One thing I detest about the typical modern American suburb is the street layout. I live in Denver and in a neighborhood with a standard grid orientation. It’s easy to navigate. The numbered avenues correspond to the intersecting street block numbers. If I go about 20 blocks north to the suburb of Arvada I end up lost in a maze of winding streets, cul-de-sacs and loops that is utterly useless for navigation. Some of these layouts are utterly ridiculous. It seems planners sought to placate the birds or aliens with pretty street patterns that serve only to confuse the humans moving around on the surface.
I understand the perceived benefits of some of these layouts. They reduce traffic through residential areas where often families with young children live, but often the layouts are ridiculously impractical.
Harvard Business Review had a piece last month citing a study on the problem these suburban layouts have on sustainable transportation.
Residents in areas with the most interconnected streets travel 26% fewer vehicle miles than those in areas with many cul-de-sacs. Recent studies by Frank and others show that as a neighborhood’s overall walkability increases, so does the amount of walking and biking—while, per capita, air pollution and body mass index decrease.
The story cites a law passed by the Virginia legislature limiting cul-de-sacs in future developments.
The images below compare a one-kilometer walk in two different suburban Seattle neighborhoods. The cul-de-sac maze is a disconnected street network with few destinations within walking distance. The grid, however offers easy access to parks and shops.
