AI-ASSISTED · EDITOR-REVIEWED

Theme brief

Utopia is an invitation to map values, not only fantasy. Show what your ideal place prioritizes — care, access, biodiversity, safety or delight — and make the trade-offs visible enough to feel designed rather than magical.

Official prompt
“A map of something which could be.”
30DayMapChallenge 2026

02

WAYS IN

Four map ideas

01
Redesign one district so daily needs are within a 15-minute walk.
02
Map a fictional city whose streets follow water and wind rather than cars.
03
Build a public-space network optimized for children and older residents.
04
Create an atlas of policies that would make an existing city fairer.

03

IN THE DIRECTORY

Recommended tools

Felt

Collaborative drawing and annotation suit a speculative plan.

Freemium · View details

QGIS

Useful when the imagined proposal still needs evidence and spatial analysis.

Open source · View details

Giraffe

Supports rapid spatial planning scenarios in the browser.

Paid · View details

Autodesk Forma

Helps test early urban design ideas with environmental context.

Paid · View details

04

START WITH A CLEAR LICENSE

Data sources

OpenStreetMap base data

Follow the tile provider policy as well as the database attribution rules.

ODbL 1.0 · attribution required Global Human Settlement Layer

Built-up surface, settlement model and population grids across time.

Free reuse · source acknowledgment requested Your own observations

Document the collection method, date and privacy decisions.

You choose the license

Licenses are a planning aid, not legal advice. Check the source record and version you actually download; terms can vary within a catalog.

05

BEFORE YOU EXPORT

Cartography check

Add one rule to the legend — for example, every home is within 500 m of a shaded public space — so the ideal can be evaluated.

06

COMMUNITY MAPS

Selected work

Selections begin after this theme closes.

First participate officially by posting publicly with #30DayMapChallenge. You can then suggest that original post for our independent MapTools picks. We link to the source, credit every author and use images only with permission.

Suggest for MapTools picks