3 ms·

Mapping, Beirut-style: how to navigate a city without using any street names

39 points by coloneltcb 11y ago

giarc 11y ago
Reminds me of the success of Waze in Costa Rica. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/10/27/why-waze-is-so-incredibly-popular-in-costa-rica/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/10/2...
rshaban 11y ago
Knowledge of how to get around in Beirut, and much of the Arab world, is based on contextual knowledge and history. People have shared space, and this shared knowledge serves as the basis for spatial communication.
paulsutter 11y ago
In Japan many streets don't have names, but every city location has an address. Every block is numbered, and buildings are assigned numbers within the block in the order or construction. My address is Akasaka 9-7-4, which means the 4th building constructed on block 7 of district 9 of Akasaka. Yes it was a pain to resolve addresses before Google maps.
- s-phi-nl 11y ago
  Prior discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=668197 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=668197
eastbayjake 11y ago
Beirut is a wonderful city and this is one of the reasons I love it: people intimately know their neighborhoods. Every night coming home from the bars we would pass the same aging Christian militia guy sitting in a lawnchair at 3 AM, watching his street in Gemmayzeh and reporting whatever he saw. It's one of the reasons I felt so safe in Beirut... your neighbors know just about anything that goes on almost immediately. A Sunni friend told me about a French colleague who had his house robbed in broad daylight in France: the thieves backed a moving truck up to the house, loaded his possessions into the truck, and drove away. His neighbors assumed he was moving and simply hadn't told them. He joked that this would be impossible in Lebanon -- neighbors would descend on the truck asking who the movers were, where the family was moving, asking the movers who their cousins were, inviting them in for tea, etc. Beirut is an amazing place and I was deeply touched by its beauty and the kindness of the Lebanese people. If any tech startups in Beirut are looking for web app consulting, get in touch -- I want to go back and stay longer!
- rosser 11y ago
  I'm going to be visiting some friends in Beirut in August, and I'm so looking forward to tasting this amazing city, about which I've heard so much. Any specific recommendations?
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
dublinben 11y ago
It's a little disappointing to read an article about grassroots mapping efforts that doesn't mention OpenStreetMap even once.
colindean 11y ago
<insert joke about Pittsburghers providing directions based on landmarks, specifically businesses or buildings that are no longer present and haven't been for 15 years>
bandrami 11y ago
It drives me crazy in India. People use landmarks; my favorite tea house lists its address as "Across from the HP petrol station, N M Joshi St, Mumbai...". JUST NUMBER YOUR ING BUILDINGS!!!

39 points by coloneltcb 11y ago

giarc 11y ago

Reminds me of the success of Waze in Costa Rica. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/10/27/why-waze-is-so-incredibly-popular-in-costa-rica/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/10/2...

rshaban 11y ago

Knowledge of how to get around in Beirut, and much of the Arab world, is based on contextual knowledge and history. People have shared space, and this shared knowledge serves as the basis for spatial communication.

paulsutter 11y ago

In Japan many streets don't have names, but every city location has an address. Every block is numbered, and buildings are assigned numbers within the block in the order or construction. My address is Akasaka 9-7-4, which means the 4th building constructed on block 7 of district 9 of Akasaka. Yes it was a pain to resolve addresses before Google maps.

s-phi-nl 11y ago
Prior discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=668197 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=668197

eastbayjake 11y ago

Beirut is a wonderful city and this is one of the reasons I love it: people intimately know their neighborhoods. Every night coming home from the bars we would pass the same aging Christian militia guy sitting in a lawnchair at 3 AM, watching his street in Gemmayzeh and reporting whatever he saw. It's one of the reasons I felt so safe in Beirut... your neighbors know just about anything that goes on almost immediately. A Sunni friend told me about a French colleague who had his house robbed in broad daylight in France: the thieves backed a moving truck up to the house, loaded his possessions into the truck, and drove away. His neighbors assumed he was moving and simply hadn't told them. He joked that this would be impossible in Lebanon -- neighbors would descend on the truck asking who the movers were, where the family was moving, asking the movers who their cousins were, inviting them in for tea, etc. Beirut is an amazing place and I was deeply touched by its beauty and the kindness of the Lebanese people. If any tech startups in Beirut are looking for web app consulting, get in touch -- I want to go back and stay longer!

rosser 11y ago
I'm going to be visiting some friends in Beirut in August, and I'm so looking forward to tasting this amazing city, about which I've heard so much. Any specific recommendations?
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

dublinben 11y ago

It's a little disappointing to read an article about grassroots mapping efforts that doesn't mention OpenStreetMap even once.

colindean 11y ago

bandrami 11y ago

It drives me crazy in India. People use landmarks; my favorite tea house lists its address as "Across from the HP petrol station, N M Joshi St, Mumbai...". JUST NUMBER YOUR ING BUILDINGS!!!