city grid
Blocks and streets
A city grid is the pattern of streets laid out in intersecting perpendicular lines, creating rectangular blocks.
Most American cities follow a grid pattern, making navigation straightforward: The city grid makes it easy to give directions—just go three blocks north and two east.
Grid systems contrast with older European cities that evolved organically around landmarks.
- road networkInterconnected system of streets
- street cornersJunctures of perpendicular roads
- intersectionsPoints where things cross
- traffic lightsRoad signal system
- one-way streetsRoads with mandated direction
master plan · urban planning · highways · zoning · public transit · urban density · downtown core · right angles · parallel lines · traffic flow · rush hour · perpendicular · cardinal directions · walkability · orthogonal · gridiron · colonial cities · urban sprawl
- city mapsstreet maps, street map, streets, neighborhood map, downtown
- urban planningzoning map, master plans, zones, zoning reform, general plan
- gridsmatrix, lattice, mesh, raster, checkerboard
- Washington DCWhite House, Capitol, National Mall, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument
- aerial viewsaerial view, bird's eye view, bird's-eye view, satellite imagery, aerial shot
city gridorganic growth
Growth arising internally, gradually
informal settlement · old town · casbah · new urbanism · shantytown