Grid
NET-GRD-01 Grid
Related Media
The items below come from outside the Commonway System, external videos, podcasts, and articles related to this page's topic, not part of the guidebook itself.
The Reason Our Streets Switched to Cul-De-Sacs
Traces the postwar shift from connected grid networks to tree-shaped cul-de-sac subdivisions, then covers the same shared-use-path connector strategy CS's Network Reconnection retrofit recommends for stitching disconnected cul-de-sacs back into the surrounding network.
Why do so many U.S. cities have gridded streets?
Traces how the grid became the default American street pattern, from William Penn's Philadelphia through Jefferson's Midwest land ordinances, historical background for why the Grid network topology pattern is so dominant in U.S. contexts.
Why this pattern exists
Grid is one of the most common and longest-documented network topologies worldwide, prized for the route choice and connectivity it offers: because most intersections allow through-travel in multiple directions, traffic is not forced onto a small number of bottleneck routes the way a more hierarchical network can produce. This pattern documents that base topology before any of the modifiers (Superblock/Cellular) or contrasting topologies (Dendritic/Hierarchical, Radial, Organic/Irregular) that relate to it.12
Key considerations
- Connectivity and route choice are the grid’s core strength, but this also means it produces more total pavement, more blocks, and more intersections per unit area than more hierarchical alternatives
- A grid can be paired with the Superblock/Cellular modifier to filter through-traffic from interior cells while preserving the grid’s overall connectivity for walking, cycling, and emergency access
- Historic gridiron patterns and modern grid-based neotraditional developments both fall under this pattern, even though they differ in block size and detail
Related patterns
Dendritic/Hierarchical (NET-DEN-02), Radial (NET-RAD-03), Organic/Irregular (NET-ORG-04) (contrasting Network topologies); Superblock/Cellular (a modifier applied to this pattern, not a separate topology)
References
- Precedent-based Southworth, Michael, and Eran Ben-Joseph. Streets and the Shaping of Towns and Cities. Rev. ed. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2003. Chapter 5, "Streets for Living," pp. 105-107. Print/ebook source, no persistent URL to monitor.
- Precedent-based Marshall, Stephen. Streets and Patterns. London: Spon Press, 2005. Chapter 4, "Pattern Type," "Developing Typologies of Pattern" (ABCD typology, B-type/Bilateral), pp. 83-96. Print/ebook source, no persistent URL to monitor.