334:
66:
1132:
38:
139:
Since the spacing of streets in grid plans varies so widely among cities, or even within cities, it is difficult to generalize about the size of a city block. Oblong blocks range considerably in width and length. The standard block in
Manhattan is about 264 by 900 feet (80 m × 274 m).
108:
usually in private ownership, though in some cases, it may be other forms of tenure. City blocks are usually built-up to varying degrees and thus form the physical containers or "streetwalls" of public space. Most cities are composed of a greater or lesser variety of sizes and shapes of urban block.
345:
A perimeter block is a type of city block which is built up on all sides surrounding a central space that is semi-private. They may contain a mixture of uses, with commercial or retail functions on the ground floor. Perimeter blocks are a key component of many
European cities and are an urban form
374:
Since there is no standard dimension for city blocks, and they are typically rectangular in shape, meaning a block and one direction is a different length than a block in another, colloquial directions involving blocks as proxies for measurements in feet or meters are obviously both imprecise and
259:
371:, the word "block" is used as an informal unit of distance. For example, someone giving directions might say, "It's three blocks from here", meaning either literally three blocks distant (in a city grid) or the equivalent of three blocks without a grid.
285:: using a direct geometric representation of the usual concept of city blocks. Not only sidewalks, but also inner alleys, common gardens, etc. Some street parts, such as a street greenway, isolated and with no related lot, can be also represented as a
144:, a typical city block is 330 by 660 feet (100 m × 200 m), meaning that 16 east-west blocks or 8 north-south blocks measure one mile, which has been adopted by other US cities. In much of the United States and Canada, the
109:
For example, many pre-industrial cores of cities in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East tend to have irregularly shaped street patterns and urban blocks, while cities based on grids have much more regular arrangements.
262:
Same diagram of first illustration (see introduction), enhancing the "blocks without sidewalks", enfolded by the tiny green line. They are, with the inner alley and the sidewalks, sub-structures of the
171:, for example. An exception is represented by those cities that were founded as Roman military settlements, and that often preserve the original grid layout around two main orthogonal axes (such as
41:
Diagram of an example of a rectangular city block as seen from above, surrounded by streets. The block is divided into lots which were numbered by the developer as shown in red here and as shown in
250:
has nine city blocks, with speed limits on the internal roads slowed to 10–20 km/h (6.2–12.4 mph), through traffic disallowed, and through travel possible only on the perimeter roads.
104:. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, and form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric. City blocks may be subdivided into any number of smaller
234:
Superblocks can also be retroactively superimposed on pre-existing grid plan by changing the traffic rules and streetscape of internal streets within the superblock, as in the case of
226:
or quasi-grid plan. That typology is prevalent in Japan and China, for example. Chen defines the supergrid and superblock urban morphology in that context as follows:
132:
development principle, city blocks are developed so that buildings are located along the perimeter of the block, with entrances facing the street, and semi-private
462:
A Comparative Study of
Supergrid and Superblock Urban Structure in China and Japan Rethinking the Chinese Superblocks: Learning from Japanese Experience
588:
484:
219:
and the size of multiple typically sized city blocks. Within the superblock, the local road network, if any, is designed to serve only local needs.
167:
cities have grown by accretion over time rather than being planned, making rectangular city blocks uncommon in the innermost development among most
69:
Chicago in 1857. Blocks of 80, 40, and 10 acres establish a street grid at the outskirts which continues into the more finely divided downtown area.
1155:
230:“The Supergrid is a large-scale net of wide roads that defines a series of cells or Superblocks, each containing a network of narrower streets.”
675:
168:
136:
in the rear of the buildings. This historic arrangement reflects organic development of structures and land usage, adapted to urban planning.
547:
17:
718:
685:
605:
112:
By extension, the word "block" is an important informal unit of length equal to the distance between two streets of a street grid.
902:
581:
433:
557:
448:
1063:
524:
574:
508:
45:. The addresses on this example 800 block are shown in black and the adjacent blocks are the 700 and 900 blocks. An
530:
124:
that were planned rather than developing gradually over a long period of time, streets are typically laid out on a
1023:
184:
199:
Some variations of the interpretation of city blocks include superblocks, subblocks, and perimeter blocks.
310:
296:
31:
708:
156:, are also 330 by 660 feet (100 m × 200 m), formed by splitting the square blocks in an
49:
shown in light gray runs lengthwise down the middle of the block. Streets are shown in dark gray.
806:
801:
597:
333:
100:
In a city with a grid system, the block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by
961:
930:
882:
756:
364:
149:
1160:
851:
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781:
766:
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628:
222:
Superblocks can also contain an orthogonal internal road network, including those based on a
920:
836:
153:
152:, in which each block of a street is allotted 100 building numbers. The blocks in central
8:
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54:
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295:: represented by polygon obtained by the external border of the union of a set of
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1136:
1108:
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736:
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485:"Superblocks to the rescue: Barcelona's plan to give streets back to residents"
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94:
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325:, contains the sidewalk, the alley, and any other non-lot sub-structure.
157:
1088:
987:
945:
660:
469:
275:
perspective there are two complementary ways of modeling city blocks:
970:
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37:
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638:
42:
426:
Designing the City: Towards a More
Sustainable Urban Form
175:) and cities heavily damaged during World War II (like
526:
Imagination: The
Science of Your Mind's Greatest Power
358:
337:Interior of the Kone & Silta perimeter block,
61:shown in light gray from every lot to the street.
1147:
423:
128:of square or rectangular city blocks. Using the
555:The Great American Grid: Block Size Dimensions
215:, is an area of urban land that is bounded by
582:
596:
350:to be achieved without high-rise buildings.
548:The Death and Life of Great American Cities
513:Courtyard Housing: Past, Present and Future
27:Smallest area that is surrounded by streets
589:
575:
482:
332:
257:
64:
36:
459:
194:
14:
1156:Urban studies and planning terminology
1148:
160:with a narrow street down the middle.
570:
129:
417:
24:
539:
328:
25:
1172:
476:
317:. The geometric subtraction of a
1130:
253:
1024:Residential cluster development
359:As an informal unit of distance
676:Shopping streets and districts
518:
509:"The European perimeter block"
501:
483:Bausells, Marta (2016-05-17).
453:
442:
353:
13:
1:
410:
202:
802:Model dwellings for the poor
515:, Taylor & Francis, 2004
460:Xiaofei, Chen (2017-08-29).
183:, New York City adopted the
179:). Following the example of
115:
7:
378:
185:Commissioners' Plan of 1811
150:block and lot number system
32:City block (disambiguation)
18:Superblock (urban planning)
10:
1177:
29:
1127:
1006:
956:
901:
870:
717:
684:
604:
424:Frey, Hildebrand (1999).
53:are shown in light gray.
598:Real estate developments
302:(illustration opposite).
89:is a central element of
57:are shown in green with
807:Multifamily residential
319:block without sidewalks
308:block without sidewalks
287:block without sidewalks
246:for superblocks). Each
757:Conservation community
365:North American English
346:that allows very high
342:
268:
232:
120:In most cities of the
70:
62:
852:Single-room occupancy
797:Mixed-use development
782:Intentional community
767:Golf course community
629:Mixed-use development
545:Jacobs, Jane (1961).
336:
261:
228:
187:for a more extensive
68:
40:
921:Garden city movement
837:Retirement community
323:block with sidewalks
315:block with sidewalks
195:Structure variations
154:Melbourne, Australia
30:For other uses, see
1084:Planning permission
827:Residential airpark
812:Penthouse apartment
699:Industrial district
428:. E & FN Spon.
1137:Housing portal
709:Technology centers
560:2019-11-03 at the
395:Manhattan distance
369:Australian English
343:
269:
71:
63:
1143:
1142:
1099:Regional planning
1059:Land-use planning
941:Urban green space
936:Planned community
871:Science/education
817:Private community
449:cityofchicago.org
435:978-0-419-22110-4
293:without sidewalks
79:residential block
16:(Redirected from
1168:
1135:
1134:
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888:Satellite campus
832:Residential area
787:Luxury apartment
747:Closed community
694:Business cluster
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507:Edwards, Brian:
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311:is always within
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1044:Greenfield land
1014:Brownfield land
1002:
952:
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772:Gated community
713:
704:Industrial park
680:
666:Shopping center
634:Office building
624:Commercial area
600:
595:
562:Wayback Machine
551:. Random House.
542:
540:Further reading
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536:
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381:
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348:urban densities
331:
329:Perimeter block
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169:European cities
130:perimeter block
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35:
28:
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15:
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1109:Urban planning
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1049:Greyfield land
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1039:Eminent domain
1036:
1034:Context theory
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931:Planned cities
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822:Public housing
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777:Housing estate
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762:Executive home
759:
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737:Bungalow court
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732:Boarding house
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217:arterial roads
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1094:Redevelopment
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1054:Groundscraper
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1007:Miscellaneous
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926:Model village
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883:Research park
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862:Tract housing
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847:Rooming house
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842:Revenue house
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670:Shopping mall
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619:Business park
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273:geoprocessing
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254:Sub-structure
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158:original grid
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1161:Urban design
1104:Urban design
1029:Construction
916:Civic center
893:Science park
752:Company town
741:
651:Power center
546:
525:
520:
512:
503:
492:. Retrieved
489:The Guardian
488:
478:
461:
455:
444:
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419:
400:Urban design
385:Census block
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181:Philadelphia
173:Turin, Italy
162:
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119:
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99:
95:urban design
86:
85:, or simply
82:
78:
74:
72:
1064:Nonbuilding
993:Tower block
857:Subdivision
719:Residential
656:Retail park
354:Use of term
213:super-block
83:urban block
1150:Categories
1089:Playground
988:Skyscraper
742:City block
686:Industrial
661:Riverfront
606:Commercial
531:Jim Davies
494:2018-04-14
470:2123/17986
464:(Thesis).
411:References
375:relative.
265:city block
240:superilles
209:superblock
203:Superblock
134:courtyards
75:city block
971:Apartment
958:Buildings
903:Municipal
792:McMansion
390:Grid plan
300:land lots
282:sidewalks
248:superilla
236:Barcelona
224:grid plan
189:grid plan
177:Frankfurt
165:Old World
148:follow a
146:addresses
126:grid plan
122:New World
116:Grid plan
106:land lots
51:Sidewalks
1019:Cemetery
911:Arcology
727:Agrihood
558:Archived
379:See also
339:Helsinki
297:touching
59:walkways
1079:Parking
614:Airport
244:Catalan
142:Chicago
102:streets
55:Avenues
1119:Zoning
878:Campus
644:inland
432:
341:, 2019
321:from
1114:YIMBY
1069:NIMBY
998:Villa
981:types
976:House
962:types
946:parks
529:, by
280:with
271:In a
211:, or
163:Many
87:block
47:alley
43:plats
1074:Park
639:Port
430:ISBN
367:and
93:and
511:in
466:hdl
363:In
238:'s
140:In
1152::
487:.
313:a
306:A
207:A
191:.
97:.
81:,
77:,
73:A
964:)
960:(
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668:(
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242:(
34:.
20:)
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