[sksksk]

Something I loved about living in Bogota, was how easy it was to navigate there.

The whole city was built on a grid, with the east-west streets increasing in number as you went north. And the North-south streets increasing in number as you go east to west.

There is a mountain range to the east, so if you can see the mountains, and know what streets you're on, you can always find your way

[tokyodude]

Something i love about much of Tokyo is many of the streets curve and twist which makes walking around feel like an adventure of things to be discovered vs just a utility of getting from here to there. I agree curvy street cities are harder to navigate but I find them much more romantic.

[elcapitan]

They can both be helpful. The grid system is great for getting from coordinate (a,b) to (c,d). Much better than a natural city core as most older european cities have (and I mean old in the european meaning, i.e. >1000 years). But grids are extremely bad for mental mapping, as they are virtually featureless. So to remember your paths in a city without the coordinate system, it is much more helpful if the place has curves and outstanding features and little weirdnesses and so on (you can have outstanding sites along the way on a grid as well obviously, but because the streets are all just long tunnels, you will almost never see anything of it except for extremely tall parts like the mentioned mountains outside, or very high buildings).

[EGreg]

For me grids are way better for mental mapping!

Each street and intersection has different buildings, stores and vibe.

[reaperducer]

I love Tokyo's chaotic street layout. It yields great opportunities for exploring. And since so much of the city is reachable without a car, it's the next door neighbor to user-friendly.

I have a map/guidebook from the early 80's that explains how the system works in great detail, and once you understand it, it becomes easier and easier. You also learn instinctively which addresses are near each other.

The book stated that unlike in some cities with chaotic street schemes (I'm looking at you, London), Tokyo's wasn't organic. It was done on purpose to confuse potential invaders.

I don't know if it's true, but that thought has always stuck with me.

[jstarfish]

Venice is also like this. Unless youre following the canal, the city itself is a twisty little maze of passages, all unique.

[BenjiWiebe]

Twisty little maze of cabbages, all alike. Sorry, OT, couldn't resist.

[barrkel]

I think grid-based cities are almost soulless. Designed for routing efficiency and land parcelling, and not for human living. Very little in the way of designed vistas, and not much scope for landmark buildings to add up and create an aspect. The architecture seldom gets a chance to create an emotional impact on the pedestrian. In fact grid-based systems are usually not designed for pedestrians at all.

[reaperducer]

Much of rural America is like this. It's useful for pinpointing people in emergency situations.

Unfortunately, it leads to ugly addresses like:

  Jane Doe
  E18873 Rural Route 74
  Smalltown US, 80001

Or even worse...

  Jane Doe
  N7883 W17382
  Smalltown, US 80001

Precise for first responders with auto-routing. Not exactly descriptive for humans.

[nathancahill]

That mountain range and Monserrate are super helpful. Similar in Rio de Janeiro, once you know the different rock outcroppings around the city, it's really easy to locate yourself.

[thanatropism]

The thing about Rio is to learn where the coast takes turns. I used to live in a neighborhood where the sea faced east; now I live in another area where the sea faces south. I used to get confused!

Even if you don't have the sea in visible distance, many major urban roads are roughly parallel, strong sudden winds come from the sea, etc.