This, from Beyond Brilliance, looks like a fine idea. The idea being: a giant map on the floor of a public space, of the surrounding places. The one they illustrate is quite large scale, it would appear, and is in Washington DC.

My guess would be that, what with all these new materials (spin-off from Space Shuttles blah blah blah) everyone talks about these days, this kind of thing has got a whole lot easier to do than it would have been, say, twenty years ago.

I'm guessing ceramics would be how to do it. If you had a London map in, say Trafalgar Square, there would be nothing to prevent other almost identical maps, done with the same kit of ceramic tiles, in other open spaces, if the idea caught on and was liked.

And I know that ceramic tiles have improved dramatically in recent years, because I collect promotional mugs. The old ones get scratched when regularly washed, and the colours of whatever promotional junk is on them often fades quite badly. Coffee/tea gets stuck in scratches. Not good. But more recent mugs with lots of colourful messages on them remain pristine no matter what vicious scourers are applied to them.

Are there any maps like this in London already, for me to go and photo?