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by 0x45696e6172 2904 days ago
How come there appears to be symmetry in Rio de Janeiro?
1 comments

180 degree rotational symmetry happens because almost all roads are bidirectional -- if there's a road pointing north, it's also a road pointing south.

90 degree symmetry seems like a consequence of the road system consisting more of straightness and 90 degree turns, with no other specific angle being common.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-22.9111837,-43.2566471,14z

Rio fits the bill. There's no overarching grid, but if you zoom into any small area, you'll usually find a pattern of rectangular blocks with 90 degree intersections.

As far as I can see, the only viable way out rotational symmetry would be to use concentric 'ring-blocks' either for local areas or for the city as a whole. The rings would cancel themselves out, and the 'spokes' could be places relatively freely.

So... Canberra might have an interesting distribution?

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Canberra+ACT+2601/@-35.288...