Beyond Design: Phoenix’s Grid System
When it comes to Phoenix Design Week (PHXDW), the phrase “more than meets the eye” is taking on a whole new meaning, thanks to this year’s theme, “Beyond Design.”
From October 5–12, 2018 some of the most renowned design professionals will be convening in Phoenix to discuss — you guessed it — design! In addition to providing the Phoenix design community with a week-long series of events, it’s main event, the “Beyond Design Conference,” is what attracts the largest crowd.
The conference, which is slated for October 6 and 7, will bring together world-class speakers and local experts to share actionable insights, hands-on education and fire-fueling inspiration. In addition to this, the conference’s “Beyond Design” theme aims to inspire participants to transcend the thought that design is limited to mere decoration and instead view it as a way to impact the world around us.
Commuting by design
One way in which design does this is with city planning. Take Phoenix’s grid system, for example. Taking advantage of its relatively flat positioning, the city’s designers mapped out roads on a basic grid system, contained within an area that extends from the Agua Fria River to Scottsdale Rd., and from Bell Rd. to Baseline Rd.
For the most part, each main road that makes up the grid is spaced out in 1-mile increments. Those roads that run east to west are named roads and those that run north to south are numbered. To help make this even easier, those roads that run north to south are divided by Central Ave., the main passageway that runs right through the heart of Phoenix. The parallel roads to its west are all avenues, starting with 1st Ave., and the ones to its east are all streets, starting with 1st St.
To add to its easily-maneuverable design, Phoenix was initially a large farming town, supplying the city today with big, aterial boulevards that are not only forgiving to our transportation purposes but provided the city with wide streets. Most civil engineers will claim that it’s much easier to narrow a street as opposed to widening it.
Given the climate of today’s transportation technology, the Phoenix grid system is poised to work incredibly well in the era of autonomous vehicles, ride-sharing and Uber. You could say that our grid system was designed with the future in mind!
Whether the city’s planners could forsee how Phoenix’s wide roads and grid-like pattern would continue to benefit us or not, their layout successfully combined the city’s pre-existing attributes with just the right amount of uniformity. Phoenix’s grid system is a perfect example of how to think beyond design.
If you’re interested in learning more about or contributing to the “Beyond Design” conversation, be sure to follow @phxdw and don’t forget to snag your tickets to the conference at www.phxdw.com.
