grid

Montgomery County

How We Got Here

In "A History of Street Networks," Lawrence Aurbach discusses the intellectual movements driving the growth of suburban-style street design.

March 16, 2020 - Michael Lewyn

Urban Grid Logic

Chart Your City's Street Network to Understand its Logic

The roads in your city might conform to a grid, or they might divert around natural resources or landmarks. A new tool aims to help you visualize the "hidden logic" behind urban growth.

August 14, 2018 - CityLab

New York City

A Grid Balancing Act for Vibrant, Varied, and Sustainable Places

An analysis of three essential attributes of urban grids reveals a preferred layout for the desired effect of a vibrant, active community.

December 20, 2016 - Fanis Grammenos

Country Grid

Friday Eye Candy: Where U.S. Roads Correct the Grid

Anyone who has traveled long country roads is familiar with the moment when a road makes a sharp turn to deviate from a direct path. Such "grid corrections" provide the subject for a photography project by Gerco de Ruijter.

April 22, 2016 - BLDGBLG

The Enduring Attraction of the Grid

Fresh from a lively debate about the desirability of the gridiron layout of cities at CNU 21, Paul Knight shares his eight central arguments for why one would be wise to use the rectilinear grid today.

June 10, 2013 - The Great American Grid

Tallahassee Engineers Surprising Transit Turnaround

Under the cover of darkness two years ago, Tallahassee's StarMetro completely overhauled its entire bus system, replacing its out of date hub-and-spoke model with a grid-like system over one evening. This year, the system was honored by the APA.

March 12, 2013 - Governing

SimCity 2013

Grid vs Cul-de-Sac: Using SimCity to Test Development Patterns

Norman Chan uses a beta version of the new SimCity game to test the merits of three familiar types of suburban subdivision design - a rectangular grid, circular sprawl, and cul-de-sacs.

January 31, 2013 - Tested.com

In Praise of Manhattan's Grid, on its 200th Birthday

A new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York provides an opportunity for reflection on what Rem Koolhaas once called "the most courageous act of prediction in Western civilization."

February 15, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

In Defense of the Grid

Paul Knight delivers an impassioned defense of the gridded urban form against its many criticisms -- that its boring, its unnatural, its only use is to maximize profits for developers, etc.

January 23, 2012 - TheGreatAmericanGrid.com

Reviewing the History of New York's Grid

The New York Times' architecture critic, Michael Kimmelman, reviews a new exhibition exploring the history of the city's grid and streets.

January 4, 2012 - The New York Times

How Manhattan's Grid Paved the Way to Success

A new exhibit at The Museum of the City of New York calls New York's 1807 master plan "The Greatest Grid." Jon Meacham takes us on a tour of the exhibit with curator Hilary Ballon.

December 9, 2011 - Metro Focus

Getting Off the Water Grid in Seattle

Buildings in Seattle, including a school, are trying to remove themselves from the urban water grid. More could soon follow.

April 28, 2011 - The Seattle Times

Solar's Record Year

A new report shows that solar panel installation has increased to record levels in 2010. Throughout the first half of 2010, 339 megawatts of grid-connected solar capacity were installed.

October 20, 2010 - Good

Supermodel Sirens on "Sanctuary" Island

Is there an ideal model for a city's circulation, a "supermodel"? Fanis Grammenos reviews a new paper that proposes the use of organic forms first recognized by Christopher Alexander.

August 9, 2010 - Fanis Grammenos

The Island of EVs

Hawaii is an ideal test case for creating an electric car infrastructure because fuel costs are very high and distances are manageable. Charging stations are going up all over the islands with a goal of making it easy to envision driving an EV.

July 25, 2010 - Governing Magazine

America's Grid Diversity

Greater Greater Washington's Daniel Nairn wanted a planning-related poster for his wall. So he created one (admittedly nerdy) poster comparing the various grids of American cities.

June 3, 2010 - Greater Greater Washington

The Magic of the Grid

A new book by Hannah Higgins seeks to show that the history of modern society is based on the grid.

April 18, 2010 - Metropolis Magazine

Completing the Grid to Improve Walkability

Grist's David Roberts maps out why his neighborhood is not walkable and how it could be greatly improved with just a little extra infrastructural connectivity.

April 10, 2010 - Grist

The Dynamism, and Dysfunction, of Los Angeles

That's where authors Nathan Cherry and Kurt Nagle found their inspiration for their new book about urban form. Grid/Street/Place.

January 31, 2010 - The Huffington Post

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.