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City on a Grid: How New York Became New York
Winner of the 2015 New York City Book Award
The never-before-told story of the grid that ate Manhattan
You either love it or hate it, but nothing says New York like the street grid of Manhattan. This is its story.
Praise for City on a Grid
"The best account to date of the process by which an odd amalgamation of democracy and capitalism got written into New York's physical DNA."-- New York Times Book Review
"Intriguing...breezy and highly readable."-- Wall Street Journal
" City on a Grid tells the too little-known tale of how and why Manhattan came to be the waffle-board city we know."-- The New Yorker
"[An] expert investigation into what made the city special." -- Publishers Weekly
"A fun, fascinating, and accessible read for those curious enough to delve into the origins of an amazing city."-- New York Journal of Books
"Koeppel is the very best sort of writer for this sort of history."-- Roanoke Times
The never-before-told story of the grid that ate Manhattan
You either love it or hate it, but nothing says New York like the street grid of Manhattan. This is its story.
Praise for City on a Grid
"The best account to date of the process by which an odd amalgamation of democracy and capitalism got written into New York's physical DNA."-- New York Times Book Review
"Intriguing...breezy and highly readable."-- Wall Street Journal
" City on a Grid tells the too little-known tale of how and why Manhattan came to be the waffle-board city we know."-- The New Yorker
"[An] expert investigation into what made the city special." -- Publishers Weekly
"A fun, fascinating, and accessible read for those curious enough to delve into the origins of an amazing city."-- New York Journal of Books
"Koeppel is the very best sort of writer for this sort of history."-- Roanoke Times
336 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 2015
77 people are currently reading
833 people want to read
About the author
Gerard Koeppel
6 books9 followersI write history, mostly New York related so far, mostly in books of my own and others', but also in anything from magazines and journals to historical signage in city parks. I started writing at Wesleyan, for the student paper and in a grueling non-fiction writing seminar with V.S. Naipaul. After college, I was the captain of a charter sailboat with a past, an awful law student, a licensed hack (out of a Greenwich Village taxi garage), and then, for many years, a radio reporter/writer/editor/producer, mostly with CBS News. In radio, I learned to write short and unlearned narrative. With each book of history, I'm trying to do the narrative thing better. I was born at an edge of the Manhattan street grid, in a hospital since replaced by a high-rise condo, raised on the suburban mainland, and for many decades have lived on my native island, mostly at edges of its dominant rectilinearity. I'm married and we have three grown but still health insurance covered children, who may someday cross paths with some of mine. Or not.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
January 21, 2019
I've always been a little claustrophobic living on the island. Now I finally have a name to my pain. While the author claims grid-neutrality in the beginning, he is clearly an 'anti-griddy' and makes a strong case for his thinly hidden biases with regards to traditional concepts of urban beauty, the incompetence of the original planners, and the evil machinations of Hamilton's foe Aaron Burr, the man who may ultimately be responsible for it all.
On the other hand, the author's "avenues" of thinking often flow only one way, making little mention of how our subway mitigates the north-south traffic question. Some parts can be disorientating when describing the layout of specific streets without benefit of a map, and sentences could occasionally use a little more rigid conformity themselves (I've never seen a sentence featuring two semi-colons before and I'd be happy if I never saw one again).
But overall, it's a fascinating perspective on something most of New Yorkers perhaps necessarily take for granted, as well as those living in the seeming majority of American cities that followed its rectilinear example. An eye-opening treatise and a great source of grid-based cocktail party conversation at the very least.
On the other hand, the author's "avenues" of thinking often flow only one way, making little mention of how our subway mitigates the north-south traffic question. Some parts can be disorientating when describing the layout of specific streets without benefit of a map, and sentences could occasionally use a little more rigid conformity themselves (I've never seen a sentence featuring two semi-colons before and I'd be happy if I never saw one again).
But overall, it's a fascinating perspective on something most of New Yorkers perhaps necessarily take for granted, as well as those living in the seeming majority of American cities that followed its rectilinear example. An eye-opening treatise and a great source of grid-based cocktail party conversation at the very least.
April 22, 2018
The first half or so of this book, focusing on pre-1811 Manhattan and then on a commission's adoption of the grid, was impressively detailed but a bit dry, if not downright boring, for my tastes. To summarize it briefly: the commission didn't give a lot of thought to, or spend a lot of time on, what it was doing, and still created Manhattan's grid (which then required an extensive use of eminent domain to enforce, as the city bought out land that didn't fit within street boundaries).
The second half of the book discusses how landowners filled in the streets created by the grid with houses and apartments, and discusses problems with the grid. Although Koeppel seems pretty negative about it, his only clear and sensible objection is that the grid created too few north-south avenues (thus limiting circulation of all modes of transportation) and that some streets were too wide (especially problematic after the growth of the auto). He suggests here and there that New York is not beautiful, but since plenty of non-gridded places are quite ugly, I don't find this to be a persuasive argument.
November 25, 2017
Prodigiously researched history of New York's street grid - alternately fascinating and frustrating. At times it feels like the author is mining a dissertation on Manhattan's earliest urban planning days, going down rabbit holes about how an early city surveyor was paid. At times, it reads like a mild polemic against the tyranny of the grid. At times, it zooms by utopian visions of the mid-20th century with just a glance. Taken as a whole, the book offers some fascinating background on the unique urban planning layout that is Manhattan and valuable context for, perhaps, reading OTHER books about the social and economic implications of Manhattan's distinctive layout. I learned a lot.
November 12, 2022
I thought this was a really fun read. Occasionally it got it bit more "in the weeds" than seemed necessary, and I think it would have benefited from some more visual aids, but overall it had a lot of interesting insight and context on something that I've sort of just taken for granted for most of my life. There were some maps included, but they weren't generally legible enough to be of much practical use in understanding what they were trying to show, and so much of this story depends on being able to visualize hyperlocal geography. It's a pretty niche subject, but if you know New York City, but want to get to know it a bit better, this is an excellent "deep dive".
September 18, 2017
The history and story of how the grid came to be is an interesting one. It shows the decisions that were made and not made that put NYC in a straitjacket that is almost impossible to escape. The narrative does get bogged down in too much minutiae at times, but this is still a good view into how urban planning can greatly impact the lives of people that live in cities.
December 24, 2024
Come for the geography, stay for the hits on Aaron Burr
January 22, 2019
Clearly well researched but is very dry and reads like a textbook or research paper. Lacking any interesting anecdotes.
March 24, 2017
City on a Grid is a comprehensive well-researched look at the creation of the street grid of Manhattan in New York.
Koeppel discusses the creation of the grid, the individuals who helped shape it, and some of the many opinions about it. Individuals tend to fall in the "love it" or "leave it" camps with the grid, either wishing it was a part of their own town or being thankful that their cities were allowed to grow a bit more organically. Koeppel's discussion showcases the merits for both sides ultimately, showing the advantages of the grid system being put in place but still leaving some readers (including this one) to wonder how the city would be today if allowed to develop in a different manner.
Personally, I prefer the grid system of Manhattan over say trying to get around Boston. However, there is definitely some room for growth in the current system.
My only real problems with City on a Grid are twofold; one being the need for more maps when discussing the grid as the book is more enjoyable if you have at least a standard knowledge of it, and the second being a heavier focus than desired about the individuals behind the grid rather than the grid itself.
Overall, the book is definitely worth a read for anyone who's interested in the grid or the topic of urban planning.
Koeppel discusses the creation of the grid, the individuals who helped shape it, and some of the many opinions about it. Individuals tend to fall in the "love it" or "leave it" camps with the grid, either wishing it was a part of their own town or being thankful that their cities were allowed to grow a bit more organically. Koeppel's discussion showcases the merits for both sides ultimately, showing the advantages of the grid system being put in place but still leaving some readers (including this one) to wonder how the city would be today if allowed to develop in a different manner.
Personally, I prefer the grid system of Manhattan over say trying to get around Boston. However, there is definitely some room for growth in the current system.
My only real problems with City on a Grid are twofold; one being the need for more maps when discussing the grid as the book is more enjoyable if you have at least a standard knowledge of it, and the second being a heavier focus than desired about the individuals behind the grid rather than the grid itself.
Overall, the book is definitely worth a read for anyone who's interested in the grid or the topic of urban planning.
November 9, 2019
Este libro conta a historia de como se deseñou a “grid”, a cuadrícula tan característica de Manhattan, tan odiada polos seus habitantes polos problemas de mobilidade, como querida polos turistas e polos que xogamos a GeoGuesser polo sinxelo de ubicarse.
O conto foi que no s. XVIII Manhattan tiña no seu extremo sur a vila de New York, e logo espalladas pola súa xeografía tiña outras pequenas vilas (como Greenwich, Bloemendael, Harlem...), granxas, montes comunais, zonas pantanosas, outeiros, etc.
O goberno local era pequeniño, e sen apenas poder ante unha élite de comerciantes enriquecidos. E apenas unha pequena parte do territorio da illa era terreo de titularidade da administración, unha zona lonxe das ribeiras e con dificultoso acceso. En 1796, encargáronlle parcelar o terreo a Casimir Goerck, para alugar ou vender partes do mesmo, e para un mellor aproveitamento do terreo o topógrafo decidiu unha cuadrícula, de forma máis ou menos arbitraria, con parcelas rectangulares.
Máis tarde, este topógrafo formará equipo con outro topógrafo, Joseph François Mangin, para mapear a illa de Manhattan. Nos traballos de campo, metido na lama a meirande parte do tempo, Goerck contraerá a malaria e acabará morrendo. Mangin continúa o traballo, e decide pola súa conta non facer un mapa fiel do estado actual da illa, senón imaxinarse un ordenamento do crecemento das diferentes vilas, ao redor das vías existentes de comunicación, de forma que acaba imaxinando un tecido urbano medrando ata conectar os diferentes núcleos. Decide facer o mapa, polo tanto, non da illa, senón “da cidade que será”. Mangin acaba o mapa, entrégao, e incriblemente, acéptanlle o traballo e páganlle.
Pero ao goberno non lle gusta o planeamento que lle fixo o francés, pese a usalo na época como o mapa oficial. E decide nomear unha comisión para, xa de modo oficial, organizar o territorio nun entramado urbanizable. A comisión fórmana os acomodados e adinerados Goberneur Morris, Simeon DeWitt e John Rutherfurd. E danse un prazo de 3 anos. Contratan como topógrafo ao John Jr. Randel para facer o traballo de campo e os planos, mentres eles redactarían a proposta.
Logo de moitos meses procrastinando, e co prazo de entrega en marzo de 1811, deciden que se van a limitar a copiar a cuadrícula que marcou o Goerck nos terreos municipais. Sin máis, pasando de propiedades preexistentes, das vilas que xa existían na illa, de outeiros e de vagoadas, das zonas fangosas... Simplemente respetaron o sur da illa, a que xa era vila de New York ben establecida, e polo resto, aplanar o terreo, arrasar co preexistente, e crear unha malla urbana perfectamente definida, que maximiza o aproveitamento privado do terreo e favorece a especulación.
E esto decídeno 2 meses antes de rematar o prazo. E deixan ao Randel pendiente de colocar centos de hitos por todo Manhattan para marcar onde cadrarían as interseccións. En marzo de 1811, entregan o seu informe (3 follas a doble espacio), e Randel failles o mapa e tería colocado como unha ducia dos hitos.
A cidade acepta a proposta, contrata a Randel por dez anos para poñer máis marcos pola illa adiante, e veña, empeza o boom da construcción, dos litixios por expropiacións, dos cambios no plan por intereses de promotores influintes, da corrupción do goberno local, de multiplicar exponencialmente o prezo das parcelas en poucos anos...
O terreo foi pouco colaborativo: desmontáronse montes enteiros e recheáronse vales coa terra. Non importou a orografía.
O plan orixinal tiña moitas rúas unindo as beiras marítimas, e poucas avenidas seguindo a orientación longa da illa. Era un plan pensado para transporte marítimo que cando se crearon os grandes medios de transporte de masas terrestres (ferrocarril, metro...) ficou obsoleto. Non importou a mobilidade.
E do vello Manhattan que quedou? Pois por avatares do destino, por oportunas crises económicas e por unha maior consolidación e mellores letrados defendendo a propiedade dos veciños preestablecidos, ficou na malla unha vella ruta que unía o sur e norte da illa. Unha ruta pola que xa comerciaban os Lenape antes de que os europeos chegasen, e que acabou sendo a actual Broadway. A única rúa que traza unha diagonal por Midtown, xerando nas esquinas os poucos espazos públicos da zona (Madison Sq., Herald Sq. Times Sq....) así como desafíos para os arquitectos (o famoso Flatiron).
E Central Park? Simplemente en 1851 déronse conta os do concello que todo o que estaba planeado era incriblemente monótono, que non era agradable pasear, que estaban construindo unha prisión máis que unha cidade. E decidiron xuntar todos os espazos verdes nun macroespazo. Bueno, un pouco porque viron que se lles iba das mans, pero un moito tamén porque era especialmente difícil de urbanizar, con grandes bolouros de rocha, con regatos e lagoas que complicaban a uniformización á que obligaba o plan orixinal.
Despois de espoilearvos o meollo do libro, e se seguides lendo, direivos que (vaites, sorpréndeme que sigades lendo!), direivos que o libro se fai pesado por momentos, pero noutras ocasións conta anécdotas e costumbrismo do New York decimonónico que o fan moi interesante. De todas formas, hai que ser bastante fan tanto da historia como do urbanismo para desfrutar plenamente desta lectura. Hai que ser Carlos Nárdiz, vaia. ¿Que será de Nárdiz? ¿Como levará adaptar as súas clases a Bolonia?
En fin, déixovos, vou xogar ao GeoGuesser, a ver se baixo dos 5 metros de erro xogando dentro de Manhattan... 😂
O conto foi que no s. XVIII Manhattan tiña no seu extremo sur a vila de New York, e logo espalladas pola súa xeografía tiña outras pequenas vilas (como Greenwich, Bloemendael, Harlem...), granxas, montes comunais, zonas pantanosas, outeiros, etc.
O goberno local era pequeniño, e sen apenas poder ante unha élite de comerciantes enriquecidos. E apenas unha pequena parte do territorio da illa era terreo de titularidade da administración, unha zona lonxe das ribeiras e con dificultoso acceso. En 1796, encargáronlle parcelar o terreo a Casimir Goerck, para alugar ou vender partes do mesmo, e para un mellor aproveitamento do terreo o topógrafo decidiu unha cuadrícula, de forma máis ou menos arbitraria, con parcelas rectangulares.
Máis tarde, este topógrafo formará equipo con outro topógrafo, Joseph François Mangin, para mapear a illa de Manhattan. Nos traballos de campo, metido na lama a meirande parte do tempo, Goerck contraerá a malaria e acabará morrendo. Mangin continúa o traballo, e decide pola súa conta non facer un mapa fiel do estado actual da illa, senón imaxinarse un ordenamento do crecemento das diferentes vilas, ao redor das vías existentes de comunicación, de forma que acaba imaxinando un tecido urbano medrando ata conectar os diferentes núcleos. Decide facer o mapa, polo tanto, non da illa, senón “da cidade que será”. Mangin acaba o mapa, entrégao, e incriblemente, acéptanlle o traballo e páganlle.
Pero ao goberno non lle gusta o planeamento que lle fixo o francés, pese a usalo na época como o mapa oficial. E decide nomear unha comisión para, xa de modo oficial, organizar o territorio nun entramado urbanizable. A comisión fórmana os acomodados e adinerados Goberneur Morris, Simeon DeWitt e John Rutherfurd. E danse un prazo de 3 anos. Contratan como topógrafo ao John Jr. Randel para facer o traballo de campo e os planos, mentres eles redactarían a proposta.
Logo de moitos meses procrastinando, e co prazo de entrega en marzo de 1811, deciden que se van a limitar a copiar a cuadrícula que marcou o Goerck nos terreos municipais. Sin máis, pasando de propiedades preexistentes, das vilas que xa existían na illa, de outeiros e de vagoadas, das zonas fangosas... Simplemente respetaron o sur da illa, a que xa era vila de New York ben establecida, e polo resto, aplanar o terreo, arrasar co preexistente, e crear unha malla urbana perfectamente definida, que maximiza o aproveitamento privado do terreo e favorece a especulación.
E esto decídeno 2 meses antes de rematar o prazo. E deixan ao Randel pendiente de colocar centos de hitos por todo Manhattan para marcar onde cadrarían as interseccións. En marzo de 1811, entregan o seu informe (3 follas a doble espacio), e Randel failles o mapa e tería colocado como unha ducia dos hitos.
A cidade acepta a proposta, contrata a Randel por dez anos para poñer máis marcos pola illa adiante, e veña, empeza o boom da construcción, dos litixios por expropiacións, dos cambios no plan por intereses de promotores influintes, da corrupción do goberno local, de multiplicar exponencialmente o prezo das parcelas en poucos anos...
O terreo foi pouco colaborativo: desmontáronse montes enteiros e recheáronse vales coa terra. Non importou a orografía.
O plan orixinal tiña moitas rúas unindo as beiras marítimas, e poucas avenidas seguindo a orientación longa da illa. Era un plan pensado para transporte marítimo que cando se crearon os grandes medios de transporte de masas terrestres (ferrocarril, metro...) ficou obsoleto. Non importou a mobilidade.
E do vello Manhattan que quedou? Pois por avatares do destino, por oportunas crises económicas e por unha maior consolidación e mellores letrados defendendo a propiedade dos veciños preestablecidos, ficou na malla unha vella ruta que unía o sur e norte da illa. Unha ruta pola que xa comerciaban os Lenape antes de que os europeos chegasen, e que acabou sendo a actual Broadway. A única rúa que traza unha diagonal por Midtown, xerando nas esquinas os poucos espazos públicos da zona (Madison Sq., Herald Sq. Times Sq....) así como desafíos para os arquitectos (o famoso Flatiron).
E Central Park? Simplemente en 1851 déronse conta os do concello que todo o que estaba planeado era incriblemente monótono, que non era agradable pasear, que estaban construindo unha prisión máis que unha cidade. E decidiron xuntar todos os espazos verdes nun macroespazo. Bueno, un pouco porque viron que se lles iba das mans, pero un moito tamén porque era especialmente difícil de urbanizar, con grandes bolouros de rocha, con regatos e lagoas que complicaban a uniformización á que obligaba o plan orixinal.
Despois de espoilearvos o meollo do libro, e se seguides lendo, direivos que (vaites, sorpréndeme que sigades lendo!), direivos que o libro se fai pesado por momentos, pero noutras ocasións conta anécdotas e costumbrismo do New York decimonónico que o fan moi interesante. De todas formas, hai que ser bastante fan tanto da historia como do urbanismo para desfrutar plenamente desta lectura. Hai que ser Carlos Nárdiz, vaia. ¿Que será de Nárdiz? ¿Como levará adaptar as súas clases a Bolonia?
En fin, déixovos, vou xogar ao GeoGuesser, a ver se baixo dos 5 metros de erro xogando dentro de Manhattan... 😂
November 11, 2015
A comprehensive history of New York City's grid system, this historical volume starts off strong but gradually falls into a recitation of minor historical personages and events.
January 10, 2022
An excellent history of not just the grid pattern of the Manhattan streets above Houston, but also of New York City in general. One star off because I felt like the later portions of the book were somewhat focused on the detractors of the grid and the negative aspects of it. I agree more with sentiment noted of Niels Gron. That New York City’s physical presence is more inspiring of power and potential than aesthetic beauty. Seems though much attention is given to an absence of this subjective notion of beauty. I share Koeppel’s curiosity of what’s coming next as we continue forging into the new Millennium and the nature of living and working in New York City changes in ways that the planners could have never anticipated.
April 22, 2024
This is not a book for everyone but if you are in New York City history buff, this is a real gem. The entire book is the history of how Manhattan became a grid of streets It is a fascinating story of lots of crazy bureaucracy and politics, and people who just didn't seem to care. It's just like New York City today. It does take a little while to get past the initial planning stages, but after that, it is fascinating to listen to Manhattan growing year-by-year further north, and the things they did to adjust. Although the topic can be dry, the author really manages to keep it light-hearted with a little bit of a modern-day smirk on the side. If the topic interests you, this is a good book. I enjoyed it enough that I am going to track down his book on the Erie Canal
August 24, 2021
The second half of this volume is more interesting than some of the early chapters, which detail how incompetence ruled until it became too late to change a ruinous start. Yes, there were hard-working and competent surveyors, but lethargy in the municipal government led management to stay with its original errors. The avenues and streets were set the wrong way. People were denited diagonals, often the shortest route. Beauty was not considered.
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A strange part of the grid's history was the recurrent suggestion to fill in the East River to provide more grid.
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I appreciated the references to Samuel McElroy, architect , engineer, and planner for Brooklyn
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A strange part of the grid's history was the recurrent suggestion to fill in the East River to provide more grid.
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I appreciated the references to Samuel McElroy, architect , engineer, and planner for Brooklyn
March 10, 2021
There's one inescapable fact about New York City: the unrelenting grid of streets that occupies nearly all of Manhattan. Koeppel's book explores how and why that grid came to be, and how that grid has, well, gridlocked the city for the past 200 years. The first half of the book, detailing those early machinations, isn't as lively as the second half, which looks at some of the more interesting proposals to override or circumvent the grid. Anyone interested in city panning and/or New York City will find plenty of food for thought in this book.
September 17, 2024
Detailed history of the origins and evolution of New York City's (especially Manhattan) world famous city grid. Some may like it for it's simplicity and logic while others believe it is the source of the Big Apple's notorious traffic congestion and creating a soulless city due to the lack of European aesthetics and natural areas. The book really shines once the grid has in effective been created and a growing city is fitted into the neat rows of blocks of avenues and cross streets. Book will appeal to urban planning students and readers obsessed with one of the planet's premier cities.
January 8, 2018
An interesting book by Gerard Koeppel on how the Island of Mannahatta became the present-day Manhattan. Although a bit dry, the book is engaging for someone who moved recently to this bustling city. It is a detailed account of the challenges and controversies surrounding the making of this gridded city and its many avenues.
June 19, 2018
I had high hopes for this book as I grew up in NY along with family and friends..lots of history in NY-I love it! Love NYC;Long Island;Upstate etc all of the state..plus, I enjoy history. However, I was very disappointed..I could not get into this book at all-VERY dry reading, but the photos were nice to look at. Seemed to me more like a text book.
July 28, 2020
An exhaustive, thorough, very researched, yet slightly dry history of how New York’s street layout came to be. The details were very in-depth, though at times certain facts seemed excessive and after a while the various “characters” became a blur. Some humorous comments and observations broke up the text a little, and while it’s helpful to know the city’s streets, it’s not required.
August 16, 2023
This book opened my eyes to the urban history genre. It takes a concept so simple, the layout of streets and brings to life the lackadaisical nature and strike that the committee dealt with. Thus book really tells you about the history of new york in the early 1800s and makes you realize hiw much it still affects us today.
July 17, 2017
Well researched recap of the process under which the NYC street grid plan came to be. If you're not interested in things like this, it probably won't get you interested - but for anyone with a passing interest in city planning or NYC history - I say give it a read.
July 25, 2017
I found the book interesting. Lots of things about the history of NYC that I did not know.
But in some ways I think the book could have been better organized. It could also have used better quality illustrations!
But in some ways I think the book could have been better organized. It could also have used better quality illustrations!
May 12, 2017
Interesting history of how Manhattan got its unique grid shape
October 27, 2017
Bleh. Not one interesting tidbit. And the writing style was so inconsistent! Frustrating and jarring when writers do that.
April 28, 2020
really thorough history of the city of new york from a planning perspective, just gets dry unless you're a surveyor or city planner
Read
January 7, 2025skimmed this for research.
August 20, 2025
Well researched and edifying, but ultimately a bit of a dry read, despite a jocular narrative style. Enlivened occasionally by anecdotes about some of the characters involved in the city’s planning, like Gouverneur Morris and Aaron Burr, this is most essentially the story of the 1811 grid plan for Manhattan which would set the template for New York City forever. There’s a lot on its perceived flaws, and the resulting lack of picturesqueness/beauty here; but without it would we have our legendary (and I think beautiful and unique) skyline? And another plus: if you’re not in Greenwich Village or south of Houston, it’s hard to get lost here!
It also seems to hurry to a conclusion, without sufficient discussion of Robert Moses’s attempts to intervene, and later developments like the green belt of parks (which I think were undertaken before publication, in 2015).
Recommended to those fascinated by urban planning, and New York City history fanatics like myself. Ultimately, I’m glad to understand more about how Manhattan evolved physically.
It also seems to hurry to a conclusion, without sufficient discussion of Robert Moses’s attempts to intervene, and later developments like the green belt of parks (which I think were undertaken before publication, in 2015).
Recommended to those fascinated by urban planning, and New York City history fanatics like myself. Ultimately, I’m glad to understand more about how Manhattan evolved physically.
February 4, 2016
New York City is the first city I got a chance to know, and I've always been familiar with, and comfortable with, its grid of numbered streets and avenues, which made a logical sense, kind of like a metric system of urban planning. If you're planning to meet someone at Second Avenue and 79th Street, for example, even if you've never been to that part of town, you know exactly where it is and how to get there. The grid makes it easier to feel that you know the city.
But New York City didn't necessarily have to have a grid. I'm so accustomed to the layout of the city's streets that it never really occurred to me that there might have been an alternative. This book, by Gerard Koeppel, examines how the grid came to be (not such an interesting story) and what might have been instead, which is much more interesting. Reading this book caused me to consider alternative Manhattans, and that's something I appreciated.
Koeppel, in his introduction, says that his book won't judge the grid, it will just consider the arguments for and against, but it's pretty clear that he's not a fan. He laments that the grid has prevented Manhattan from being beautiful, a point I don't agree with. Sure, Manhattan doesn't have a great boulevard like the Champs-Élysées, but I've never, while on foot in New York, even noticed this lack. And I've been to Paris, and walked along the Champs-Élysées, and when doing so it never occurred to me that New York didn't have anything similar.
The author makes some strange statements. He doesn't like Central Park's rectangular shape. He says the park is "imprisoned by the grid." I like the big green rectangle. When viewed from aerial photos, or from the Empire State Building, it looks like a gigantic carpet placed in the heart of Manhattan. And I doubt that anyone walking or riding or otherwise recreating in Central Park has ever felt constrained by its rectangular shape.
However, Koeppel argues convincingly that the grid wasn't a result of ingenious design, but was instead something slapped together by a group of Commissioners who had other priorities. And the grid does have flaws. Envisioning a Manhattan planned by wiser Commissioners is an interesting exercise. A wider Fifth Avenue. More avenues overall. (Madison and Lexington Avenues were not part of the original plan, but were added later when it became apparent that there was too much space between Fifth and Park and between Park and Third. Before they could get around to adding another avenue between Fifth and Sixth, the area was already too developed to squeeze in another thoroughfare.)
The book was kind of dry at times. Reading about lines on maps can get dull after a while. But I'm someone who will always be interested in reading about how my favorite city became what it is today, so there was no way I wasn't going to read this book. It wasn't a great book by any means, and while I reject the author's unstated (but strongly hinted) perspective that the grid is a curse on the city, I'm very glad I read it.
But New York City didn't necessarily have to have a grid. I'm so accustomed to the layout of the city's streets that it never really occurred to me that there might have been an alternative. This book, by Gerard Koeppel, examines how the grid came to be (not such an interesting story) and what might have been instead, which is much more interesting. Reading this book caused me to consider alternative Manhattans, and that's something I appreciated.
Koeppel, in his introduction, says that his book won't judge the grid, it will just consider the arguments for and against, but it's pretty clear that he's not a fan. He laments that the grid has prevented Manhattan from being beautiful, a point I don't agree with. Sure, Manhattan doesn't have a great boulevard like the Champs-Élysées, but I've never, while on foot in New York, even noticed this lack. And I've been to Paris, and walked along the Champs-Élysées, and when doing so it never occurred to me that New York didn't have anything similar.
The author makes some strange statements. He doesn't like Central Park's rectangular shape. He says the park is "imprisoned by the grid." I like the big green rectangle. When viewed from aerial photos, or from the Empire State Building, it looks like a gigantic carpet placed in the heart of Manhattan. And I doubt that anyone walking or riding or otherwise recreating in Central Park has ever felt constrained by its rectangular shape.
However, Koeppel argues convincingly that the grid wasn't a result of ingenious design, but was instead something slapped together by a group of Commissioners who had other priorities. And the grid does have flaws. Envisioning a Manhattan planned by wiser Commissioners is an interesting exercise. A wider Fifth Avenue. More avenues overall. (Madison and Lexington Avenues were not part of the original plan, but were added later when it became apparent that there was too much space between Fifth and Park and between Park and Third. Before they could get around to adding another avenue between Fifth and Sixth, the area was already too developed to squeeze in another thoroughfare.)
The book was kind of dry at times. Reading about lines on maps can get dull after a while. But I'm someone who will always be interested in reading about how my favorite city became what it is today, so there was no way I wasn't going to read this book. It wasn't a great book by any means, and while I reject the author's unstated (but strongly hinted) perspective that the grid is a curse on the city, I'm very glad I read it.
January 4, 2016
This is an interesting history of New York City's physical layout, explaining how the city adopted and implemented the grid system of wide avenues and narrow streets that describes most of the island above Houston Street. While explaining the grid, Koeppel also discusses proposals that were floated to fill in the East River, among other things. Most New Yorkers will probably find this book thought provoking.
The author points out correctly that you either love or hate the grid system - I'm firmly in the "I love it" camp. Nonetheless, this book does make me wonder if I'd love New York even more if it had retained more of its natural features, if the city's development hadn't been more organic rather than rigidly imposed. It is, of course, too late. Hills have been leveled, ravines filled in, brooks covered, etc.
This author has, according to this book's jacket, written a history of the Erie Canal and also a book about getting water to New York City, and he has also contributed to other works, including the Encyclopedia of New York City, where he was an associate editor. His background at the encyclopedia may explain what I thought was one of this book's major flaws: Koeppel seems to be easily sidetracked, giving short histories of marginal players that, while often interesting, are not at all central to the history of the grid. Also, near the end of this book he laments the city's lack of a boulevard, but to my mind Park Avenue at least kind of fits the bill. Nowhere does he explain how it is that Park is so much wider than the other avenues east of Central Park. (I know that it covers the rail lines, but the plan for the city's grid was adopted in 1811, years before there was any rail service.) Finally, in this book's last paragraph, Koeppel writes that "The street grid was laid on a preindustrial island that is now a postindustrial city in a world struggling with sustainability. Sustainability has made the grid's un-green density dangerous." I take issue with this last statement: New Yorkers have, I believe, the smallest carbon footprint of any other U.S. inhabitants, and that is due entirely to the city's population density.
The author points out correctly that you either love or hate the grid system - I'm firmly in the "I love it" camp. Nonetheless, this book does make me wonder if I'd love New York even more if it had retained more of its natural features, if the city's development hadn't been more organic rather than rigidly imposed. It is, of course, too late. Hills have been leveled, ravines filled in, brooks covered, etc.
This author has, according to this book's jacket, written a history of the Erie Canal and also a book about getting water to New York City, and he has also contributed to other works, including the Encyclopedia of New York City, where he was an associate editor. His background at the encyclopedia may explain what I thought was one of this book's major flaws: Koeppel seems to be easily sidetracked, giving short histories of marginal players that, while often interesting, are not at all central to the history of the grid. Also, near the end of this book he laments the city's lack of a boulevard, but to my mind Park Avenue at least kind of fits the bill. Nowhere does he explain how it is that Park is so much wider than the other avenues east of Central Park. (I know that it covers the rail lines, but the plan for the city's grid was adopted in 1811, years before there was any rail service.) Finally, in this book's last paragraph, Koeppel writes that "The street grid was laid on a preindustrial island that is now a postindustrial city in a world struggling with sustainability. Sustainability has made the grid's un-green density dangerous." I take issue with this last statement: New Yorkers have, I believe, the smallest carbon footprint of any other U.S. inhabitants, and that is due entirely to the city's population density.
October 8, 2016
The story of how the grid came to dominate NYC. The grid is a love it or hate it thing--I'm a fan, because I'm so directionally impaired and it helps me immensely. The author is not, because of how it completely trampled and erased the island's natural beauty, with very little consideration. (It's true, they did. They didn't even try to do their jobs, they mostly went the easy way, using past ideas, even though they weren't fully planned or fleshed out. And because they had full legal authority, everything in their way came down, even if it would have been beneficial. This means existing houses, groves, stores, villages, etc.) It also makes many types of buildings impossible, since lots of narrow and deep only.
Fun facts:
The author also disliked Aaron Burr, ha.
They built in a few public squares to the original grid, but all ended up real estate anyway.
Central Park was not an original public square, it got added in a few decades later. It just took so long to grid out the city (until the 1890s), there was time to squeak in some nature.
Hamilton's home, The Grange, is the oldest building to survive the grid--it got moved when 143rd St got laid out, and then again in 2008.
Clement Moore, the author of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, was pissed when 9th avenue was set to run straight through his estate. He tried hard to get it changed, but no luck. His land ended up bisected by roads, but he kept in in the family for many decades. He started selling it off in the 1830s. His estate was called Chelsea, and that's still the name of the neighborhood.
People have tried for over a century to combat the grid, with ideas towards raising or lowering streets, forcing a diagonal, etc. Nothing works. Even though it took decades to build and theoretically could have been changed at any point in the 19th century, the grid just totally took over everything.
Fun facts:
The author also disliked Aaron Burr, ha.
They built in a few public squares to the original grid, but all ended up real estate anyway.
Central Park was not an original public square, it got added in a few decades later. It just took so long to grid out the city (until the 1890s), there was time to squeak in some nature.
Hamilton's home, The Grange, is the oldest building to survive the grid--it got moved when 143rd St got laid out, and then again in 2008.
Clement Moore, the author of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, was pissed when 9th avenue was set to run straight through his estate. He tried hard to get it changed, but no luck. His land ended up bisected by roads, but he kept in in the family for many decades. He started selling it off in the 1830s. His estate was called Chelsea, and that's still the name of the neighborhood.
People have tried for over a century to combat the grid, with ideas towards raising or lowering streets, forcing a diagonal, etc. Nothing works. Even though it took decades to build and theoretically could have been changed at any point in the 19th century, the grid just totally took over everything.
May 30, 2016
Growing up outside of Boston, I was always struck by the differences between my city and New York. New York's grid, unrelenting as it is, at least made a kind of sense compared to my city's network of one-way streets with names that spoke to history, not practicality.
New York's grid has a relentlessness to it that seems to suit the city's ethos. However the real Mannahatta under Manhattan was a hilly, marshy, beautiful place nearly obliterated by the grid forced onto the city by a few city planners. The interesting thing is that the grid has remained in place for centuries, relieved only by the addition of Central Park, that bright rectangular of green dropped amid a sea of brick, stone, and gray.
The book is entertaining especially in the early chapters that delve into not just the history of the city planning but the scoundrels, dreamers, and visionaries who sought to leave their mark on the city. The later chapters feel a bit rushed but overall this is a very solid and entertaining book and a decent grounding in the fascinating history of one of the world's great cities.
New York's grid has a relentlessness to it that seems to suit the city's ethos. However the real Mannahatta under Manhattan was a hilly, marshy, beautiful place nearly obliterated by the grid forced onto the city by a few city planners. The interesting thing is that the grid has remained in place for centuries, relieved only by the addition of Central Park, that bright rectangular of green dropped amid a sea of brick, stone, and gray.
The book is entertaining especially in the early chapters that delve into not just the history of the city planning but the scoundrels, dreamers, and visionaries who sought to leave their mark on the city. The later chapters feel a bit rushed but overall this is a very solid and entertaining book and a decent grounding in the fascinating history of one of the world's great cities.
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