I actually bought one of these for London and I love it! Palomar’s Crumpled City maps are marketed as “soft city maps for urban jungles”, a tagline which I think fails to get across their primary purpose: they’re indestructible! They’re made out of a soft waterproof material, so you can cram them into a backpack or shove them into a pocket without fear of ripping them. (I always used to tear my maps of cities, and I don’t like using my phone when I’m traveling as it distracts me). Not only is this map unrippable and unstainable, but it also has a sleek and very modern aesthetic, with a limited color scheme and a clean style. It also doesn’t compromise function: it’s super useful and has monuments, art galleries, and even a special category of “Soulsights”, places that its creators have deemed especially emotional. The crumpled map, usually something we all would consider trash, becomes an aesthetic object—as the team puts it, “the more battered it is, the better it looks”.
