THE THEORY OF CITY DESIGN. 



65 



some element existed to hinder this. It is obvious from what has 

 been said that the rectangular system of roads and streets so much 

 in vogue in the States of Australia, is inconsistent with what may 

 be properly called, not merely the natural position, but also the 

 position of maximum, efficiency; for to travel by any but the shortest 

 way except for some adequate reason, is to waste effort. 



Given a number of streets radiating from a centre, the shortest 

 system of lines for connecting them one with another will be such 

 as make equal angles with each radial pair: consequently the 

 scheme of cross-streets, necessary to complete the radial system 

 proper, will form a sort of ring-system, or else a polygonal system, 

 like the lines on a geometrical spider's web. 1 This is not identical 

 with a diagonal system, properly so called, as a reference to the 

 illustrative figures hereinafter, Figs. 1 to 5, will shew. A definite 



Figs. 



c 



r. 



numerical comparison of the relative merits of the various systems 

 in respect to shortness of path of travel from place to place, may 

 be readily obtained, and will serve to fix our ideas. The two 

 squares, Figs. 1 and 3, and the three circles, Figs. 2, 4, 5, have 

 the same area, the length of the side of the square therefore being 

 J<\Ar, when the diameter of the circle is unity. In each figure 

 therefore the same area is commanded by the series of lines, which 

 may be taken to represent streets. The two elements of import- 

 ance are, (a) the total length of street to be provided, and (b) the 



1 This system was advocated by John Sulman, f.r.i.b.a., at Melbourne 

 in January 1890. See his paper on "The Laying Out of Towns/' — Aust. 

 Assoc. Adv. Sc., Vol. ii., pp.730 - 736. In particular, p. 732. It has also 

 been advocated by J. Stiibben, Baurath, Assistant Burgomaster of 

 Cologne, in a masterly discussion of the question. — Das Handbuch der 

 Architektur, Darmstadt 1890. See also Trans. Amer. Soc. C.E., Vol. 

 xxix., pp. 718 - 736, 1893. 



E -Sept. 4, 1901. 



