Sorry for the bad title, I’ll try and explain more 
You see, I’m currently creating a overview 2D type of game, and in that game I’m going to have a big city overview map for the players to roam around in (think GTA and Zelda type). 
The problem is that I’m very uncertain on how I should do this. I know a lot of people make tiles and use arrays to make maps in 2D overview games, but since I’m going to create a large map, with alot of free space like streets, I was wondering if it would be better to just make a big background and then use the arraylist method to draw important objects, like building and trashcans, on top of the background again
What do you think?