Analyzing city layouts

Planning the construction of the city is not a new process. It is an age old process used by the kings to construct their empire. Planning the location of the buildings and their interconnection is what is called the city layout. This is a time consuming process that requires analysis of the future improvements and a good layout is one, which allows expansion to be made later. The convenience of the people is the major factor that determines the layout of a city.

 

The layout of a city determines where the buildings are erected and where the roads are laid down. Determining an appropriate layout for a city is very important as it decides the traffic in the city. The layout of the city must be planned such that the entire city is well connected. Different layouts are available for connecting a city and the type of layout that is chosen depends on the expected traffic and the purpose of the city. Generally while constructing a big city, a combination of different layout patterns is used.

 

Natural layout

Certain cities have natural terrains in their way and it is essential to construct the city based on these terrains. Many cities in the world have a natural layout and when the city is planned based on the natural layout, then it would be easier for further expansion.

 

Hexagonal layout

In theory the hexagonal layout appears to be the best layout for constructing a city. During the 1930s, a hexagonal layout was used in constructing small urban cities, but the layout was not deployed on a larger scale. With this layout, the diagonal movements became very difficult, hence instead of using a full hexagonal layout, the city plan used parallel streets, triangular interconnecting was also used. Even though many improvements were made to the hexagonal layout, it did not serve to reduce the increased traffic in the cities.

 

Concentric circles

The concentric circles layout suggests the interconnection of streets by the ring roads, where the heart of the city is the center for the concentric circles. This type of layout is convenient for those who live in the core of the city. But those who live in down town area must travel for a long time to reach their office at the city centre.

 

Grid layout

In this type of layout, the streets will run at right angles to each other. This type of layout is used for the cities that were built during the Indus valley civilization. This is an old layout that was used in constructing American cities in the 1960s. This layout was used in many parts of Asia. The construction of cities with grid layout is inexpensive. Later, as the vehicle traffic increased, this layout was abandoned, since the layout left some streets unconnected to the main roads. Also grid layout limits the scope of reconstruction.