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CITIES

THE NITTY GRITTY

This map is aimed at bringing in brand new riders in a fun and experiential way. Therefore, the Metro Rail & BRT network was selected because of its better user experience for new riders.

The network is generally speedy and its large coverage of Greater Los Angeles is wide. For the most part, these lines run fairly regularly, have long hours especially during the weekends, and have large and weather protected stations with access to Metro TAP kiosks.

Our criteria for choosing points of interest were the following:

– Places you would go or you’d recommend friends or family visit for exploration, entertainment, and/or enrichment.
– Established institutions to lower chances of closure and map obsolescence
– Point of interest that are very easy or relatively easy to get to via Rail/BRT. The rule of thumb used was places within a 12 minute walk from a Metro Rail or BRT station or with a direct/dedicated bus or shuttle from Rail or BRT station.

Given Metro is still expanding its network and given that we wanted the map to be somewhat future-proofed, we chose those lines which have had significant construction work, making them highly unlikely to not be abandoned (due to shifting political winds, funding issues, engineering challenges, etc).

This gave us a map of what the system will roughly look like by 2027.

1. At a glance, skim through dozes of point of interest or parts of town via the visual illustrations.
2. Then, use your phone’s mapping or transit app for precise directions and train/bus timing.
3. Use your phone’s business recommendation app to pair the visit with food, drink, snacks, etc.

Unlock LA isn’t to replace your phone’s mapping or transit app. It is meant to do 80% of the work of planning weekend activities. With a quick glance, the map visually provides many of the possible destinations and/or the parts of town with the densest exploration/entertainment/enrichment options.

Once you’ve identified a point of interest, activity, or a part of town you’d like to visit, your mapping or transit app can then guide you to your final destination. And a business recommendation app can also help you complete your planning by showing nearby food joints, coffee shops, bars, and other such businesses that can be found near the point of interest or part of town you’ll be visiting. This can even be done on the Metro ride itself!

Over the next two weeks, we are collecting feedback about mistakes or points of interest that we missed. Feel free to send us your suggestions via this form!

UNLOCK LA FEEDBACK