'Judgmental Maps’ unleash culture on the geography of modern cities | 6sqft (2025)

By Michelle Cohen

Residents of today’s cities and neighborhoods are acutely aware ofthe cultural histories and social nuances that shape them almost as much as their streets and bridges, architecture and businesses. A few years ago Trent Gillaspie’s “judgmental maps,” from his site by the same name, hit a nerveand went viral; the totally unserious (but not necessarily inaccurate) maps pair geography with a snapshot of real life in modern cities, towns and neighborhoods. Gillaspie’s “Judgmental New York City” was spot on in many ways with its Manhattan of “amply rich people,” “super rich people,” “aging punks” and the “worst train station ever” and a Brooklyn that went fromJay-Z to Zombies. Now, Gillaspie is releasing a book (h/t Untapped) of his signature reality-check maps, including an updated New York City map and the city’s neighborhoods, decoded.

It’s not just cities that get judged. The clever cartography is divided into five categories: “The Yankees,” “The Deep South,” “The Flyover States,” “The Left Coast,” and “The Outlawed Southwest.” The book, which offers never-published material, highlights complicated and gentrifying neighborhoods in typical cheeky fashion in addition to a main New York City map.

And if readers are less than charmed, Gillaspie–who has referred to the Big Apple as,“the city that never sleeps with the same person twice”–says, “Go f*ck yourself.” As Untapped puts it, “Consider ‘Judgmental Maps’ to be your ‘truth atlas.’ ”

On his site, Gillaspie has also depicted“The United States according to Hillary Clinton,” and “The United States according to Donald Trump,” among others.“Snarktographers,” familiar with local quirks have contributed to the book by helping providing inside views on popular city areas.

Gillaspie is a comedian, tech product manager, graphic designerand self-proclaimed cartography nerd who lives inAustin, Texas. He has a goal of visiting all 50 states–as of fall 2016, his state count is at 48.“Judgmental Maps,” will be released on November 7. You can pre-order it here, and see more of Trent Gillespie’s work on his website.

[Via Untapped]

RELATED:

• The arty maps of ‘Nonstop Metropolis’ show NYC the way locals experience it
• ‘City of Women’ turns the subway map into an homage to the city’s greatest females
• This Illustrated 1926 Map of Manhattan Shows the City as It Was, Both Fanciful and Familiar
• Find Your Neighborhood on This Interactive Map Made From Local Brooklyn Litter

Images from “Judgmental Maps” byTrent Gillaspie and via Untapped.

Explore NYC Virtually