J.H. Crawford writes about the
evolution of street layouts in “A Brief History of Urban Form”. He highlights
how much the pattern of a street in an urban area affects the urban world in
its entirety. Urban planning relies heavily on the form roads and streets take
throughout a space. Crawford takes an approach to form by writing that
grid-like patterns are not as exciting or fulfilling as curved, unplanned, and
beaten patterns are.
Crawford also mentions a few
external factors that can affect the form of streets and roads. Some of these
factors include military movement, parks, and pushes from movements such as
modernism. I believe the most influential factor affecting the construction and
planning of roads is the presence of already existing sites. By sites I mean
attractions, venues, landscape, etc.
One example of a “site” would be a
plaza. Spanish cities used the plaza for multiple purposes such as markets,
meeting places for emergencies, and for celebration. The entire city, including
the geometric layout of roads, would be based on the location of the plaza.
Plazas have now been created as the centerpiece of cities all over the world,
including the United States.
Below is a link for a site titled
“The World’s Best Squares”, which shows and describes some of the most useful
center squares in the world. The site also offers images of other important
sites like downtowns, parks, and waterfronts.
Since it's not a very common topic: the way streets are laid out in cities, I think it's interesting that there is this sort of philosophy behind it. The fact that a grid-like pattern is not as "exciting or fulfilling" is a viewpoint that I had never really considered. I just kind of figured that roads were laid out in a way that connected everything to a center point. It's pretty cool that cities and their roads could actually be set up to offer more aesthetically pleasing options and excitement.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree that streets with planned grids are less exciting than their irregular/curved counterparts. Sure they might be predictable, and predictability is boring, but they are functional. NYC is laid out on a grid, and there is a certain excitement that comes from knowing you can find your way around even if you don't live there.
ReplyDeleteAlso, only a few people ever get a bird's eye view of the city. So how do you tell what's interesting from what is not? Lastly, we tend to settle into patterns when we navigate our way through streets; we take the same routes, so curved or straight doesn't really make a difference.
-O.I.
The use of the fussganger zones in large and small cities in Germany provide the heart of the community. The fussganger zone is a pedestrian only or at least a limited vehicle zone. Parking is provided under or on the edges of the zone and people stroll down the various paths dedicated to pedestrian traffic only. The open air farmers' markets and the Christmas markets add to the regular store fronts. The energy in these zones is both commercial and social. From families with small children to the elderly, each chooses the speed and path of their journey. Whether they are doing their weekly errands, heading to a museum, or loking for a hot cup of coffee and a bratwurst, the journey engages them in the community hustle and bustle while also providing parks or a bench to people watch along the way, listen to street musicians, or time to pause and enjoy the architecture or the street artists and thier craftmanship in chalk art or silhouettes.
ReplyDelete