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> are a lot more convenient to navigate though It sounds indeed convenient for large cities where millions of people travel daily from one end of the city to t

> are a lot more convenient to navigate though It sounds indeed convenient for large cities where millions of people travel daily from one end of the city to the other. But does it matter for smaller cities (<200,000)? I have lived my whole life in "non-grid" cities in various countries and I couldn't imagine to live in a city with straight roads. Where is the fun? Finding an alley that you can use as a short cut, wandering around and discovering a nice house or garden that you cannot see from the main street, being scared as a kid of that small street where the big dog lives, etc.

dnautics 8y ago
Those exist in cities on a grid.
cimmanom 8y ago
Even if you're not traveling from one end to another. It's great to be able to figure out where you're going without a map. I may never have been to 90th St. and 3rd Ave in Manhattan, but I know exactly where it is and how to get there from anywhere else in the grid.
- kazen44 8y ago
  as someone who lives on the other end of the continent, this system was utterly confusing to me because streets are very long in US cities. Like, alright, ending up at 90th street is relatively easy, except that i ended up at the wrong end of this street, and the walk to the correct house is 2 kilometer...
  - cimmanom 8y ago
    Sure, but if you already know the city just a little bit, you'll know which end 3rd ave is close to. You don't have to memorize the location of a zillion randomly named streets (where is the intersection of Grove Lane and Daffodil St?) You just have to know which direction streets increase in, which avenues increase in, and roughly how far between each. That's the benefit of the grid.
  - Ruthalas 8y ago
    The parent comment specified "90th and 3rd" which would give you both axes needed to avoid the mistake you describe- The specification of 3rd street helps you avoid being at the wrong end of 90th.

dnautics 8y ago

Those exist in cities on a grid.

cimmanom 8y ago

Even if you're not traveling from one end to another. It's great to be able to figure out where you're going without a map. I may never have been to 90th St. and 3rd Ave in Manhattan, but I know exactly where it is and how to get there from anywhere else in the grid.

kazen44 8y ago
as someone who lives on the other end of the continent, this system was utterly confusing to me because streets are very long in US cities. Like, alright, ending up at 90th street is relatively easy, except that i ended up at the wrong end of this street, and the walk to the correct house is 2 kilometer...
- cimmanom 8y ago
  Sure, but if you already know the city just a little bit, you'll know which end 3rd ave is close to. You don't have to memorize the location of a zillion randomly named streets (where is the intersection of Grove Lane and Daffodil St?) You just have to know which direction streets increase in, which avenues increase in, and roughly how far between each. That's the benefit of the grid.
- Ruthalas 8y ago
  The parent comment specified "90th and 3rd" which would give you both axes needed to avoid the mistake you describe- The specification of 3rd street helps you avoid being at the wrong end of 90th.