Why do so many U. S. cities have gridded streets?
video description
Date: 2019-09-12
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 10
IsThisTheKrustyKrab?
Miami has a cartesian gridded street system and is the only major city in Florida to have a true gridded street system. Henry Flagler originally engineered the street system when Miami was first incepted as a city. He wanted to mimic the gridded street system in New York City where he originally came from as a businessman. Flagler St is the dividing line of North and South and could be equivalent to the x coordinate. Miami Ave divides East and West and is in Downtown similar to the y coordinate and the Ave numbers get bigger the further West you go of Miami Ave. NW streets are North and West of Flagler and Miami Ave, respectively, and the street numbers get bigger as you go further north in the county. SW is South of Flagler and West of Miami Ave. and the street numbers get bigger as you go farther south of Flagler St. NE and SE streets all follow the similar pattern only these are East of Miami Ave. in Downtown Miami. This cartesian gridded system makes finding streets/avenues very easy and practical. Personally, I think gridded city streets are awesome.
reply
Miami has a cartesian gridded street system and is the only major city in Florida to have a true gridded street system. Henry Flagler originally engineered the street system when Miami was first incepted as a city. He wanted to mimic the gridded street system in New York City where he originally came from as a businessman. Flagler St is the dividing line of North and South and could be equivalent to the x coordinate. Miami Ave divides East and West and is in Downtown similar to the y coordinate and the Ave numbers get bigger the further West you go of Miami Ave. NW streets are North and West of Flagler and Miami Ave, respectively, and the street numbers get bigger as you go further north in the county. SW is South of Flagler and West of Miami Ave. and the street numbers get bigger as you go farther south of Flagler St. NE and SE streets all follow the similar pattern only these are East of Miami Ave. in Downtown Miami. This cartesian gridded system makes finding streets/avenues very easy and practical. Personally, I think gridded city streets are awesome.
reply
yacetube
Didn't you forget a Major explanation? I've heard the Jefferson plan was, according to the founding fathers' ideals of freedom and equality, embracing this American philosophy through the grid. Equal neighbourhood design and blocks for all in all directions, freedom to go everywhere (the grid actually makes lots of streets everywhere, compared to old europe for exemple, with many exemples of areas where you have to walk a long way to find a crossing. Freedom to navigate through space and equal design for all citizens. And you should have taken a few seconds to mention the imoportance of this pattern in all previous new cities, from south American colonies to Romans cities (basically every major European existing city, from the empire) and Greek utopias such as Hippodamos of Milet, based on the ancient philosophies and thinking for an ideal city, at the time.
reply
Didn't you forget a Major explanation? I've heard the Jefferson plan was, according to the founding fathers' ideals of freedom and equality, embracing this American philosophy through the grid. Equal neighbourhood design and blocks for all in all directions, freedom to go everywhere (the grid actually makes lots of streets everywhere, compared to old europe for exemple, with many exemples of areas where you have to walk a long way to find a crossing. Freedom to navigate through space and equal design for all citizens. And you should have taken a few seconds to mention the imoportance of this pattern in all previous new cities, from south American colonies to Romans cities (basically every major European existing city, from the empire) and Greek utopias such as Hippodamos of Milet, based on the ancient philosophies and thinking for an ideal city, at the time.
reply
TalenGryphon
It's hilarious when people try to use grids on hilly terrain, the founders get intoan arguement about grid orientation, or (in the case of Seattle) Both. Then you end up with grids that don't align to one another, causing weird dogleg intersections that get people lost. There is also West Dravus St, which blithely tries to climb straight up a ludicrously steep hill. (It's nearly useless. I've seen Semis jackknife on it in a mild rain. Makes for fun skiing on the rare occasions it snows tho)I remember seeing street designs broken into types as followed: Grid, Parallel, Fractured Parallel, and Loops and Lolipops. The last one being an amusingly quaint way to say Suburban hellscape you'll surely get lost in. Plus there's odd examples like Paris that were deliberately obtuse so as to make invasion difficult
reply
It's hilarious when people try to use grids on hilly terrain, the founders get intoan arguement about grid orientation, or (in the case of Seattle) Both. Then you end up with grids that don't align to one another, causing weird dogleg intersections that get people lost. There is also West Dravus St, which blithely tries to climb straight up a ludicrously steep hill. (It's nearly useless. I've seen Semis jackknife on it in a mild rain. Makes for fun skiing on the rare occasions it snows tho)I remember seeing street designs broken into types as followed: Grid, Parallel, Fractured Parallel, and Loops and Lolipops. The last one being an amusingly quaint way to say Suburban hellscape you'll surely get lost in. Plus there's odd examples like Paris that were deliberately obtuse so as to make invasion difficult
reply
Neurofied Yamato
Gird cities are easy to navigate and plan out too. It also is a more efficient use of space. Cubes and slopes cut out usable space since buildings will end up having small triangular gaps in between them to facilitate the curve. It's simply logical design choice. Mototirzed and non-motorized form of transport can easily go from point A to point B with infinite amount of routes since they all are grids. weirdly placed roads will create a choke point because there's no alternative as in grid cities unless specifically design so. And yes it is easier to grow a city because city planning is simple and added an extra block is much simpler than trying to shape around a blob of a city. I know it lacks aesthetic feel of a non-uniformed city. But grids are simply more practical
reply
Gird cities are easy to navigate and plan out too. It also is a more efficient use of space. Cubes and slopes cut out usable space since buildings will end up having small triangular gaps in between them to facilitate the curve. It's simply logical design choice. Mototirzed and non-motorized form of transport can easily go from point A to point B with infinite amount of routes since they all are grids. weirdly placed roads will create a choke point because there's no alternative as in grid cities unless specifically design so. And yes it is easier to grow a city because city planning is simple and added an extra block is much simpler than trying to shape around a blob of a city. I know it lacks aesthetic feel of a non-uniformed city. But grids are simply more practical
reply
Chris R
This is not really strange or even unique in the Americas. New Spain and the Kingdom of Peru, both the first and main Spanish viceroyalties planned out grid cities all across the continent. Precolonial cities like ancient Teotihuacan and the Mexico Tenochtitlan of the Aztecs (Meshika) also used grid patterns. In fact, Mexico City (aka Tenochtitlan) still has its basic grid plan with major avenues radiating out of el zocalo, formerly Tenochtitlan's largest plaza. It was a convergence of prehispanic grid city+plaza traditions and renaissance city planning theories which undoubtedly influenced 16-18th century city development in the Americas. South American examples: Santiago de Chile, Ollantaytambo, Cusco, and Lima.
reply
This is not really strange or even unique in the Americas. New Spain and the Kingdom of Peru, both the first and main Spanish viceroyalties planned out grid cities all across the continent. Precolonial cities like ancient Teotihuacan and the Mexico Tenochtitlan of the Aztecs (Meshika) also used grid patterns. In fact, Mexico City (aka Tenochtitlan) still has its basic grid plan with major avenues radiating out of el zocalo, formerly Tenochtitlan's largest plaza. It was a convergence of prehispanic grid city+plaza traditions and renaissance city planning theories which undoubtedly influenced 16-18th century city development in the Americas. South American examples: Santiago de Chile, Ollantaytambo, Cusco, and Lima.
reply
lohphat
. because farmland parceled out recently? Europe has OLD property lines which followed natural features. Modern cities were recent empty flat land so. grid. BTW, San Fransisco has two competing grids which were rebuilt even after the earthquake and fire of 1906. Streets north of diagonal market street run N-S-E-W, streets south of Market are parallel to Market. Crossing market bt car is restricted and very confusing.
reply
. because farmland parceled out recently? Europe has OLD property lines which followed natural features. Modern cities were recent empty flat land so. grid. BTW, San Fransisco has two competing grids which were rebuilt even after the earthquake and fire of 1906. Streets north of diagonal market street run N-S-E-W, streets south of Market are parallel to Market. Crossing market bt car is restricted and very confusing.
reply
Fernando Trebien
People raised in messy cities find it easy to navigate cities with grid streets. The reverse is not true. The trick to decoding any city (including those based on grids) is to identify its radial pattern: which major streets lead to downtown, and which major streets connect suburbs peripherally. Moscow and Canberra are obvious examples, but any European city can be fitted into this simple description.
reply
People raised in messy cities find it easy to navigate cities with grid streets. The reverse is not true. The trick to decoding any city (including those based on grids) is to identify its radial pattern: which major streets lead to downtown, and which major streets connect suburbs peripherally. Moscow and Canberra are obvious examples, but any European city can be fitted into this simple description.
reply
Richard Williamson
Love the video, but you have some inaccuracies when you reference Jefferson. You are accurate on the details of his plan and when he drew it in the 1780s, but he was not president at the time (he was president between 1801-1809. If we look at all the states that were created following 1787, the influence of Jefferson's grid is apparent--especially in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado.
reply
Love the video, but you have some inaccuracies when you reference Jefferson. You are accurate on the details of his plan and when he drew it in the 1780s, but he was not president at the time (he was president between 1801-1809. If we look at all the states that were created following 1787, the influence of Jefferson's grid is apparent--especially in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado.
reply
Moangus PIckard
As someone from Europe, i never liked the idea of grided cities. Some like New York do rise above the faults, and make themselves unique. But for most its a bad thing. It makes cities feel like a project, soulless. You cant see history of the city, its development, its soul. Each looks the same. All streets look the same. While its better for travel and transit, it loses much on aesthetic.
reply
As someone from Europe, i never liked the idea of grided cities. Some like New York do rise above the faults, and make themselves unique. But for most its a bad thing. It makes cities feel like a project, soulless. You cant see history of the city, its development, its soul. Each looks the same. All streets look the same. While its better for travel and transit, it loses much on aesthetic.
reply
George
I get the practicality of the grid but OMG its so boring. Even in NYC, just look up or down left and right and a straight shot. I prefer walking downtown. mystery corners with turns and hidden buildings and views. architecture that has to confirm to an organic growth pattern so the buildings are more interesting. I mean would the flatiron be the flatiron if it wasn't for that pointed intersection?
reply
I get the practicality of the grid but OMG its so boring. Even in NYC, just look up or down left and right and a straight shot. I prefer walking downtown. mystery corners with turns and hidden buildings and views. architecture that has to confirm to an organic growth pattern so the buildings are more interesting. I mean would the flatiron be the flatiron if it wasn't for that pointed intersection?
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
