Street Grids

Connectivity

The Dots of Connectivity and Broken Cultural Links

Connectivity is not just a question of geometry, according to this article by Fanis Grammenos. It's critical to consider what people connect for and how.

April 1, 2020 - Fanis Grammenos

Cul-de-Sac

A 'Cul-De-Tax' for the Cul-De-Sac?

A recent study studying the contemporary planning profession's rejection of the cul-de-sac includes a proposal to create more economic disincentives for inefficient street grid patterns.

March 12, 2020 - Axios

Charles County, Maryland

The World's Streets Are Becoming Less Connected, Study Shows

The world is sprawling as it develops, according to ambitious new research.

January 27, 2020 - PhysOrg

Manhattan

How an Urban Grid Becomes a Maze

Many rational, open grids can seem like a labyrinth to users. The labyrinth has emerged as an unplanned consequence of the evolution of cities, but solutions like GPS navigation and autonomous vehicles could mean relief.

January 10, 2018 - Fanis Grammenos

Boeing Urban Form

Friday Eye Candy: Comparing a Square Mile of the World's Famous Cities

Street networks and city blocks, reduced to their fundamental attributes, reveal the vast differences between cities.

January 27, 2017 - Geoff Boeing

Metro Map

Pop Quiz: Can You Name Cities from their Transit Maps?

What better way to wind down from a long week thinking about cities and maps and transportation than by taking a quiz to show off your knowledge of cities and maps and transportation?

January 16, 2015 - The Washington Post

The Unique 'Fingerprints' of 131 Cities

An article on big think examines a project to find the unique qualities of urban street grids as an exercise in the potential of Big Data.

December 9, 2014 - Big Think

Street Grid

What Street Grids Reveal About a City

Author and blogger David Prowler takes a lighthearted and pictorial look at what the layout of a town's streets unveils about a city's history and aspirations.

March 27, 2014 - Los Angeles UrbDeZine

Graphic Reveals Cardinal Orientation of Street Grids

Seth Kadish says he was born with an innate sense of direction. As such, he appreciates street grids oriented to cardinal directions. The phenomena interested him enough to create a graphic that visualizes the orientation of 12 urban areas.

March 26, 2014 - Visual Statistix

The Rise and Fall of the Cul-de-Sac

In the 1930s, The Federal Housing Authority embraced the trend towards cul-de-sacs, decrying the standard street grid as monotonous and unsafe. Norman Garrick and Wesley Marshall have proven otherwise.

September 19, 2011 - The Atlantic Cities

Portland's Portal of Opportunity

April 14, 2011 - Fanis Grammenos

Interactive Map Tracks Growth of Manhattan Grid

This interactive map from The New York Times overlays historic maps with modern-day maps of the city, and shows how the city and its street grid has developed.

March 23, 2011 - The New York Times

New York City's Grid Turns 200

The street grid of New York City was born 200 years ago in an early map of the city.

March 22, 2011 - The New York Times

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.