fathom took away mountains, rivers, and place names to demonstrate how America is defined by its transportation infrastructure.
The project started several years ago when Fathom principal Ben Fry decided to create a map of the roads in Pennsylvania.
“During Ben Fry’s time teaching at Carnegie Mellon School of Design he created the map of PA as an example for one of use students. He says “…it’s one of those cases where even in a (relatively) raw format, the data itself is quite striking,” Terrance Fradet, a designer at Fathom, told Better Roads.
The Midwest maps show neatly organized grids of roads radiating from town to town because there were no mountains to get in the way. In New York, however, the Adirondacks and Catskills show up as blank spaces, while New York City is nearly black.
