Philly Center City Street Grid vs. Boston Financial District Curving Street Network

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Maybe not totally unique, but I can't think of any major US city without a central grid pattern.

Like I said a lot of city centers were straightened or moved. back in the day roads followed natural patterns in the land. Curved along rivers, hills etc.

Even Manhattan got some plastic surgery. That place was a clusterfck before:

http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archi...C--300x236.gif

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

Like I said a lot of city centers were straightened or moved. back in the day roads followed natural patterns in the land. Curved along rivers, hills etc.

Even Manhattan got some plastic surgery. That place was a clusterfck before:

http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archi...C--300x236.gif

That is true, Lower Manhattan is still kind of like that today, but that's also because of the shape of the land.

Most city plans laid out after say 1700, however, do tend to stick to a more grid formation.

[MDAllstar]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

That is true, Lower Manhattan is still kind of like that today, but that's also because of the shape of the land.

Most city plans laid out after say 1700, however, do tend to stick to a more grid formation.

I guess the area's around Wall Street are curving versus straight now that I think about it.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by MDAllstar

I guess the area's around Wall Street are curving versus straight now that I think about it.

Yep, I think that's part of the reason why those streets are not named by number either.

[Pine to Vine]

I've walked and driven around both cities numerous times. Philly is easier to traverse by car, but I see little difference as a pedestrian. As for charm, I tend to prefer windy streets as there is always a little mystery about what lies around the corner. It's one of the reasons I love to explore European towns and cities by foot (but hate to travel in them by car).

[HenryAlan]

The plan looks great. Since it is a TOD, I think the winding street pattern will work really well, and better than a grid. Winding streets are better for pedestrians, because they lead you from one nodal focus to another. The layout is designed to pull people from the Metro stations to the commercial center points. A grid is more useful for through transit, which I don't think is desirable for this development. I'll be really interested to see how this goes, but my sense is that it will be a tremendous success.