The Legible London approach is based on the theory of 'mental mapping'. Research has shown that we all build maps in our heads to find our way around, based on familiar locations and routes that are relevant to our journeys. The strength of our mental map often determines the confidence we have in walking to our destination.

London is a city without an organizing principle. Its streets aren't numbered, like New York's, or lettered, like those in Washington, D.C. It's not laid out on a grid, like Chicago, and no Haussmann ever came through to organize its avenues. Written by Julia Turner