URBAN LAYOUT: CHARACTERISTICS, TYPES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The urban layout is one of the fundamental elements of urban morphology, since it takes into account the roads and circulation networks of the centers and cities. Through this it is possible to notice the growth processes of cities, land use planning, street layout, demographic development and differences in planning.

The urban layout depends on the conditions of the soil, relief and climate. These components are essential for the construction of structures and routes designed by man. Through the urban layout it is possible to know the development of cities over time and provide unique characteristics to each of them.

characteristics

- Responds to the ability to generate public space for connectivity and mobility in a sustainable way.

- Seeks to raise the quality of life of those who live in the city.

- Due to the connectivity of the streets, it is possible to create an accessible environment for locals and visitors.

- They set the standard in terms of the description of streets and blocks.

- Some authors describe the layout as the backbone of the traditional city.

- It helps to promote social equity because it designs each space with access to all socio-economic groups.

- Places with wide and straight roads facilitate the distribution of natural light and air currents.

- Sectors with irregular traces are prone to the accumulation of dirt and the spread of diseases.

- It is closely related to the growth process of cities.

- Each type of trace designates a different model of city.

Types

Rectangular, checkerboard, or grid

It refers to a road network where the city is laid out in a grid and the streets intersect at right angles.

The primary goal of this type of trace is to provide the opportunity for equitable growth over time. However, this is not possible because it encounters a number of natural obstacles.

Public buildings play a leading role and have open spaces for future distributions. It is estimated that the first records of the checkerboard type trace date from the urban planning of Greek and Roman cities, as well as in the Spanish-American colonial cities and Europe of the s. XIX.

Centric or radial radius

The main axis is the center of the city; from there streets are given off to various directions in the form of radio.

Irregular or broken plate

It is a type of stroke that lacks organization or planning, since it is characterized by spontaneous growth. The buildings are arranged randomly, the streets are winding and narrow, and many have no exit. There is disparity in the height of buildings and there is no planning and land tenure regulations.

This model was gradually replaced by the reticular model to contribute to the structuring of organized cities, with better distribution of drinking water, electricity and spaces with better connectivity. This model was typical of medieval cities.

Deliberate irregular

They are recent traces where a specific center is not found. The model corresponds to the city-garden type.

Baroque

A classification of the checkerboard model corresponds, but with the difference that the traces include radial axes placed to originate roundabouts and squares, in order to break with the grid model.

Regarding the relationship with the urban parcel

In this classification are the traces:

- In accordance with the functions that are developed in these: residential, commercial, administrative.

- Regarding the road structure: primary, secondary, tertiary.

- According to the types of traffic: vehicular / pedestrian, heavy / light, public / private.

- Chords with the organization of neighborhoods and sectors: structuring, neighborhood, main or avenue.

Urban layout of Mexico City

Prehispanic era

During pre-Hispanic times, the main objective of Mexico City was defense, corresponding to the intentions of control, domination and conquest of the Aztec Empire. There have even been records of a trace of an orthogonal or checkerboard type.

It is presumed that the basic structure consisted of four cross-shaped roads, leaving the center of the city as the place where the markets, palaces and ceremonial centers of kings and nobles would settle. From this area, streets and pedestrian paths were lost.

However, it is believed that one of the serious problems of the place was the constant flooding, which caused the spread of diseases and unsanitary conditions.

Colonial period

The distribution described above was maintained during the colony: there was a main square with a basic geometric space and civil architecture focused on the satisfaction of social needs. This corresponded to the ordinances established by Felipe II in the s. XVI.

With respect to the indigenous temples, these were relegated to neighborhoods outside the Spanish urban centers, which served to distribute the social classes of the time.

In the S. In the 18th century, new proposals were conceived for a better distribution of the city, thanks to the influence of the Enlightenment and the neoclassical trend in Europe. These proposals demanded symmetry, order and regularity to contribute to public health.

XIX century

The s. XIX was an ideal time for the construction and rebuilding of temples, convents, monuments, squares, gardens and different public works.

Thanks to French influence, in the middle of this century Mexico City experienced an architectural flourishing in keeping with ideological trends and the economic importance of the time. This also helped decrease death rates due to better road conditions.

Due to political and social changes, and constant flooding, in the second half of the s. In the 19th century, the rectangular layout was broken to give way to a freer structure, with the aim of satisfying the needs of the population.

Current era

With the arrival of the s. XX the city was modernized thanks to advanced industrial development. On this occasion, sustainable growth was put aside to move to the diversification of alternatives for population growth.

In the 1970s, the General Law of Human Settlements was enacted, in order to homogenize and centralize urban planning efforts.

Currently, efforts are focused on modernizing the neighborhoods that are on the periphery and providing its inhabitants with better conditions for the development of their daily activities.

References

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