4 ms·

NYC's streets are mostly numbered. If something is given a name, it's usually a bigger avenue. The narrower blocks are numbered and it's easy to tell if you'v

NYC's streets are mostly numbered. If something is given a name, it's usually a bigger avenue. The narrower blocks are numbered and it's easy to tell if you've gone in the wrong direction because the numbers are going in the wrong direction. Since the block is short, you don't have to walk far before realizing this. Paths in one direction are avenues, the other direction are streets, so it's easy to get your bearings. Philadelphia's streets are mostly named, and it's almost impossible to tell if you're walking in the right direction without walking a decent distance. East/West paths are sometimes avenues, but not always.

madcaptenor 3y ago
Native Philadelphian here. (1) You need to memorize the order of the streets (... Vine, Race, Arch, Market, Chestnut, Walnut, Locust, Spruce, Pine, ...), which is mildly annoying but you just have to do it once. A complication - there are multiple series of streets, for example that series continues ... Lombard, South, Bainbridge ... east of the Schuylkill but ... Osage, Larchwood, Cedar, ... west of it. (DC's solution to this is good although boring - the streets are lettered.) (2) you can usually look at the street addresses to tell which way you're going, since they increase heading away from Market Street (north/south) or Front Street (west).
- fullstop 3y ago
  Right, you don't need to memorize much of anything to walk the streets of NYC successfully. Take a look at this random pin drop on google maps: <https://www.google.com/maps/@40.74162,-73.9937274,3a,53.3y,188.68h,91.35t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sO5c8_f6OZA1_I3R5uFkfpw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DO5c8_f6OZA1_I3R5uFkfpw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D28.35202%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu https://www.google.com/maps/@40.74162,-73.9937274,3a,53.3y,1...> Avenue of the Americas is also marked as 6 Ave, so you don't need to know the name. You can see the sign for 20th street in one direction and 22nd in the other, so now you have a better sense of direction. Since you know which way the street numbers increase, you also know which directions to go to head toward 5th or 7th avenue. I'll be honest, I've spent a lot more time in NYC than I have in Philly.. but it did not take long for me to get my bearings without knowing much about the city other than the directions in which the street and avenue numbers increase / decrease.
- digging 3y ago
  > (1) You need to memorize the order of the streets (... Vine, Race, Arch, Market, Chestnut, Walnut, Locust, Spruce, Pine, ...), which is mildly annoying but you just have to do it once. A complication - there are multiple series of streets, for example that series continues ... Lombard, South, Bainbridge ... east of the Schuylkill but ... Osage, Larchwood, Cedar, ... west of it. This sounds like the worst possible implementation, or at least one of the worst existing implementations, of a grid. The navigator just has to know all the randomly assigned street names and their relationships - in other words, maximum cognitive load. It could only be worse with special rules, like streets changing names from one block to the next, which also apparently happens. (Not shitting on Philly - my city is just as bad or worse) > (DC's solution to this is good although boring - the streets are lettered.) Essentially the same as NYC's then. It's predictable, has minimal cognitive load. If you can see any two parallel streets you can determine direction.
  - madcaptenor 3y ago
    I agree it's a bad implementation. I can't navigate anywhere north of Center City because I don't know the street names there.

madcaptenor 3y ago

Native Philadelphian here. (1) You need to memorize the order of the streets (... Vine, Race, Arch, Market, Chestnut, Walnut, Locust, Spruce, Pine, ...), which is mildly annoying but you just have to do it once. A complication - there are multiple series of streets, for example that series continues ... Lombard, South, Bainbridge ... east of the Schuylkill but ... Osage, Larchwood, Cedar, ... west of it. (DC's solution to this is good although boring - the streets are lettered.) (2) you can usually look at the street addresses to tell which way you're going, since they increase heading away from Market Street (north/south) or Front Street (west).

fullstop 3y ago
Right, you don't need to memorize much of anything to walk the streets of NYC successfully. Take a look at this random pin drop on google maps: <https://www.google.com/maps/@40.74162,-73.9937274,3a,53.3y,188.68h,91.35t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sO5c8_f6OZA1_I3R5uFkfpw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DO5c8_f6OZA1_I3R5uFkfpw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D28.35202%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu https://www.google.com/maps/@40.74162,-73.9937274,3a,53.3y,1...> Avenue of the Americas is also marked as 6 Ave, so you don't need to know the name. You can see the sign for 20th street in one direction and 22nd in the other, so now you have a better sense of direction. Since you know which way the street numbers increase, you also know which directions to go to head toward 5th or 7th avenue. I'll be honest, I've spent a lot more time in NYC than I have in Philly.. but it did not take long for me to get my bearings without knowing much about the city other than the directions in which the street and avenue numbers increase / decrease.
digging 3y ago
> (1) You need to memorize the order of the streets (... Vine, Race, Arch, Market, Chestnut, Walnut, Locust, Spruce, Pine, ...), which is mildly annoying but you just have to do it once. A complication - there are multiple series of streets, for example that series continues ... Lombard, South, Bainbridge ... east of the Schuylkill but ... Osage, Larchwood, Cedar, ... west of it. This sounds like the worst possible implementation, or at least one of the worst existing implementations, of a grid. The navigator just has to know all the randomly assigned street names and their relationships - in other words, maximum cognitive load. It could only be worse with special rules, like streets changing names from one block to the next, which also apparently happens. (Not shitting on Philly - my city is just as bad or worse) > (DC's solution to this is good although boring - the streets are lettered.) Essentially the same as NYC's then. It's predictable, has minimal cognitive load. If you can see any two parallel streets you can determine direction.
- madcaptenor 3y ago
  I agree it's a bad implementation. I can't navigate anywhere north of Center City because I don't know the street names there.