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^definitely a good point, but making the same comparison today, almost all gridded cities in the west/sw (houston included) are notably denser than atlanta. your european, etc examples might not be gridded, but they have far more street inter-connectivity (like boston) than much of atlanta.
^definitely a good point, but making the same comparison today, almost all gridded cities in the west/sw (houston included) are notably denser than atlanta. your european, etc examples might not be gridded, but they have far more street inter-connectivity (like boston) than much of atlanta.
I kinda like grids. I didn't really mind London not having a propper grid because driving in London is nuts anyway.
Just to nitpick, but there is no correlation between density and a street grid. Plenty of cities around the world don't have one. Just look at London, Rome, Tokyo, Manila, or Mumbai on Google Maps. Not a grid in sight (or it's just relegated to a single neighborhood) and they are some of the densest cities in the world.
Maybe not worldwide, but in the U.S. most gridded cities are denser than those that aren't (exception of Boston). If you look at it from a planning POV, grids actually promote density even though they don't necessarily produce it. From an engineering POV, grids make it moving high concentrations of people much easier from one place to the next which makes it more sensible for planners to put more people in a gridded area. Grids in U.S. cities do correlate (with the exception of Boston) with fewer freeway lanes and a more efficient system. The average freeways in L.A., Houston, and Dallas are 4 lanes per side.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WestbankNOLA
Maybe not worldwide, but in the U.S. most gridded cities are denser than those that aren't (exception of Boston). If you look at it from a planning POV, grids actually promote density even though they don't necessarily produce it. From an engineering POV, grids make it moving high concentrations of people much easier from one place to the next which makes it more sensible for planners to put more people in a gridded area. Grids in U.S. cities do correlate (with the exception of Boston) with fewer freeway lanes and a more efficient system. The average freeways in L.A., Houston, and Dallas are 4 lanes per side.
That would make more sense if it weren't for the fact that Boston and Atlanta are the only two big cities in America not on a grid. Not to mention that last time I checked, L.A. was on a grid and it has a very hard time moving high concentrations of people anywhere.
Basically all I'm saying is that people are attributing the benefits of a grid to the incorrect subjects.
Last edited by waronxmas; 08-24-2010 at 08:43 AM..
That would make more sense if it weren't for the fact that Boston and Atlanta are the only two big cities in America not on a grid. Not to mention that last time I checked, L.A. was on a grid and it has a very hard time moving high concentrations of people anywhere.
That's why I said "grids actually promote density even though they don't necessarily produce it." As pointed out by cabasse, notice that the dense cities that aren't on a grid still have more heavily connected street system.
Basically all I'm saying is that people are attributing the benefits of a grid to the incorrect subjects.[/quote]
L.A.'s problem is the shear amount of people, it's size, and the amount of transit compared to the area. Now just imagine how moving around there would be without a grid. Even then L.A. still gets away without having 12+ lane freeways all over the place.
Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta are comparable in size. Compare moving around the first two to moving around the last. Look at the number of Alternates available to move from one end of each metro to the other or just through town.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HtownLove
Although it is not that major, San Antonio is not on a grid
Youshould see how the geniuses who construct the roads there are narrowing the highways. why would anyone take a three lane highway and make it into two?
Although it is not that major, San Antonio is not on a grid
Neither is Pittsburgh (probably the LEAST-gridded city in America!)
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