Navigate cities when your phone is dead, GPS is down, or you're in an unfamiliar area.
In a disaster, GPS networks may fail, phone batteries die, and familiar landmarks may be destroyed or obscured by smoke, debris, or flooding. Knowing how to navigate a city using traditional methods is a critical urban survival skill. This guide covers using street grids, building numbers, public infrastructure, the sun, and mental mapping to find your way in any city.
Step 1 of 6
Most planned cities use a grid. Numbered streets usually run one direction, named streets the other. In many US cities, numbered streets increase from a central point (often downtown). Learn the pattern for your city.
Pro Tip
If you know one intersection, you can figure out the grid direction and navigate from there.
Continue learning with these related guides.
Use a compass, map, sun, and stars to find your way when technology fails.
Know when and how to evacuate, what to take, and what to do on the road.
Use radios, mesh networks, and signal methods when cellular and internet are down.