Why the NYC Grid Looks Like This..

New York City has two very different layouts, separated by Houston Street. The history as to why this is, is incredibly interesting, which you can find through the linked video.

[adi.]

I liked the part where he answered the question

[kaizokumugiwara]

I hate shorts that just end up being commercials for other

[apoclypse]

As a native New Yorker calling Manhattan New York City is annoying.

[doctornick]

I'm a New Yorker, and I didn't know that Manhattan is the only part of NYC. Without this video, I would've kept believing that the Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Queens make up NYC. The 5 boroughs of New York City are Manhattan, Manhattan, Manhattan, Manhattan, and Manhattan. Makes perfect sense.

[luciboi]

Even old New York, was once New Amsterdam✨

[TheAltMapper]

The European mind cannot comprehend why Americans find it difficult to navigate in perfectly normal street design but know exactly where 175th and 6th is on a map.

Of course New Yorkers find the south easier to navigate. It IS.

[sgrant]

For the non-New Yorkers who think he's saying Houston wrong: he is not. Houston in NYC is not pronounced the same as the city Houston, TX. The one in NYC is named after William Houstoun, a politician from the 1700s who attended the Constitutional Convention as a delegate from Georgia. He later married into a prominent NY family that owned the land where Houston Street is today.

[Superfluous.]

For all my American friends out there who are far too used to a city designed in a grid system:
Less intersections = less traffic, less accidents, less need for traffic lights.
It's convenient for addresses, but highly impractical for any sort of transportation that's not a subway.
The population density just makes all the problems I mentioned above grow exponentially.

[davemeltzersstarFNmullet]

Have I ever wondered? No, I haven’t. I’ll keep scrolling now.

[Better_Clean_Than_Green]

Uncle Sam: "Oh no, the grid is messed up, it's terrible, how can anyone live like that?"
Uncle Sam in Europe: 😑

[An_Ian]

The answer is simple the non grid area was the first inhabited area of the City and was originally built by and for those living there. The grid however was a top down decision made by those at the top like the Mayor and other gov heads of relavance. The grid was made to accomidate the rapid growth the city had what with it being the 1st stop most immigrates made to the nation

[DemonStarCrafts]

As someone from the uk I agree the bottom end of New York that is “ chaotic “ is pretty normal foe over here and it means that it’s super easy to get from place to place

[WindowsDrawer]

That "chaotic" layout is the whole Europe

[TimonCam]

As a Texan I have never ran to the comments faster

[aidandavis]

It has historical significance to the original New York Town where the first colonists settled. Battery place is named after a cannon placement from the Revolutionary War. 😂

[Serpentshaun]

As if people would struggle if roads weren’t in a straight line 😂

[Sirwankslot]

As an architect the “chaotic” layout really gives more personality to an area because grids can feel predictable.

[sikeyesik]

BS!. As a new Yorker. I can confirm that I really don't care for either grid system or chaotic design... never thought of it. The grid sheeter is easier to navigate tho

[PatrickMapper]

The rest of the world is built like that, can’t be having boring grids

[electrikpikachujm]

as somebody in new york i can confirm that NO, the grid is way better than turning 11 times just to end up on the same street as before

And Google maps doesn't help either because its favorite word be rerouting...