科学证明，这些城市对路痴很不友好 | Cities to get lost in
For people with a poor sense of direction, it can be difficult to find a place rapidly and accurately.
But sometimes this is not their fault — certain cities are unfriendly even to people with experience in navigation.
In some cities, streets are organized well, making it simple to figure out the four cardinal directions: North, South, East and West.
This has to do with urban spatial logic and order, which can be quantified and analyzed.
Geoff Boeing, a professor of urban informatics and planning at the US' Northeastern University, provided a visual method to reveal the city's street orientation: Roads in each direction are shown on a polar histogram, with consideration for length, width and other important factors.
Let's look at two examples of his work.
▲ Street networks and corresponding polar histograms for Manhattan and Boston
Based on Boeing's research, a Ukrainian engineer at Mapbox, Vladimir Agafonkin, has developed a program to combine data and analysis tools in real time.
Here are the three cities in China where getting lost should be viewed as a rite of passage.
Wuhan
The urban structure of Wuhan is divided by the Yangtze River, the Han River and the East Lake.
Most streets develop along the veins of the water system, similar to Budapest, a Hungarian city.
Tianjin
The municipality of Tianjin is generally flat, but the street network is quite disorder.
It is said when the GPS navigation was not wildly available, chauffeurs driving from Beijing had to find a taxi to lead the way, despite the fact the two cities are close to each other.
Chongqing
Anyone who has been to this city will complain of having difficulty finding locations, even with navigation.
Recognized as a mountainous city, Chongqing covers multiple geographic dimensions.
Planimetric maps are not enough to display the whole urban situation — you may find yourself standing at the same crossing on a map, but the one you're looking for is 50 meters right above you.
The good news is many Chinese cities, like Shanghai and Shenzhen, are well-planned.
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The former has a shift of 15 to 20 degree in direction, while the latter is developed horizontally. The roads are in good order nonetheless.
Beijing and Xi'an are the two most grid-like cities, probably for historic reasons.
Both were the capital city several times during the imperial era, and the Chinese royal family attached great importance to a rectangular layout.
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It is said a Beijing local can identify directions even when staying indoors: "Move the table to the south a little."
Let's talk about some foreign cities.
In Europe, cities with relatively long histories such as Paris, Rome and London, usually grow organically.
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These cities are covered with irregular narrow streets and are sometimes interveined by streams or hills.
Most American cities are planned with a regular street order, but Boston is one exception.
Because of one-way streets and underground areas without GPS signals, even doctoral students who have lived there for years are said to get lost when driving downtown.
Have you ever lost your way in the cities mentioned above? Share your stories in the comments below.
Resources: Guokr, Mapbox, geoffboeing.com
Editor: Zhang Xi
Intern: Lin YuqinClick here for audio and traslation of the story
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