For all its car culture, the Bay Area's southern cousin has a large and growing rail and rapid bus system. Los Angeles transit maps tend to be of two varieties: the stylish official maps produced by Metro Design Studio and CHK (this map borrows heavily from Metro's project maps), and fantasy maps (there's also this map, the original version of which we developed, for an ambitious but quite serious citizen proposal). The map below attempts to realistically portray what the L.A. system might look like in 20 to 25 years, based on studies already underway and the pace of funding and construction over the past 20-25 years. It also suggests a design direction we believe Metro ought to consider: while geographic accuracy over such a vast scale (this maps covers roughly 2,000 square miles) requires design compromises, Tube-style maps only make sense where systems are so complex as to require radical simplification, and where the mental maps of most residents aren't more or less built around the road network. So how about a hybrid, like in Washington?