What’s Your World Look Like Now? Send Us a Map

The pandemic has redrawn our worlds, and we’re wondering if you might draw yours for us.

We’re taking a page from a recent CityLab experiment and invite you to send in handmade maps of your life today in lockdown.

It could be a map of your neighbourhood, your home, your fridge, your places to relax — interpret it however you wish!

We say handmade, but we don’t care what you use. It could be pencil, Photoshop or Play-Doh.

Show us the places driving you crazy, the places you go to for refuge, and the places you dearly miss.

We’re looking forward to seeing your kitchen table offices, grocery battlefields and secret neighbourhood haunts. Stay tuned for our showcase of your brave new worlds.

You can submit your map in our form here before end of day May 11.

Or email them to [email protected] with your name, a little bit about your map and the subject line “Map.”

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To give you an idea of what’s possible, a few of us Tyeesters put on our cartography hats and made some samples for you.

Dorothy Woodend, culture editor:

“Sometimes every day can feel like a Tolkienesque quest, from avoiding the suckage of social media quicksand to not hurling yourself into the fires of Mount Doom’s daily news. If you can trudge along, helped by your trusty staff and a goodly supply of snacks, you might just make it back to your hobbit hole, where you can drink ale and put your hairy feet up.”

Christopher Cheung, reporter:

“I’ve been buying groceries for my grandparents, and we’re spoiled with choice in good old south Van. It’s become a bit of a game to find the best bang for your buck. This is literal, as choi can be as cheap as around a dollar a pound, and fruits even less than that. The quirky local spots are all so special and distinct I couldn’t help but throw some of their iconic bags onto the map.”

Emma Cooper, outreach manager:

“I love my neighbourhood. There is a park every two metres, and some of my favourite friends in the city live a short walk away in what I dub ‘The Friend Zone.’ It used to be that the coffee shops, restaurants, record and thrift stores made up my image of my neighbourhood, and while I look forward to browsing Red Cat Records and eating at Jackalope’s again soon, now I see the access to green space, the medium density and the access to groceries (and beer) as vital. I am well positioned to bike further afield to stay in touch with friends (always at a distance), and I am pushing myself to bike into Burnaby and towards Port Moody when I’m not having a cathartic cry in a pocket park.”