I find that having a GPS all the time in my pocket has really done wonders in my ability to understand how the city fits together. Not driving everywhere probably plays some part in that too.
> I find that having a GPS all the time in my pocket has really done wonders in my ability to understand how the city fits together.
How? The problem is GPS routing takes you on all kinds of one-off shortcuts which are a poor framework for general navigation, and tend to lack repetition. It also relieves you of the need to think on the way from A to B.
> Not driving everywhere probably plays some part in that too.
I could see that as being helpful, but that's only really doable in a small area, like a city center. You're not going to learn a metro area that way.
I have more or less the same thought as you (that a phone mapping app isn't helpful overall), but I can see how the moving map functionality and pinch-to-zoom would be helpful to learn the overview of an area, in a way that I think the turn-by-turn optimized navigation is harmful.
