Clevelanders, like citizens of many Rust Belt cities, tend to be huge boosters. They love to wear t-shirts emblazoned with borders of their town; they like to furnish their walls with maps of their state with hearts for their city.
We love Cleveland, too--and we really, really love maps. So we decided to create a book of new maps that show what Cleveland feels like; maps that are surprising, that have a point of view, that represent something we didn't realize we already knew. Cleveland in 50 Maps, the product of a collaboration between cartographer and data expert Evan Tachovsky, designer David Wilson, and Belt editor Dan Crissman, is the result.
To create this book, the team needed to study the art and science of cartography, research deep into archives and public records, and experiment with design. The book is as beautiful and memory-filled as the t-shirts that are so popular. But it is not nostalgic; it looks forward. As Crissman says in this article about the book, “The next map of Cleveland is not set in stone. That’s the core message of looking back at how the city developed: People make choices, and you specifically can help shape your city.”
Cleveland in 50 Maps officially publishes
