The Journal

Notes from the road.

Stories, research and product diaries on building the map for West Africa's informal transit.

Mapping the unmapped: how we charted 1,200 trotro stops

When the map ends, the city begins. A field report on tracing Accra's living transit network — one mate, one stop, one shout at a time.

Trotros, danfos, matatus — they aren't a stopgap. They are the system. Here's why we're building for them first.

Google Maps draws roads. We draw routes. The small but stubborn difference that changed everything about how the app feels.