Mark Ovenden | |
---|---|
Born | London, England | 20 June 1963
Occupation | Writer and journalist |
Nationality | British |
Period | 2003–present |
Subject | Rapid transit |
Website | |
markovenden |
Mark Ovenden F.R.G.S. (born 20 June 1963) is a broadcaster and author who specialises in the subjects of graphic design, cartography and architecture in public transport, with an emphasis on underground rapid transit.
His first book Metro Maps of the World published in 2003 is a guide to the diagrams, plans and maps of underground rapid transit system [1] including images ranging from photos of the systems to rare and historical maps. The book was supported by the UITP, the international association of transport operators, and by the London Transport Museum. A Dutch edition was published in autumn 2006 (titled Metrokaarten van de wereld), and an American edition (entitled Transit Maps of the World) was launched on 30 October 2007 by Penguin Books. Other languages and revisions have followed.
Paris Metro Style in map and station design, was published November 2008. Endorsed by the RATP, it traces the cartographic evolution and graphic design of the Paris Metro. [2] A revised American edition with a different title was published October 2009 and a French language edition was made in 2015.
Railway Maps of the World was published in May 2011 in the USA, a British edition was produced in September 2011. London Underground by Design was published by Penguin Books in January 2013. [3] A celebration of the Johnston typeface centenary and 90th Anniversary of Gill Sans was published in 2016, and in July 2017 Ovenden fronted a television documentary for BBC Four on the subject of Johnston and Gill. [4] and the skyscraper construction boom in Manchester for BBC Radio 4. [5]
Ovenden was previously a journalist, news presenter and radio producer. He was founding editor of Due South Magazine and was half of the independent production company, 'OutSpoken', which made BBC Radio 1's 7-part lesbian and gay series Loud'n'proud in 1993. He also worked for: Kiss 102, as Programme Manager; Kiss 100, newsreader; BBC Radio Five, reporter; BBC Radio 1, producer of the Annie Nightingale show; Planet 24, researcher on GayTimeTV; BBC Two, contributor to Map Man; Ministry of Sound, Head of Radio; LBC, producer; and MTV, music programmer. At Atlantic 252 he was a producer and newsreader and co-presented a review show with Chris Coco. He also spent several years (1990–1993) working for Manchester City Council's Equality Group as a Gay Men's officer, charged with implementing their policy of non-discrimination and giving training sessions to staff countering homophobia, during the period when Section 28 was being enforced.
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The Tube map is a schematic transport map of the lines, stations and services of the London Underground, known colloquially as "the Tube", hence the map's name. The first schematic Tube map was designed by Harry Beck in 1931. Since then, it has been expanded to include more of London's public transport systems, including the Docklands Light Railway, London Overground, the Elizabeth line, Tramlink, the London Cable Car and Thameslink.
The Circle line is a spiral-shaped London Underground line, running from Hammersmith in the west to Edgware Road and then looping around central London back to Edgware Road. The railway is below ground in the central section and on the loop east of Paddington. Unlike London's deep-level lines, the Circle line tunnels are just below the surface and are of similar size to those on British main lines. Printed in yellow on the Tube map, the 17-mile (27 km) line serves 36 stations, including most of London's main line termini. Almost all of the route, and all the stations, are shared with one or more of the three other sub-surface lines, namely the District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. On the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines combined, over 141 million passenger journeys were recorded in 2019.
Osterley is a London Underground station in Osterley in west London. The station is on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line, between Boston Manor and Hounslow East. The station is located on Great West Road (A4) close to the National Trust-owned Osterley Park. It is in Travelcard Zone 4.
Henry Charles Beck was an English technical draughtsman who created the first diagrammatic London Underground Tube map in 1931. Beck drew the diagram after being laid off by the Signalling Department of Underground Electric Railways of London.
Boston Manor is a London Underground station at the boundary of the boroughs of Hounslow and Ealing. The station is situated on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line, between Osterley and Northfields stations, in Travelcard Zone 4.
Finchley Central is a London Underground station in the Church End area of Finchley, north London. The station is located on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line, between West Finchley and East Finchley stations; it is the junction for the short branch to Mill Hill East. The station is around 7 miles north-northwest of Charing Cross and is in Travelcard Zone 4.
South Wimbledon is a London Underground station in South Wimbledon, a suburb of Wimbledon in south-west London. The station is on the Northern line, situated between Colliers Wood and Morden stations. It is located on the corner of Merton High Street (A238) and Morden Road (A219). South Wimbledon is on the boundary between Travelcard Zone 3 and Zone 4.
Johnston is a sans-serif typeface designed by and named after Edward Johnston. The typeface was commissioned in 1913 by Frank Pick, commercial manager of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, as part of his plan to strengthen the company's corporate identity. Johnston was originally created for printing, but it rapidly became used for the enamel station signs of the Underground system as well.
Gants Hill is a London Underground station in the largely residential Gants Hill district of Ilford in east London. It is served by the Central line and is between Redbridge and Newbury Park stations on the Hainault loop. It is in Travelcard Zone 4. It is the easternmost station to be below ground on the London Underground network and the busiest on the Hainault loop.
Lots Road Power Station is a disused gas and oil-fired power station on the River Thames at Lots Road in Chelsea, London in the south-west of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, which supplied electricity to the London Underground system. It is sometimes erroneously referred to as Fulham Power Station, a name properly applied to another former station a mile south-west along the Tideway.
Tooting Broadway is a London Underground station in Tooting in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South London. The station is on the Northern line, between Tooting Bec and Colliers Wood stations and is in Travelcard Zone 3.
A transit map is a topological map in the form of a schematic diagram used to illustrate the routes and stations within a public transport system—whether this be bus, tram, rapid transit, commuter rail or ferry routes. Metro maps, subway maps, or tube maps of metropolitan railways are some common examples.
Andrew Martin is an English novelist, rail historian, documentary maker, journalist and musician.
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tunnel can be regionally called a subway, tube, or underground. They are sometimes grade-separated on elevated railways, in which case some are referred to as el trains – short for "elevated" – or skytrains. Rapid transit systems are railways, usually electric, that unlike buses or trams operate on an exclusive right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles.
Charles Walter Clark (1885–1972) was an architect who worked for the Metropolitan Railway from 1911 to 1933 and was responsible for designing 25 stations, five of which are listed buildings today.
Between 1900 and 1913, Hector Guimard was responsible for the first generation of entrances to the underground stations of the Paris Métro. His Art Nouveau designs in cast iron and glass dating mostly to 1900, and the associated lettering that he also designed, created what became known as the Métro style and popularized Art Nouveau. However, arbiters of style were scandalized and the public was also less enamored of his more elaborate entrances. In 1904 his design for the Opéra station at Place de l'Opéra was rejected and his association with the Métro ended; many of his station entrances have been demolished, including all three of the pavilion type. Those that remain are now all protected historical monuments, one has been reconstituted, and some originals and replicas also survive outside France.