Can U. S. Cities Build Narrow European Streets?
video description
I just commented this under another comment, but the reason why Elfreth's Alley is a tourist attraction is because it is the oldest residential street in the United States and not because it's out of context in a modern American city (The plaque states at 3: 54, the collection is exceptional, [because the buildings are extremely well preserved]. Quince street and the others you mentioned. They're found all over historic Philadelphia. is a glaringly obvious example of why Elfreths Alley's existence isn't at all odd in Philadelphia itself. Another small nitpick is the fact that you mentioned how affordable they were. They're not, size has nothing to do with it. Most houses in that area are fairly expensive, that's all.
Sorry for this long comment, I'm not hating on the video at all, I did say I loved it, but I wouldn't want any misleading information to be put out. On your next visit to Philly, you should go up to the Wissahickon and other neighborhoods in northwest Philly to check out some amazing historical buildings, sights and streets. In addition to NW, there's still amazing networks of side streets within blocks in South Philadelphia as well!
Date: 2023-06-15
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Comments and reviews: 19
Michele
I moved in Toronto's GTA (Vaughan) after living 15 years in Rome and 17 years in my small home town. So probably one of the few here with direct experience. I can guarantee you that living in Rome was a nightmare because of horrible transit, sidewalks and high density buildings (the so called Palazzine. Do I think that the North American model is the winning one? Absolutely not. The Suburban sprawl and the restrict zoning policies are the worst decisions ever taken by American governments and I don't understand why Canadian ones had to copy paste it. The car infrastructure at scale failed miserably, reaching its diminishing return point long ago and forcing us to buy and use cars to be stuck in traffic. Are cars the problem? No, they are still a necessary TOOL (yes, tool) for work transportation and specific civilians, but very inefficient for most of us. What proud Americans call freedom to move with a car is actually a limit in having LESS freedom of using alternatives like trains, bikes, or just walk. You are NOT free to have alternatives to cars. Replicating European urbanism in North America isn't doable like the video explains but replicating European APPROACH can be the solution. Living in Rome was a nightmare because we tried to cram the cars infrastructure into cities built for thousands of years for walking people, instead of keeping the old approach and promote again walking and biking for short distances and rails for longer ones. But look a bit further at Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Tallin or many other cities in northern Europe and you'll see the situation slowly improving. So the new approach would make NA cities WAY BETTER THAN EUROPEAN ONES: make the suburban sprawl a mixed use zone again without huge parking requirements, allowing walkable or bikeable distances between houses and recreational or educational buildings (restaurant, bars, libraries, schools) and connect downtown with multiple and well connected train and subway stations. Giving alternatives to cars to people and so REAL FREEDOM OF CHOICE will remove cars from the streets, making even driving for workers and driving lovers way better than now.
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I moved in Toronto's GTA (Vaughan) after living 15 years in Rome and 17 years in my small home town. So probably one of the few here with direct experience. I can guarantee you that living in Rome was a nightmare because of horrible transit, sidewalks and high density buildings (the so called Palazzine. Do I think that the North American model is the winning one? Absolutely not. The Suburban sprawl and the restrict zoning policies are the worst decisions ever taken by American governments and I don't understand why Canadian ones had to copy paste it. The car infrastructure at scale failed miserably, reaching its diminishing return point long ago and forcing us to buy and use cars to be stuck in traffic. Are cars the problem? No, they are still a necessary TOOL (yes, tool) for work transportation and specific civilians, but very inefficient for most of us. What proud Americans call freedom to move with a car is actually a limit in having LESS freedom of using alternatives like trains, bikes, or just walk. You are NOT free to have alternatives to cars. Replicating European urbanism in North America isn't doable like the video explains but replicating European APPROACH can be the solution. Living in Rome was a nightmare because we tried to cram the cars infrastructure into cities built for thousands of years for walking people, instead of keeping the old approach and promote again walking and biking for short distances and rails for longer ones. But look a bit further at Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Tallin or many other cities in northern Europe and you'll see the situation slowly improving. So the new approach would make NA cities WAY BETTER THAN EUROPEAN ONES: make the suburban sprawl a mixed use zone again without huge parking requirements, allowing walkable or bikeable distances between houses and recreational or educational buildings (restaurant, bars, libraries, schools) and connect downtown with multiple and well connected train and subway stations. Giving alternatives to cars to people and so REAL FREEDOM OF CHOICE will remove cars from the streets, making even driving for workers and driving lovers way better than now.
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Christopher
I grew up in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in the 1960s. We didn't have a car, and my parents never felt the need for a car because of the excellent public transportation. On the rare occasions we needed a car, like to go on vacation, they rented one.
Chelsea was built on a pretty strict grid system, so even though the houses were small-scale and beautiful (mainly brownstones) it didn't have the feel of a European city. However, I went to school in Greenwich Village. Even though the Village had some wide avenues that were rudely driven through back in the 1930s, most of the neighborhood was not built on the grid. My school, for example, was on Hudson Street at the head of Grove Street. Hudson Street was pretty wide, but it was paved with cobblestones, which kept the traffic slow. Grove Street was narrow and lined with small, early 19th-century rowhouses, and it had a bend in it. It was always wonderful walking around that bend as I was going to school, and seeing the tower of the school's chapel come into view.
I moved to Boston in 1977 for college and stayed there ten years. There the contrast between old-style city planning and urban renewal was on full display. The densely built-up neighborhoods, like the backside of Beacon Hill or the North End, were delightful. These were low-income neighborhoods that were considered blighted, but they have since become very desirable places to live. On the other hand, the very similar old West End neighborhood had been demolished around 1960 and replaced by apartment towers in the park. These towers were built as relatively high-end housing, but I don't know of anybody who liked it, even friends who lived there. Whenever I've walked through it, it feels empty desolate.
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I grew up in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in the 1960s. We didn't have a car, and my parents never felt the need for a car because of the excellent public transportation. On the rare occasions we needed a car, like to go on vacation, they rented one.
Chelsea was built on a pretty strict grid system, so even though the houses were small-scale and beautiful (mainly brownstones) it didn't have the feel of a European city. However, I went to school in Greenwich Village. Even though the Village had some wide avenues that were rudely driven through back in the 1930s, most of the neighborhood was not built on the grid. My school, for example, was on Hudson Street at the head of Grove Street. Hudson Street was pretty wide, but it was paved with cobblestones, which kept the traffic slow. Grove Street was narrow and lined with small, early 19th-century rowhouses, and it had a bend in it. It was always wonderful walking around that bend as I was going to school, and seeing the tower of the school's chapel come into view.
I moved to Boston in 1977 for college and stayed there ten years. There the contrast between old-style city planning and urban renewal was on full display. The densely built-up neighborhoods, like the backside of Beacon Hill or the North End, were delightful. These were low-income neighborhoods that were considered blighted, but they have since become very desirable places to live. On the other hand, the very similar old West End neighborhood had been demolished around 1960 and replaced by apartment towers in the park. These towers were built as relatively high-end housing, but I don't know of anybody who liked it, even friends who lived there. Whenever I've walked through it, it feels empty desolate.
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icomefromCanadia
Lots of old blocks in London, and elsewhere in The UK have old mews, originally for horses and such, that have often been converted into additional housing units, but could also stand as inspiration for weaving parking into terraced home blocks.
They often have a single car width entrance with nicely built archways over/around them, so from the street, the beautiful old blocks aren't interrupted by giant parking lots or open garage entrances. These then open to a small courtyard where there could either be parking spots directly, or they it could open into individual garages, or a parkade entrance. The main thing is that an inset mews-type space gives a spot for parking, and access to the back of units without the visual or spatial interruption of an open, exposed parking area. Parking is perfectly accessible, but hidden from and minimized on the narrower, more pedestrian friendly street frontages; instead of multiple garage entrances on the street, all cars are funneled to the one pleasant entrance to the mews, yet by having a courtyard-like space inside the mews, they still offer direct access to the backs of the units on that block/building.
The built up archways actually create visual interest to the block as they form part of the built facades, even if it's just an entrance to parking.
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Lots of old blocks in London, and elsewhere in The UK have old mews, originally for horses and such, that have often been converted into additional housing units, but could also stand as inspiration for weaving parking into terraced home blocks.
They often have a single car width entrance with nicely built archways over/around them, so from the street, the beautiful old blocks aren't interrupted by giant parking lots or open garage entrances. These then open to a small courtyard where there could either be parking spots directly, or they it could open into individual garages, or a parkade entrance. The main thing is that an inset mews-type space gives a spot for parking, and access to the back of units without the visual or spatial interruption of an open, exposed parking area. Parking is perfectly accessible, but hidden from and minimized on the narrower, more pedestrian friendly street frontages; instead of multiple garage entrances on the street, all cars are funneled to the one pleasant entrance to the mews, yet by having a courtyard-like space inside the mews, they still offer direct access to the backs of the units on that block/building.
The built up archways actually create visual interest to the block as they form part of the built facades, even if it's just an entrance to parking.
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Vincent
Can U. S. Cities Build Narrow European Streets?
(Historic) Philadelphia: (3: 09) Hold my beer.
Had a friend who lived on Quince street, and we used the upper part of Quince street as an alleyway shortcut to get to walnut. Lastly, Latimer and Camac street are similar in design to Quince and there are several other alleyway streets sprinkled throughout Center City and Old City. Drury is another such east west street that runs between chestnut and Sansom. Sansom is itself very narrow but cars can drive it and I wonder if Sansom used to be an alley street. Many of these streets, particularly the further east you go are cobblestone and have the charming 2 or 3 story usually 200-300 year old federalist style townhouses on them. Sense of community is almost guaranteed because the houses (and streets) are close together, are walkable, and amazingly enough tree-lined, despite the fact that the tree's root systems can cover almost the whole sidewalk. However, the dirty secret is that several other neighborhoods nearby simulate the intimate streetscape, through, but actually have garages in front of or behind the house, (similar to in the video) accessible by a slightly wider alleyway street.
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Can U. S. Cities Build Narrow European Streets?
(Historic) Philadelphia: (3: 09) Hold my beer.
Had a friend who lived on Quince street, and we used the upper part of Quince street as an alleyway shortcut to get to walnut. Lastly, Latimer and Camac street are similar in design to Quince and there are several other alleyway streets sprinkled throughout Center City and Old City. Drury is another such east west street that runs between chestnut and Sansom. Sansom is itself very narrow but cars can drive it and I wonder if Sansom used to be an alley street. Many of these streets, particularly the further east you go are cobblestone and have the charming 2 or 3 story usually 200-300 year old federalist style townhouses on them. Sense of community is almost guaranteed because the houses (and streets) are close together, are walkable, and amazingly enough tree-lined, despite the fact that the tree's root systems can cover almost the whole sidewalk. However, the dirty secret is that several other neighborhoods nearby simulate the intimate streetscape, through, but actually have garages in front of or behind the house, (similar to in the video) accessible by a slightly wider alleyway street.
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Elias
As a local Utahn and having lived in SLC i can say by first hand experience that walking around SLC is not enjoyable. You feel very exposed and vulnerable as there is hardly anyone else walking around and the streets are sooo wide. It also doesn't help that the city is designed for cars not people.
Integrating narrower streets to run through the blocks would be amazing and provide much more enjoyable spaces to walk through.
I've traveled to Japan and Europe many times and was surprised to discover that I actually enjoyed being able to walk around and that even if it was a 20 to 30 min walk, the narrower passages with tall buildings on each side made it exciting. Honestly not too different from hiking in slot canyons like antelope canyon, buckskin gulch, or the Narrows. The thing is, the buildings don't even need to be huge to create this effect. Three to five-story buildings along these narrow passages do the trick just fine. Which is important to note since many Utahns aren't fond of the idea of building tall buildings because they want to protect the skyline and view of the mountains.
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As a local Utahn and having lived in SLC i can say by first hand experience that walking around SLC is not enjoyable. You feel very exposed and vulnerable as there is hardly anyone else walking around and the streets are sooo wide. It also doesn't help that the city is designed for cars not people.
Integrating narrower streets to run through the blocks would be amazing and provide much more enjoyable spaces to walk through.
I've traveled to Japan and Europe many times and was surprised to discover that I actually enjoyed being able to walk around and that even if it was a 20 to 30 min walk, the narrower passages with tall buildings on each side made it exciting. Honestly not too different from hiking in slot canyons like antelope canyon, buckskin gulch, or the Narrows. The thing is, the buildings don't even need to be huge to create this effect. Three to five-story buildings along these narrow passages do the trick just fine. Which is important to note since many Utahns aren't fond of the idea of building tall buildings because they want to protect the skyline and view of the mountains.
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Ricky911
As someone who lives in Rome, I honestly don't think you should be using this city as a positive model. I live closer to the outskirts and it's terrible how car centric the infrastructure is. This is true even in the centre. In a study from a few years ago, Rome was found to be the 2nd city where drivers tend to spend the most time in cars. This city was built by the Romans for people and demolished for cars. The EUR district (built in 1942) is a good example of this. It's where Formula E races btw. Also, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II is always congested during rush hour, just like any other road in Rome. The annoying thing is the bus system is unreliable and the tram/metro systems don't extend far enough (I have to walk 3kms to get to the nearest tram station. This is why people choose to drive anyway even despite the density. I once walked 6km to get to Palazzo Bonaparte and I got there 5 minutes before my friends, who took the bus instead (the bus broke down. A much better example would have been Florence imo, which is the symbol of the Italian Renaissance
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As someone who lives in Rome, I honestly don't think you should be using this city as a positive model. I live closer to the outskirts and it's terrible how car centric the infrastructure is. This is true even in the centre. In a study from a few years ago, Rome was found to be the 2nd city where drivers tend to spend the most time in cars. This city was built by the Romans for people and demolished for cars. The EUR district (built in 1942) is a good example of this. It's where Formula E races btw. Also, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II is always congested during rush hour, just like any other road in Rome. The annoying thing is the bus system is unreliable and the tram/metro systems don't extend far enough (I have to walk 3kms to get to the nearest tram station. This is why people choose to drive anyway even despite the density. I once walked 6km to get to Palazzo Bonaparte and I got there 5 minutes before my friends, who took the bus instead (the bus broke down. A much better example would have been Florence imo, which is the symbol of the Italian Renaissance
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Riaanki
Take it from somebody who lived in Rome. It's an absolute nightmare if you own a car. You can never find parking since very few apartments have dedicated parking for their residents. And when you have a family you can't just rely on public transport alone. Especially in a city like Rome where mass transit is never on time if they work at all. The narrow streets also make it very hard to collect garbage so you often have to walk far to dispose of your refuse. That is why Rome is one of the dirtiest cities in Europe.
If want cities that are less congested and more walkable. We need to get more people working remotely. So there is no reason for an office worker to live in a big city. They can move out to smaller neighborhoods on the outskirts of a city. That would make our cities less congested and bring a welcome cash injection into smaller outlying suburbs. The lack of demand in the city center will also lead to lower rent prices for people who have to live there.
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Take it from somebody who lived in Rome. It's an absolute nightmare if you own a car. You can never find parking since very few apartments have dedicated parking for their residents. And when you have a family you can't just rely on public transport alone. Especially in a city like Rome where mass transit is never on time if they work at all. The narrow streets also make it very hard to collect garbage so you often have to walk far to dispose of your refuse. That is why Rome is one of the dirtiest cities in Europe.
If want cities that are less congested and more walkable. We need to get more people working remotely. So there is no reason for an office worker to live in a big city. They can move out to smaller neighborhoods on the outskirts of a city. That would make our cities less congested and bring a welcome cash injection into smaller outlying suburbs. The lack of demand in the city center will also lead to lower rent prices for people who have to live there.
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Blass
Charleston, SC and Baltimore have beautiful old narrow streets. Savannah is another one of my favorites, with small squares throughout the city. One city that has quite a few historic townhouses is Cincinnati. Some are in better shape than others, but there's an effort to really make these older areas desirable, and people are realizing that they like the convenience of the city and they like living in a historic home. Louisville, Kentucky is another place where a lot of young people have bought old shotgun houses and made them nice.
One place you should look at is my current residence, Durham, North Carolina, which is in one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the USA. The city has made huge efforts to have a vibrant downtown; they've built new apartments, converted an old tobacco campus into a mixed use space, and instead of parking minimums, there are several parking garages where people can park for a minimal fee. It's a great downtown.
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Charleston, SC and Baltimore have beautiful old narrow streets. Savannah is another one of my favorites, with small squares throughout the city. One city that has quite a few historic townhouses is Cincinnati. Some are in better shape than others, but there's an effort to really make these older areas desirable, and people are realizing that they like the convenience of the city and they like living in a historic home. Louisville, Kentucky is another place where a lot of young people have bought old shotgun houses and made them nice.
One place you should look at is my current residence, Durham, North Carolina, which is in one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the USA. The city has made huge efforts to have a vibrant downtown; they've built new apartments, converted an old tobacco campus into a mixed use space, and instead of parking minimums, there are several parking garages where people can park for a minimal fee. It's a great downtown.
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whuzzzup
Dear US-Americans: Please do not think that those small streets we have in Europe is a good thing in general just because some young urban guys that seem to idealize European cities without ever having lived in some and knowing them only from pretty pictures tell you so.
Living in those city centers is not a good thing, because parking is very bad. Basically if you are not rich, you can forget about owning a car because either you look for a spot for half an hour each day and then walk to your home for another 20 minutes because the spot was a km away or you pay hundreds of dollars (or more) per month for a garage spot. Yes, now you will tell me but I don't need a car in the city - yeah sure, but most people do, because they kinda want to experience more than the things that are in reach of public transport.
We have to live with those streets in Europe, because we cannot change them anymore.
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Dear US-Americans: Please do not think that those small streets we have in Europe is a good thing in general just because some young urban guys that seem to idealize European cities without ever having lived in some and knowing them only from pretty pictures tell you so.
Living in those city centers is not a good thing, because parking is very bad. Basically if you are not rich, you can forget about owning a car because either you look for a spot for half an hour each day and then walk to your home for another 20 minutes because the spot was a km away or you pay hundreds of dollars (or more) per month for a garage spot. Yes, now you will tell me but I don't need a car in the city - yeah sure, but most people do, because they kinda want to experience more than the things that are in reach of public transport.
We have to live with those streets in Europe, because we cannot change them anymore.
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Domyras
as someone who's lived in several of these EU countries that have these roads let me tell you from experiences:
-Yes, the areas they create tend to be nicer & better to live in, with local restaurants, shops and decent transportation options.
-Yes, it can lead to lower housing/rent prices (per area) on average.
-No it is not cozy and fun to live in these cramped quarters.
It's a nice concept, but developers need to be forced to live in these things with a family of 4.
It's do-able but. very. working class 1900's yet dystopian?
(and now watch every Dutch person tear me apart for suggesting they're all bitter and annoyed at having to live in a less spacious house then a farmer in Kenya. x'D )
Increase the average housing size to be a little less are we all sardines?
and then it's honestly the closest we as a species have ever come to perfecting the concept of cities.
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as someone who's lived in several of these EU countries that have these roads let me tell you from experiences:
-Yes, the areas they create tend to be nicer & better to live in, with local restaurants, shops and decent transportation options.
-Yes, it can lead to lower housing/rent prices (per area) on average.
-No it is not cozy and fun to live in these cramped quarters.
It's a nice concept, but developers need to be forced to live in these things with a family of 4.
It's do-able but. very. working class 1900's yet dystopian?
(and now watch every Dutch person tear me apart for suggesting they're all bitter and annoyed at having to live in a less spacious house then a farmer in Kenya. x'D )
Increase the average housing size to be a little less are we all sardines?
and then it's honestly the closest we as a species have ever come to perfecting the concept of cities.
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Kristof
I live in Roeselare, Belgium and while this video was being uploaded I was walking through the city center. There are lot of building projects going on and I like to see how they are making progress. And since all the projects are in walking distance of each other it's a nice summer evening stroll. Anyway, I noticed that they have all one thing in common: walkways between the city blocks. Old office and apartment buildings are torn down and replaced with new ones. All the new buildings are centered around a small inner court with benches, trees and walkways that run between the roads. Exactly as you describe in your video. Only here we are taking it up to the next level. In the last couple of years there are at least 12 large projects within a mile radius. Even a large part of city hall (wich is a UNESCO World Heritage site) is now being rebuild according to the same principle.
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I live in Roeselare, Belgium and while this video was being uploaded I was walking through the city center. There are lot of building projects going on and I like to see how they are making progress. And since all the projects are in walking distance of each other it's a nice summer evening stroll. Anyway, I noticed that they have all one thing in common: walkways between the city blocks. Old office and apartment buildings are torn down and replaced with new ones. All the new buildings are centered around a small inner court with benches, trees and walkways that run between the roads. Exactly as you describe in your video. Only here we are taking it up to the next level. In the last couple of years there are at least 12 large projects within a mile radius. Even a large part of city hall (wich is a UNESCO World Heritage site) is now being rebuild according to the same principle.
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Jarethenator
To get this sort of infrastructure to become widespread, it'll have to start at buildings with garage or adjacent parking access. It'd be wonderful to live in a purely pedestrian/public transit friendly, less car-centric world; however, at least throughout the majority of the US and other similar countries, people have cars and need somewhere to put them. This is why some parking infrastructure would be required to appeal to the vast majority of people. Once you do popularize this in an area, though, you can definitely branch off into the more narrow, dense, pedestrian only living areas for those who either don't need/have cars or are fine with using one of those nearby lots. Making areas a lot more like these neighborhoods is very doable in a lot of ways and places, it's just not going to be easy without transitional planning.
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To get this sort of infrastructure to become widespread, it'll have to start at buildings with garage or adjacent parking access. It'd be wonderful to live in a purely pedestrian/public transit friendly, less car-centric world; however, at least throughout the majority of the US and other similar countries, people have cars and need somewhere to put them. This is why some parking infrastructure would be required to appeal to the vast majority of people. Once you do popularize this in an area, though, you can definitely branch off into the more narrow, dense, pedestrian only living areas for those who either don't need/have cars or are fine with using one of those nearby lots. Making areas a lot more like these neighborhoods is very doable in a lot of ways and places, it's just not going to be easy without transitional planning.
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DrScopeify
Most European cities with narrow streets were built as a critical design consideration for military and defensive reasons to hold back invading enemies, for many cities this also served as a method to maintain control over the population and prevent organization against the leadership and maintain control over the city population as well as a tax structure limiting access and passages depending on needs and affiliation. The downside of these narrow streets was difficulty in fighting fires, slowdown of trade and logistics and high levels of crime and disease as well as lack of access to basic services due to the complexity of these cities many of which today still lack modern services which still today in 2023 is an issue such as found in Italy, Portugal and Greece many areas I have been too seem downright 3rd world.
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Most European cities with narrow streets were built as a critical design consideration for military and defensive reasons to hold back invading enemies, for many cities this also served as a method to maintain control over the population and prevent organization against the leadership and maintain control over the city population as well as a tax structure limiting access and passages depending on needs and affiliation. The downside of these narrow streets was difficulty in fighting fires, slowdown of trade and logistics and high levels of crime and disease as well as lack of access to basic services due to the complexity of these cities many of which today still lack modern services which still today in 2023 is an issue such as found in Italy, Portugal and Greece many areas I have been too seem downright 3rd world.
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Astebbin
We had streets like this.
Urbanism was the norm in cities until massive waves of violence and crime displaced majority-white populations from city centers in the 1960s. Blockbusting and interracial violence killed America s urban centers. White flight is a victim-blaming euphemism for what was essentially ethnic cleansing. The only reason suburbs became the norm, the only reason people sold their city homes at a loss and moved to obviously less efficient and convenient living arrangements, was the arrival of one group of Americans who kill and commit violence at a rate more than 10x any other group. We aren t allowed to be honest about this for political reasons but the primary historical sources are all there. Since we can t be honest we blame car companies and each other and nothing meaningful changes.
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We had streets like this.
Urbanism was the norm in cities until massive waves of violence and crime displaced majority-white populations from city centers in the 1960s. Blockbusting and interracial violence killed America s urban centers. White flight is a victim-blaming euphemism for what was essentially ethnic cleansing. The only reason suburbs became the norm, the only reason people sold their city homes at a loss and moved to obviously less efficient and convenient living arrangements, was the arrival of one group of Americans who kill and commit violence at a rate more than 10x any other group. We aren t allowed to be honest about this for political reasons but the primary historical sources are all there. Since we can t be honest we blame car companies and each other and nothing meaningful changes.
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Tom
I m a resident of Philadelphia and can confirm that this kind of interconnected side-street network is more common than you d think, it just depends on where you are and when it was built. The Fishtown and Northern Liberties areas also include a lot of interconnected side streets beyond the overall grid, though they were built much later. Fishtown, the neighborhood I live in, happens to be located where the grids collide, so it s very walkable in this same manner.
I think as long as we adopt a transit-first approach to planning in Philly, we can overcome the lack of on-site parking and make it both safe and cheap to park your car closer to high speed mass transit, and then use that (or just walk/bike) to get around. We shouldn t really need cars, and IMO they make city living harder, not easier.
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I m a resident of Philadelphia and can confirm that this kind of interconnected side-street network is more common than you d think, it just depends on where you are and when it was built. The Fishtown and Northern Liberties areas also include a lot of interconnected side streets beyond the overall grid, though they were built much later. Fishtown, the neighborhood I live in, happens to be located where the grids collide, so it s very walkable in this same manner.
I think as long as we adopt a transit-first approach to planning in Philly, we can overcome the lack of on-site parking and make it both safe and cheap to park your car closer to high speed mass transit, and then use that (or just walk/bike) to get around. We shouldn t really need cars, and IMO they make city living harder, not easier.
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travel
6: 25 Can the US build Euro-style street networks? The question makes no sense. Most of these Euro-style street networks haven't been built by city planners working from a blueprint; they are the result of centuries of people living here and there, building here and there, and letting the street network develop organically (first of all as the connection of the free places between buildings. Your structural problem, dear City Beautiful, is your constructivist view of cities, and your lack of sense of history and continuity. You keep wondering and asking questions, but your premises are so radically out of nowhere that all the answers you may give would be, at most, not even wrong. Start by asking senseful questions, and only then you may find interesting answers.
Yours truly,
A European.
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6: 25 Can the US build Euro-style street networks? The question makes no sense. Most of these Euro-style street networks haven't been built by city planners working from a blueprint; they are the result of centuries of people living here and there, building here and there, and letting the street network develop organically (first of all as the connection of the free places between buildings. Your structural problem, dear City Beautiful, is your constructivist view of cities, and your lack of sense of history and continuity. You keep wondering and asking questions, but your premises are so radically out of nowhere that all the answers you may give would be, at most, not even wrong. Start by asking senseful questions, and only then you may find interesting answers.
Yours truly,
A European.
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Thomas
I've always really disliked the staunch grid design of American cities. On an aesthetic level, it just makes the city feel monotonous and clinical. It also doesn't allow you to appreciate the architecture of buildings at their most ideal angle, like a curvilinear street allows. Curvilinear streets and irregular street patterns create a dynamic sense of intrigue and mystique when walking about a city, because your view always terminates at a particular end point, creating a sense of enclosure, where the eye naturally becomes curious of what is around the bend.
On a pragmatic level, the grid design is illogical because basic pythagorean theorem tells you that a diagonal path will always be quicker than having to take a north/south path and then an east/west path.
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I've always really disliked the staunch grid design of American cities. On an aesthetic level, it just makes the city feel monotonous and clinical. It also doesn't allow you to appreciate the architecture of buildings at their most ideal angle, like a curvilinear street allows. Curvilinear streets and irregular street patterns create a dynamic sense of intrigue and mystique when walking about a city, because your view always terminates at a particular end point, creating a sense of enclosure, where the eye naturally becomes curious of what is around the bend.
On a pragmatic level, the grid design is illogical because basic pythagorean theorem tells you that a diagonal path will always be quicker than having to take a north/south path and then an east/west path.
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DJ
Heck even something like by me on the east side of milwaukee is better than the giant parking lot sprawl outside of the city. Mix of 2, 3, and 4 story houses, duplexes, and smaller apartment buildings with a few large apartment buildings thrown in. And as you head towards downtown the buildings get larger but for a lot of the east side you don't have huge parking lots spacing everything out. It's walkable with entertainment, restaurants, parks, and the lakefront all within a 20 minute walk. And we've even started turning some of the smaller side streets into pedestrian only areas which businesses often use for outdoor seating and events. And excess street parking near businesses are being converted into side walk adjacent patios for business on streets that allow cars
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Heck even something like by me on the east side of milwaukee is better than the giant parking lot sprawl outside of the city. Mix of 2, 3, and 4 story houses, duplexes, and smaller apartment buildings with a few large apartment buildings thrown in. And as you head towards downtown the buildings get larger but for a lot of the east side you don't have huge parking lots spacing everything out. It's walkable with entertainment, restaurants, parks, and the lakefront all within a 20 minute walk. And we've even started turning some of the smaller side streets into pedestrian only areas which businesses often use for outdoor seating and events. And excess street parking near businesses are being converted into side walk adjacent patios for business on streets that allow cars
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Clyde
European cities are are massively inconvenient. London is impossible to get into or out of. You can be 15 miles from the City but well over 3 hours to get in. Public transport - good if you a commuter to the area so served but a disaster for an elderly aunt who needs to drop off 2 children in two different schools and do some shopping. There is a case for SOME small pedestrian streets though they become dangerous and vacant at night. America is a paradise of convenience and above all COMPETITION. If it is difficult to get to a competing store then you get monopolies of unhelpful expensive little stores. In an American city if any city dares to make parking difficult or costly it is by passed by the driver who cruises to another destination.
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European cities are are massively inconvenient. London is impossible to get into or out of. You can be 15 miles from the City but well over 3 hours to get in. Public transport - good if you a commuter to the area so served but a disaster for an elderly aunt who needs to drop off 2 children in two different schools and do some shopping. There is a case for SOME small pedestrian streets though they become dangerous and vacant at night. America is a paradise of convenience and above all COMPETITION. If it is difficult to get to a competing store then you get monopolies of unhelpful expensive little stores. In an American city if any city dares to make parking difficult or costly it is by passed by the driver who cruises to another destination.
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