[.ca] Seattle Neighborhood Map (ISBN 1929687052)

the emerald city never looked better:
Constructing a neighborhood map of Seattle is an ambitious undertaking in any event. I saw this particular map hanging both in a City Hall office and at at least two Realtor offices. What struck me initially, like I'm sure everyone else, was its hand-drawn colorful charm. But, as bold as the colors are, the actual cartography is similarly bold. No one has ever even attempted to define the neighborhood boundaries of Seattle before--and the effort here is laudable. I would think that most neighborhood boundaries are subjective, but if anyone wants to learn about Seattle altogether (besides where the well known tourist destinations are) I would strongly recommend this map. Not only as a valuable reference, but as the only cartographical reference available of Seattle neighborhoods. I have bought one for my local Seattle neighborhood grammer school, they love it, and I suggest other parents do likewise.

Inaccurate:
The map looks nice enough, but it's inaccurate. Its makers call it "the first map to ever depict all of Seattle's 97 neighborhoods... endorsed by the City of Seattle." In fact, the City has not endorsed the map, and a good thing, too--it simply does not reflect the reality of neighborhood divisions as they are understood by its residents. A few examples follow: "Madison Valley" is shown as extending all the way to the shore of Lake Washington. Its eastern boundary is in fact 32nd Avenue and Lake Washington Boulevard (which, despite its name, does not parallel the lake north of E. Denny-Blaine Place). Those who live east of these streets will tell you they live either in Washington Park or Denny-Blaine (or perhaps Harrison), but certainly not Madison Valley (for how can a valley be on top of a hill?). A neighborhood called "RNA" is shown located south of Roosevelt, east of I-5, and west of the University District. No such neighborhood exists. Its residents would probably say they were either in the U-District or would note how close they were to certain landmarks. The Central District encompasses a huge swath of central Seattle, with its center perhaps at E. Cherry St. and 23rd Avenue, near Nova Alternative School. On this map, however, it is limited to a few square blocks. The boundary line between Madison Valley (really Denny-Blaine, see above) and Madrona is given as Grand Avenue, when in fact it is really Madrona Drive. Hang it on your wall if you want, but by no means use it for reference. It is "the only map to depict all of Seattle's 97 neighborhoods" for a good reason--it is the only map that recognizes there to be 97 neighborhoods within the Seattle city limits!