AI-ASSISTED · EDITOR-REVIEWED

Theme brief

A network consists of nodes, edges and rules about how movement or connection works. Map topology or access rather than drawing every link: centrality, travel time, missing connections and service areas often tell the clearer story.

Official prompt
“Route network, transit network, human network or something completely different.”
30DayMapChallenge 2026

02

WAYS IN

Four map ideas

01
Compare a schematic metro diagram with its geographic network.
02
Map the places reachable within 15, 30 and 45 minutes.
03
Find streets that are structurally central but unsafe for walking.
04
Turn a correspondence or collaboration network into geographic flows.

03

IN THE DIRECTORY

Recommended tools

openrouteservice

Provides routing and isochrones for practical reachability maps.

Freemium · View details

QGIS

Supports network analysis while keeping the cartography in one project.

Open source · View details

OSRM

A fast open-source routing engine for road-network workflows.

Open source · View details

Transitland

Helps discover and work with public transport feed data.

Freemium · View details

04

START WITH A CLEAR LICENSE

Data sources

OpenStreetMap roads, rail and paths

Regional extracts are safer for bulk work than public Overpass endpoints.

ODbL 1.0 · attribution required Mobility Database

A global catalog for discovering GTFS and GBFS feeds.

Varies by feed publisher GTFS transit feeds

Routes, stops, schedules and sometimes real-time feeds; check each publisher.

Varies by transit agency

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

State the travel mode, date, time and routing assumptions. An isochrone is a model result, not a permanent boundary.

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