Emergent Urbanism

Rediscovering Urban Complexity

culture of congestion

The complex grid

Submitted by Mathieu Helie on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 19:52, last updated Mon, 04/09/2012 - 15:29

In a medieval-era city the pace of urban growth is slow to a point where the growth of the city is not consciously noticed. Buildings are added sporadically, in random shape and order, as the extremely scarce economic situation makes no other pattern possible. Typically this means that the shape of streets will match the existing natural paths of movement, giving the street network an organic structure that is preserved through successive transformations in the urban fabric.

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