James Routley

Generate beautiful, minimalist map posters for any city in the world.

Country	City	Theme
USA	San Francisco	sunset
Spain	Barcelona	warm_beige
Italy	Venice	blueprint
Japan	Tokyo	japanese_ink
India	Mumbai	contrast_zones
Morocco	Marrakech	terracotta
Singapore	Singapore	neon_cyberpunk
Australia	Melbourne	forest
UAE	Dubai	midnight_blue

pip install -r requirements.txt

python create_map_poster.py --city <city> --country <country> [options]

Option	Short	Description	Default
`--city`	`-c`	City name	required
`--country`	`-C`	Country name	required
`--theme`	`-t`	Theme name	feature_based
`--distance`	`-d`	Map radius in meters	29000
`--list-themes`		List all available themes

# Iconic grid patterns
python create_map_poster.py -c "New York" -C "USA" -t noir -d 12000           # Manhattan grid
python create_map_poster.py -c "Barcelona" -C "Spain" -t warm_beige -d 8000   # Eixample district

# Waterfront & canals
python create_map_poster.py -c "Venice" -C "Italy" -t blueprint -d 4000       # Canal network
python create_map_poster.py -c "Amsterdam" -C "Netherlands" -t ocean -d 6000  # Concentric canals
python create_map_poster.py -c "Dubai" -C "UAE" -t midnight_blue -d 15000     # Palm & coastline

# Radial patterns
python create_map_poster.py -c "Paris" -C "France" -t pastel_dream -d 10000   # Haussmann boulevards
python create_map_poster.py -c "Moscow" -C "Russia" -t noir -d 12000          # Ring roads

# Organic old cities
python create_map_poster.py -c "Tokyo" -C "Japan" -t japanese_ink -d 15000    # Dense organic streets
python create_map_poster.py -c "Marrakech" -C "Morocco" -t terracotta -d 5000 # Medina maze
python create_map_poster.py -c "Rome" -C "Italy" -t warm_beige -d 8000        # Ancient layout

# Coastal cities
python create_map_poster.py -c "San Francisco" -C "USA" -t sunset -d 10000    # Peninsula grid
python create_map_poster.py -c "Sydney" -C "Australia" -t ocean -d 12000      # Harbor city
python create_map_poster.py -c "Mumbai" -C "India" -t contrast_zones -d 18000 # Coastal peninsula

# River cities
python create_map_poster.py -c "London" -C "UK" -t noir -d 15000              # Thames curves
python create_map_poster.py -c "Budapest" -C "Hungary" -t copper_patina -d 8000  # Danube split

# List available themes
python create_map_poster.py --list-themes

Distance	Best for
4000-6000m	Small/dense cities (Venice, Amsterdam center)
8000-12000m	Medium cities, focused downtown (Paris, Barcelona)
15000-20000m	Large metros, full city view (Tokyo, Mumbai)

17 themes available in themes/ directory:

Theme	Style
`feature_based`	Classic black & white with road hierarchy
`gradient_roads`	Smooth gradient shading
`contrast_zones`	High contrast urban density
`noir`	Pure black background, white roads
`midnight_blue`	Navy background with gold roads
`blueprint`	Architectural blueprint aesthetic
`neon_cyberpunk`	Dark with electric pink/cyan
`warm_beige`	Vintage sepia tones
`pastel_dream`	Soft muted pastels
`japanese_ink`	Minimalist ink wash style
`forest`	Deep greens and sage
`ocean`	Blues and teals for coastal cities
`terracotta`	Mediterranean warmth
`sunset`	Warm oranges and pinks
`autumn`	Seasonal burnt oranges and reds
`copper_patina`	Oxidized copper aesthetic
`monochrome_blue`	Single blue color family

Posters are saved to posters/ directory with format:

{city}_{theme}_{YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS}.png

Create a JSON file in themes/ directory:

{
  "name": "My Theme",
  "description": "Description of the theme",
  "bg": "#FFFFFF",
  "text": "#000000",
  "gradient_color": "#FFFFFF",
  "water": "#C0C0C0",
  "parks": "#F0F0F0",
  "road_motorway": "#0A0A0A",
  "road_primary": "#1A1A1A",
  "road_secondary": "#2A2A2A",
  "road_tertiary": "#3A3A3A",
  "road_residential": "#4A4A4A",
  "road_default": "#3A3A3A"
}

map_poster/
├── create_map_poster.py          # Main script
├── themes/               # Theme JSON files
├── fonts/                # Roboto font files
├── posters/              # Generated posters
└── README.md

Quick reference for contributors who want to extend or modify the script.

┌─────────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐
│   CLI Parser    │────▶│  Geocoding   │────▶│  Data Fetching  │
│   (argparse)    │     │  (Nominatim) │     │    (OSMnx)      │
└─────────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └─────────────────┘
                                                     │
                        ┌──────────────┐             ▼
                        │    Output    │◀────┌─────────────────┐
                        │  (matplotlib)│     │   Rendering     │
                        └──────────────┘     │  (matplotlib)   │
                                             └─────────────────┘

Function	Purpose	Modify when...
`get_coordinates()`	City → lat/lon via Nominatim	Switching geocoding provider
`create_poster()`	Main rendering pipeline	Adding new map layers
`get_edge_colors_by_type()`	Road color by OSM highway tag	Changing road styling
`get_edge_widths_by_type()`	Road width by importance	Adjusting line weights
`create_gradient_fade()`	Top/bottom fade effect	Modifying gradient overlay
`load_theme()`	JSON theme → dict	Adding new theme properties

Rendering Layers (z-order)

z=11  Text labels (city, country, coords)
z=10  Gradient fades (top & bottom)
z=3   Roads (via ox.plot_graph)
z=2   Parks (green polygons)
z=1   Water (blue polygons)
z=0   Background color

OSM Highway Types → Road Hierarchy

# In get_edge_colors_by_type() and get_edge_widths_by_type()
motorway, motorway_link     → Thickest (1.2), darkest
trunk, primary              → Thick (1.0)
secondary                   → Medium (0.8)
tertiary                    → Thin (0.6)
residential, living_street  → Thinnest (0.4), lightest

New map layer (e.g., railways):

# In create_poster(), after parks fetch:
try:
    railways = ox.features_from_point(point, tags={'railway': 'rail'}, dist=dist)
except:
    railways = None

# Then plot before roads:
if railways is not None and not railways.empty:
    railways.plot(ax=ax, color=THEME['railway'], linewidth=0.5, zorder=2.5)

New theme property:

Add to theme JSON: "railway": "#FF0000"
Use in code: THEME['railway']
Add fallback in load_theme() default dict

All text uses transform=ax.transAxes (0-1 normalized coordinates):

y=0.14  City name (spaced letters)
y=0.125 Decorative line
y=0.10  Country name
y=0.07  Coordinates
y=0.02  Attribution (bottom-right)

# Get all buildings
buildings = ox.features_from_point(point, tags={'building': True}, dist=dist)

# Get specific amenities
cafes = ox.features_from_point(point, tags={'amenity': 'cafe'}, dist=dist)

# Different network types
G = ox.graph_from_point(point, dist=dist, network_type='drive')  # roads only
G = ox.graph_from_point(point, dist=dist, network_type='bike')   # bike paths
G = ox.graph_from_point(point, dist=dist, network_type='walk')   # pedestrian

Large dist values (>20km) = slow downloads + memory heavy
Cache coordinates locally to avoid Nominatim rate limits
Use network_type='drive' instead of 'all' for faster renders
Reduce dpi from 300 to 150 for quick previews

Map To Poster – Create Art of your favourite city

Rendering Layers (z-order)

OSM Highway Types → Road Hierarchy