City Patterns
Why Side Streets Often Meet at Unexpected Angles
Why side streets meet at unexpected angles: read old routes, property lines and later connections to understand the…
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Explore Curious City Journal's writing on streets, buildings, public spaces, city patterns and the histories that shape them.
Buildings
Arcade, Colonnade or Canopy: Three Ways to Walk Along a Building
Arcade, colonnade or canopy: learn to tell these covered building edges apart and judge how each affects shelter…
Urban History
The Street Name Plate and the City That Learned to Label Its Routes
Street name plates reveal how cities made routes legible. Learn to read their placement, wording and changes as clues…
Streets
The Shortcut Myth: Why the Straightest Route Is Not Always the Easiest to Read
A clear walking route is not always the shortest line. Learn how landmarks, crossings and simple turns make city…
Public Space
A City Square at Lunchtime: A Five-Detail Observation Walk
A city square observation walk reveals how entrances, edges, seats, shade and paths shape a lunch break, without…