
Six ways to never get lost in a city without GPS or Sat Nav - marklittlewood
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15125287
======
jasonkester
Interesting that of these six methods, only one or two would actually work in
the United States, and then only in a few cities.

\- England doesn't really do Cable TV like America does, so you actually do
see these dishes everywhere. In America, you don't ever see them. You'd
probably violate your lease for installing one.

\- American cities have hardly any churches compared to Europe, where 5 out of
every 7 buildings you pass will be a Church of some form.

\- America is 20 years old. Anything older than that is due for replacement.
Hence no weathering.

\+ (1/2) People. Cool. American cities do in fact have crowds, so you can
follow them. But unless you're in NYC, you're probably going to end up at a
parking garage.

\- American cities tend to follow a grid, and are much more decentralized.
Everything you need to get to is in every direction. Every road is six lanes
wide, even the dead ends and alleys.

\+ (1/2) New York might have clouds, but I've never seen one in LA.

So yeah, if you're lost in a US city, you might as well just ask somebody.

~~~
Graham24
as well as weathering you can look to see which way the trees are bent. in the
UK most trees lean to one side as the wind is mostly from the SW.

"American cities have hardly any churches compared to Europe". what? I thought
there were loads of churches in america?

~~~
morsch
Not easy to find good numbers for this, particularly for the US. One source
[1] refers to around 65k, another source's number [2] is an order of magnitude
higher. Of course, church isn't very specific: it could refer to only
christian houses of worship, to houses of worship of various sizes, it could
refer to the religions themselves, etc.

For Germany, numbers are more reliable: there are about 45000 christian
churches (split roughly 50/50 between catholic and protestant, [3][4][5]).
Plus about 2500 synagogues and less than a thousand mosques [6], so less than
50k overall. I imagine that the situation in other Western European countries
is similar, but it'd be interesting to know if that's true.

So depending on the correct number for the US, the number of churches in the
US is either a lot lower or a lot higher. Huh, I guess this isn't very
helpful. :D

[1]
[http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070129165140AA...](http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070129165140AA6neZq)
[2] <http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/721939.html>
[http://www.ev-akademiker.de/projekte/kirchen-oeffnen-und-
erh...](http://www.ev-akademiker.de/projekte/kirchen-oeffnen-und-erhalten/)
[3] [http://www.ev-akademiker.de/projekte/kirchen-oeffnen-und-
erh...](http://www.ev-akademiker.de/projekte/kirchen-oeffnen-und-erhalten/)
[4]
[http://www.ekd.de/aktuell_presse/news_2005_09_30_3_rv_kirchb...](http://www.ekd.de/aktuell_presse/news_2005_09_30_3_rv_kirchbautag.html)
[5]
[http://www.ekd.de/aktuell_presse/news_2005_09_30_3_rv_kirchb...](http://www.ekd.de/aktuell_presse/news_2005_09_30_3_rv_kirchbautag.html)
[6] [http://www.cosmiq.de/qa/show/1470093/Wie-viele-Synagogen-
und...](http://www.cosmiq.de/qa/show/1470093/Wie-viele-Synagogen-und-Moscheen-
Gibt-es-in-Deutschland/)

------
tokenadult
Looking at the sun did me in the first time I crossed the Tropic of Cancer
near the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice. I am very used to using sun
angle at different times of the day to find cardinal directions. That works
very well where I usually live (45 degrees north latitude). But on a visit to
Hong Kong, I kept going exactly in the reverse direction I "knew" I should go,
and I finally figured out that near the end of June, at the latitude of Hong
Kong, the sun was to my NORTH for the first time in my life, and looking at
shadows or the sun angle kept reversing my sense of which way was north and
which way was south.

As a separate issue during my first visit to Hong Kong, I found my American
(and Taiwan) habit of assuming that road traffic drives on the right side of
the road made me tend to look the wrong way most recently as I was about to
cross streets. I almost got run over by a truck because of that. Habitual
behavior is harder to correct than truly novel behavior.

P.S. The submitted article's advice on using wind direction (shown by movement
of clouds) as a constant direction over short time spans works very badly here
in the American Midwest. There are enough flagpoles in my neighborhood that I
can readily observe wind direction as I walk or bike to do errands, and I've
frequently seen radical changes in wind direction revealed either by flags
near ground level or by clouds high in the sky in just a few hours.

~~~
bodhi
> I kept going exactly in the reverse direction I "knew" I should go

I had _exactly_ the same problem when moving from Australia to Japan, and it
didn't go away after 4 years living there! I always wondered whether it was to
do with the sun angle, or some other effect, as I seemed to suffer from it at
night too. I wonder if there's been any studies of this kind of effect.

------
mseebach
It's cute, but really doesn't do much to address the issue of being lost in a
city. When I'm lost in a city, my problem isn't whether I'm heading north or
east, or where the nearest station is - it's whether I took the wrong turn
three blocks ago, and where that side street I'm looking for is.

~~~
nucleardog
Once you're lost, my old navigation method can work wonders, and it's really
simple: Turn onto progressively busier streets (determined by traffic control,
not by current traffic).

You made it to your destination in some small residential area, but how are
you ever going to find your way out of here? Just drive straight along until
you come up to an intersection. You've got a stop/yield sign, and they have
nothing? Turn. You're on a plain two-lane street, and the crossing street is
divided with a boulevard? Turn. You both have lights, but they have the
crossing button or turn signals? Turn.

In very short order you'll find yourself on a major street, which is a street
you'll be more likely to recognize and be famliar with. You're no longer lost
and can try locating your destination again.

------
grecy
I just spent two years driving from Alaska to Argentina, with no GPS and very
basic paper maps. I don't think these tips are useful at all to someone
constantly on the move in new places. I'm typically excellent with directions
and only got "completely lost" a dozen times or so. (For some reason, Bolivia
had me convinced North was South...) Those six methods assume a lot that
doesn't work everywhere.

1\. Tons of places have no satellite dishes.

2\. Good idea, but you need to find a town to find a church...

3\. Surely you need to be a local to know about weather patterns.

4\. Assuming people have jobs, are going to work, and there is some kind of
mass transit that stops at some kind of known location regularly.

5\. You have to already know if you're North or South of the city..

6\. What? again, you would have to know which way is North/South before you
look at the clouds.

~~~
BerislavLopac
Well, the title does say "in the city". There are other ways to orient outside
of one...

------
marklittlewood
The other thing that it might be possible to do though obviously not if you
are a complete introvert is ask someone.

~~~
warp
This does assume that you to some extent speak a language the local population
also understands.

~~~
4ad
And that the local population is helpful. In the country where I live people
will offer help without being asked if you read a map in the middle of the
street, but good luck asking someone for directions if you're not a native.

~~~
dalore
In Japan if you ask someone for directions and they don't know it, rather than
say that they want to look helpful and will make something up.

------
pavanred
I'd rather just look at the sky and see the direction of sunrise or sunset to
find the direction instead of looking for TV satellites or churches etc.

And, I can't help but notice that the author starts by saying these are the
ways to find directions when GPS is knocked out or if there is no one around
to ask for directions and later speaks about following the flow of people!

~~~
mapleoin
I think these are all meant for different situations. For example you can't
look for the Sun if its cloudy. Also, the horizon is usually blocked by a lot
of buildings in big cities, so even if it is clear, you won't be able to find
the sun pretty easily. Also, if you don't have a watch and the time is
somewhere between 11 and 1 o'clock how can you tell if the Sun is in the
Southeast or Southwest?

~~~
pbhjpbhj
> _For example you can't look for the Sun if its cloudy._ //

I do - one can often tell where the brightest part of the sky is even on an
overcast day; knowing roughly the time and season (for a known geography) then
gives a rough direction. I read a report that polarising sunglasses help this
too but I've never actually tried. With me it's sometimes more of a perception
that the sun is in such a direction whilst I can't really make out that part
as [particularly] brighter.

------
pavanred
I have personally tried walking off randomly in Paris. I didn't use any map or
GPS or even my direction sense. I just kept walking randomly and I realized it
is very difficult to get lost in a city like Paris even if you wanted to. You
pick any direction and walk for about 15- 20 minutes and you would definitely
find at least a sign post pointing in the direction of a nearest metro
station, and once you are in a metro, you are in the grid, you are not lost
anymore! And of course, in a city like Paris there are always people around
irrespective of the time of the day to ask for directions.

------
arethuza
We were in Marrakech earlier this year - I really tried very hard _not_ to get
lost, but it's almost impossible not to. Even the GPS on an iPhone and Google
Maps didn't help that much (and produced a horrific bill for roaming charges).
Far easier to pay one of the locals to walk you to where you want to go - at
least round the souks where it is completely maze like.

Another approach to in-city navigation is, of course, to have a centrally
located conspicuous landmark. In this town an ancient castle on top of an
extinct volcano serves splendidly in this role.

~~~
mynegation
Yes, asking locals is the only way to go. There are things that map will never
help you with i Marrakesh.

After two days in Marrakesh locals told me that there is a shorter way from my
riyad (kind of a guesthouse) to Jamaa-el-Fna (main square). Easy! You just
have to turn left here instead of right, after twenty steps use the arch to
find seemingly dead-end internal yard, enter some non-descript door and ...
wait for it... smile at the receptionist of the spa salon on your way to their
front door, which opens to one of the main streets. And from there it is a
direct way to Jamaa.

It is like a magical world from child fairy tales, with wormholes in time and
space behind every corner.

~~~
arethuza
We stayed at a riad quite close to the souks, along a very windy lane down the
side of a mosque. Even 20 minute walk from the taxi that took us from the
airport to the riad was an adventure!

Strongly recommended: <http://www.riadzolah.com/>

------
RobLach
I'm from Chicago where the streets are gridded n/s/e/w and the addresses are
numbered according to distance.

"Block numbers are consistent across the whole city. Standard blocks, of 100
addresses each, are roughly 1/8th of a mile long. (Hence, a mile is equivalent
to a street number difference of 800.) Each street is assigned a number based
on its distance from the zero point of the address system, the intersection of
State Street and Madison Street. A street with a W (west) or E (east) number
runs north-south, while a street with a N (north) or S (south) number runs
east-west. A street's number is usually written on street signs at
intersections, below the street name. Major thoroughfares are at each mile
(multiples of 800) and secondary arteries at the half-mile marks. Thus,
Western Ave at 2400 W is a north-south major thoroughfare, while Montrose Ave
at 4400 N is an east-west secondary artery.

In general, "avenues" run north-south and "streets" run east-west." \-
<http://wikitravel.org/en/Chicago>

General \- <http://www.chicagohomeestates.com/info/chicago_street_guide>

------
buyx
Another way of finding your way around is city route numbers.

In South Africa most major routes in metropolitan areas have "M" numbers
(metro route numbers). I once managed to navigate across Johannesburg using
these alone. Unfortunately, in Johannesburg at least, they are not widely
noticed by the public, except on freeways, and increasingly not replaced when
they are vandalised or stolen, but they are very useful if you know about
them, both for finding alternate routes, and for orienting yourself when lost.

They are usually consistently numbered. In Greater Johannesburg, even numbers
go east-west, while odd numbers go north-south, and the signs also include a
compass direction. In Durban, where there has been a huge number of street
renamings, they have become indespensible for me when I visit the city.

EDIT: As an aside, if you ever drive in South Africa, do not rely on Google
Maps (which has numerous errors). Rather buy an up-to-date map book or GPS.
The map books by Map Studio are quite good.

------
sliverstorm
I used to think I could get around by following street numbers. Because, you
know, street 3 is next to street 4 is next to street 5.

Then I discovered in San Jose, 4th street is nowhere near 3rd and 5th street.

Then I discovered in Denver, there are two 21st streets in different parts of
town.

Now I have a GPS.

~~~
aplusbi
My favorite block in NYC is a triangle, bounded on two sides by one street
(Waverly Pl) and one side by two streets (Grove st and Stonewall Pl):
[http://maps.google.com/maps?q=West+4th+Street,+New+York,+NY&...](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=West+4th+Street,+New+York,+NY&hl=en&ll=40.733533,-74.000902&spn=0.002047,0.004128&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=68.344727,135.263672&vpsrc=6&hnear=W+4th+St,+New+York&t=m&z=19)

~~~
brendn
Or this section of Queens where there's a 23rd Street, 23rd Avenue, 23rd Road,
23rd Terrace and 23rd Drive in close proximity:
[http://maps.google.com/maps?q=23rd+Street,+Queens,+New+York,...](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=23rd+Street,+Queens,+New+York,+NY&hl=en&ll=40.777706,-73.919502&spn=0.00602,0.010954&sll=40.733533,-74.000902&sspn=0.001506,0.002739&vpsrc=6&hnear=23rd+St,+Queens,+New+York+11101&t=m&z=17)

------
Luc
In Europe ( _1_ ) streets are numbered starting from the end of the street
closest to the center of the city. This is very handy for when you're making
your way back to the center!

 _1_ : though I'm not sure how widely this applies, it's worked for me in
several countries.

------
paganel
Use paper maps?

------
Graham24
I got lost in Venice once when i'd just arrived. It was midnight on a sunday
and there weren't many people around as I was trying not to think about the
film "Don't look now". It was about then that i realised that although i had
what looked like the hotel's address, it wasn't going to be quite that simple
to find.

~~~
radu_floricica
Oh, Venice doesn't count. Getting lost there is an experience in itself...
although probably it would have been better not to have it so soon, and
presumably tired and hungry.

------
scraplab
I gave a presentation about this a few years ago. It's pretty UK centric.

[http://tomtaylor.co.uk/talks/eight-ways-to-orientate-
yoursel...](http://tomtaylor.co.uk/talks/eight-ways-to-orientate-yourself-
anywhere)

------
EGreg
Yea, try doing this in Venice, then talk to me :)

------
josscrowcroft
This is great advice, but I just read the title as "Six ways to never have fun
in a city"

------
hackermom
I think the author is trying to say, "use your sense of locality; you know,
that thing we're all born with". Ironically, we don't really need to put an
effort into using the tricks the author conjured up - it's all automated in
other ways as part of the process of orientation. But, yes, I am aware of the
fact that a small percentage of the population has practically no mentionable
sense of locality at all, and may need to navigate manually rather than
relying on inherent abilities.

