According to the NYCityMap, my neighborhood of Woodside Queens has been a relatively residential zone for as far back as the maps go (1924). As the years progress, the maps show that more and more residential properties were built in the empty areas. As the neighborhood became more populated in the 1996 aerial view, the streets also expanded to allow for more vehicle traveling space. The six lane Brooklyn-Queens Expressway is seen complete in the 1996 aerial view. From then on, the most prominent changes in the 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012 maps are the increased density of the neighborhood and the improvement of roads and traffic lights to accommodate the influx of residents.
NYCityMap provides an objective interpretation of my neighborhood, as it encompasses the adjacent buildings, parks, and roads. However, as an individual, my definition of neighborhood is subjective and more nuanced in places I am emotionally attached to. When asked to illustrate my neighborhood I highlighted routes that I frequent and places that have come to shape me as a person. These include my current place of residence, locations of firms I am interested in working for, spots that I am particularly fond of, and the Greater Toronto Area—where I spent my childhood. If handed to an audience who was unfamiliar with New York City and Southern Ontario, I do not anticipate them to grasp the gist of my map, after all my drawing is abstract compared to the standard map and is tailored to my life experiences.
Compared to my partner’s sketch of her neighborhood, our maps differ in specificity. Her map was a much more zoomed in view of the street she lived on, the adjacent streets, the nearby establishments that she frequents, as well as the train and bus stops that she takes. Her depiction of 8th Avenue, Brooklyn also mimicked the standard maps we are used to seeing, thus making it easier to visually navigate her neighborhood. Not only was my map a zoomed-out view because I wanted to include Queens, Manhattan, and Toronto but it was also less precise as I completely abandoned the use of straight lines and the division of streets. A viewer familiar with New York City may be able to surmise the approximate neighborhoods in which some of my highlighted marks are. Not to mention, my map is harder to read because it does not include any words whereas my partner’s map was distinctively labeled.
However, I do not believe the difference in our outline of our neighborhoods is a reflection of our personability. Instead, it is the stationary tools we had at our disposal and our varying definition of neighborhood. My partner happened to be carrying a ruler around whereas I was drawing my neighborhood on an iPad. The mediums we choose to convey our interpretation of neighborhood was different. Furthermore, as we are two different people, it only made sense that our life experiences are different, thus when asked to illustrate spots and routes that are tangent to our lives, we produce non-identical maps.
