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105-469: Spring Gardens is a dead-end street at the south east extreme of St. James's , London , England, that crosses the east end of The Mall between Admiralty Arch and Trafalgar Square . Part of the old liberty of Westminster and the current City of Westminster , it abuts Whitehall , Horse Guards Parade , Green Park , and the Charing Cross /Strand/Trafalgar Square locality. It is named after

210-435: A place , a special place, a handsome place, a safe place, a welcoming place, a place where you might wish to live." "narrowness and enclosure and intimacy bring a feeling of safety to Roslyn Place... 'Stay on our street' is all the kids have to know". Gated communities , whose numbers steadily increase worldwide, use cul-de-sac and loop street networks because the dendrite structure reduces the number of through roads and thus

315-466: A 2010 study on sprawl in North America by a legal expert concludes that "neighborhoods dominated by cul-de-sacs are less walkable than those that include street grids.   ... On the other hand, cul-de-sacs do have a countervailing public benefit: because of their very inaccessibility, they tend to have less automobile traffic. Given the existence of important public policy goals on both sides,

420-572: A Loss, and be in Confusion and Suspense; or if he pushes on daringly, may be easily destroyed. The same opinion is expressed by an earlier thinker, Aristotle , when he criticized the Hippodamian grid : ... but for security in war [the arrangement is more useful if it is planned in] the opposite [manner], as it used to be in ancient times. For that [arrangement] is difficult for foreign troops to enter and find their way about when attacking. In

525-483: A city seeking to maximize walkability should not favor cul-de-sacs over grids, but should also allow some cul-de-sacs as a legitimate residential option.   ... In addition, there are "middle ground" alternatives between prohibiting cul-de-sacs and mandating them. For example, a city could encourage cul-de-sacs combined with pedestrian walkways." This design combination is shown in the Village Homes layout and

630-735: A commission from Sigismondo Malatesta to transform the Gothic church of San Francesco in Rimini into a memorial chapel, the Tempio Malatestiano . In Florence, he designed the upper parts of the façade for the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella , famously bridging the nave and lower aisles with two ornately inlaid scrolls, solving a visual problem and setting a precedent to be followed by architects of churches for four hundred years. In 1452, he completed De re aedificatoria ,

735-511: A cul-de-sac or being on a through-street. It also established again that simple, linear cul-de-sacs with good numbers of dwellings that are joined to through streets tend to be safe. As for permeability, it suggests that residential areas should be permeable enough to allow movement in all directions but no more. The overprovision of poorly-used permeability is a crime hazard. More generally, the New Urbanism movement has offered criticism of

840-570: A cul-de-sac street as does social networking. Design guidelines based on the CPTED perspective recommend its use for those reasons. Cul-de-sac streets increase spontaneous outdoor activity by children. A study in California examined the amount of child play that occurred on the streets of neighbourhoods with different characteristics; grid pattern and cul-de-sacs. The findings indicate that cul-de-sacs showed substantial increase in play activity than

945-428: A disconnected network of cul-de-sac and looped streets is inconvenient and non-intuitive, particularly when combined with curvilinear geometry. Loss of orientation and sense of direction is also a common experience in older cities with cul-de-sac streets (Medina of Arab cities or Mediterranean hill towns ) as well as in cities with highly-irregular block geometries and sizes and corresponding street alignments that produce

1050-505: A fresh context, which fit in well with the contemporary aesthetic discourse. In Rome, Alberti spent considerable time studying its ancient sites, ruins, and arts. His detailed observations, included in his De re aedificatoria (1452, On the Art of Building ), were inspired by the essay De architectura written by the Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius ( fl. 46–30 BC). Alberti's work

1155-820: A grid but irregular. The western part of the excavated village, where the workers lived, shows fifteen narrow and short dead ends laid out perpendicularly on either side of a wider, straight street; all terminate at the enclosing walls. Dead end streets also appeared during the classical period of Athens and Rome . The 15th century architect and planner Leon Battista Alberti implies in his writings that dead end streets may have been used intentionally in antiquity for defense purposes. He writes: The Ancients in All Towns were for having some intricate Ways and turn again Streets [i.e., dead ends or loops], without any Passage through them, that if an Enemy comes into them, he may be at

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1260-546: A grid by blocking through-traffic. Whole neighbourhood street reconfigurations emerged in several cities, mainly concentrated in North America and the UK, which include Berkeley, California ; Seattle, Washington ; and Vancouver, British Columbia . The transformation of grid plans since the 1970s limits access to an existing road that is newly designated as a major artery , enabling traffic to move smoothly on it, alleviating residents' concerns. This selective, sporadic transformation

1365-422: A hard time turning around, which means that children who live in a cul-de-sac must often walk to a bus stop on a main through-road. However, recent research on obesity and urban planning suggests that to be a possible advantage because it enables children to get daily physical activity. Longer walking distances, however, reduce interest to use buses especially when a car is available. This disincentive to walking to

1470-414: A labyrinthine effect. The long history of such cities implies that an irregular, complicated street network that appears entirely illegible to a visitor is well understood and used by the inhabitants. More convincing about its workability for their permanent residents are the case histories of cities such as Regensburg that show a gradual transformation of an imported or imposed orthogonal, "legible" grid to

1575-448: A loop, and 0% the grid. Only 13% of grid street residents preferred their own type and 54% would choose a cul-de-sac. Two other studies, reported in 1990 and 2009 respectively, confirmed the upward trend and determined the premium that cul-de-sac streets command. The first found a 29% premium over the streets in a grid. The second, focused on trails and greenbelts, found that other amenities including cul-de-sac streets add significantly to

1680-505: A man of culture... a friend of talented men, open and courteous with everyone. He always lived honourably and like the gentleman he was." Alberti died in Rome on 25 April 1472 at the age of 68. Alberti considered mathematics as the foundation of arts and sciences. "To make clear my exposition in writing this brief commentary on painting," Alberti began his treatise, Della Pittura (On Painting) dedicated to Brunelleschi, "I will take first from

1785-496: A manner that includes Classical proportions and elements such as pilasters, cornices, and a pediment in the Classical style, ornamented with a sunburst in tesserae, rather than sculpture. The best known feature of this typically aisled church is the manner in which Alberti has solved the problem of visually bridging the different levels of the central nave and much lower side aisles. He employed two large scrolls, which were to become

1890-532: A modified, improved version of it, mentioned above, that enables pedestrian and bicycle through-movement. While this more permeable version can be applied in new developments easily, modifying existing impermeable cul-de-sac streets is problematic as it encounters property ownership issues. Efforts in that direction are, however, being made. Because of the complicated legal process and the sheer number of existing cul-de-sac streets, however, such efforts would be slow to produce results and may have little impact in changing

1995-421: A period of rapid economic and city expansion, when a detached house on a large lot meant an ideal form of habitation. The temporal coincidence of the wide adoption of a street type and an increasing demand for large lots and houses suggests a necessary relationship between street type and unit density. Historically, however, the earliest systematic application of the cul-de-sac street type by Raymond Unwin (1909) had

2100-455: A return to the 19th century gridiron is undesirable. The decrease in traffic, in turn, is thought to lower the incidence of crime and increase desirability, because in most cases the people who traverse the cul-de-sac either live there or are guests of those who do. CPTED planning principles suggest increased natural surveillance and sense of ownership as a means of fostering security in a neighbourhood. Both of these phenomena occur naturally on

2205-411: A school bus-stop can be overcome in planned cul-de-sac streets by regulating their maximum length to about 500 ft (150 m), as was recommended and practiced by R. Unwin and others. Weighing available evidence has led a few US cities including Austin, Texas ; Charlotte, North Carolina ; and Portland, Oregon , to restrict and regulate the inclusion of cul-de-sac streets in new suburbs. However,

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2310-434: A significant role in traffic safety and should be considered in conjunction with the network pattern. While all intersection types in general increase the incidence of fatal crashes, four-way intersections, which rarely occur in a network with cul-de-sac or loop streets, increase total and injurious crashes significantly. The study recommends hybrid street networks with dense concentrations of T-intersections, and concludes that

2415-584: A similar incentive was provided to developers by CMHC . The incentives, which were discontinued in the 1970s, gave the initial impetus for the application of the hierarchical pattern. In other countries, such incentives do not exist, and adoption is motivated by customer preferences. American urban planning , in the 19th and the early 20th centuries, emphasized a grid plan , partly out of extensive reliance on foot, horse, ⁰and trams for transportation. In such earlier urban development, alleys were included to allow for deliveries of soiled supplies, such as coal, to

2520-595: A small Latin work on geography, Descriptio urbis Romae ( The Panorama of the City of Rome ). Just a few years before his death, Alberti completed De iciarchia ( On Ruling the Household ), a dialogue about Florence during the Medici rule. Alberti took holy orders and never married. He loved animals and had a pet dog, a mongrel, about whom he wrote a panegyric ( Canis ). Vasari describes Alberti as "an admirable citizen,

2625-474: A standard feature of church façades in the later Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical Revival buildings. Alberti is considered to have been the consultant for the design of the Piazza Pio II, Pienza . The village, previously called Corsignano, was redesigned beginning around 1459. It was the birthplace of Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, Pope Pius II , in whose employ Alberti served. Pius II wanted to use

2730-545: A street is usually referred to as a court when it has a bulbous end. Dead ends are added to road layouts in urban planning to limit through-traffic in residential areas. While some dead ends provide no possible passage except in and out of their road entry, others allow cyclists , pedestrians or other non-automotive traffic to pass through connecting easements or paths, an example of filtered permeability . The International Federation of Pedestrians proposed to call such streets "living end streets" and to provide signage at

2835-489: A treatise on architecture, using as its basis the work of Vitruvius and influenced by the ancient roman buildings. The work was not published until 1485. It was followed in 1464 by his less influential work, De statua , in which he examines sculpture. Alberti's only known sculpture is a self-portrait medallion, sometimes attributed to Pisanello . Alberti was employed to design two churches in Mantua , San Sebastiano , which

2940-487: A unit density between 8 and 12 units per acre (20 and 30 per hectare), considerably higher than mid-to-late 20th century. Even in the 21st century, developments rarely achieve densities above 5 to 7 units per acre (12 to 17 per hectare) in the suburbs. Conversely, early 1950s suburban developments that were laid out on a grid exhibit similar low densities. Evidently, street, network type and density are not linked causally; other factors, such as land scarcity and income, influence

3045-532: A visual rather than structural viewpoint. He correctly employed the Classical orders , unlike his contemporary, Brunelleschi , who used the Classical column and pilaster in a free interpretation. Alberti reflected on the social effects of architecture, and was attentive to the urban landscape. This is demonstrated by his inclusion, at the Rucellai Palace, of a continuous bench for seating at the level of

3150-451: A word or phrase seeming to have a negative connotation is replaced in street signs with a new coinage ("no outlet" is another alternative name used on street signs). Leon Battista Alberti Leon Battista Alberti ( Italian: [leˈom batˈtista alˈbɛrti] ; 14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, priest , linguist , philosopher, and cryptographer ; he epitomised

3255-468: Is a vaulted stable that had stalls for a hundred horses. The design, which radically transformed the center of the town, included a palace for the pope, a church, a town hall, and a building for the bishops who would accompany the Pope on his trips. Pienza is considered an early example of Renaissance urban planning. The Basilica of Sant'Andrea , Mantua was begun in 1471, the year before Alberti's death. It

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3360-590: Is an integral part of the Fused Grid . George Orwell wrote in his 1946 article " Politics and the English Language " that the term "cul de sac" is another foreign word used in English as pretentious diction and is unnecessary. The word "cul-de-sac" and its synonyms or near synonyms "dead end" and "no exit" have inspired metaphorical uses in literature and in culture, often with the result that

3465-511: Is as pleasing as it is necessary". The work of art is, according to Alberti, so constructed that it is impossible to take anything away from it or to add anything to it, without impairing the beauty of the whole. Beauty was for Alberti "the harmony of all parts in relation to one another," and subsequently "this concord is realized in a particular number, proportion, and arrangement demanded by harmony". Alberti's thoughts on harmony were not new—they could be traced back to Pythagoras—but he set them in

3570-464: Is continuing. As traffic volumes increase and as cities decide to remove or reduce traffic on specific streets of central areas, streets are closed off using bollards or landscaping thus making new, originally unplanned dead ends and producing a new, functional blend of the inherited grid with newer street types. A recent variation of limiting traffic is managed closure by using retractable bollards that are activated only by designated card-holders. Since

3675-633: Is dark? ( quid tum si fuscus Amyntas? ) Violets are black, and hyacinths are black." Alberti made a variety of contributions to several fields: [1] Archived 2022-04-18 at the Wayback Machine Magda Saura, "Building codes in the architectural treatise De re aedificatoria," [2] Archived 2022-04-18 at the Wayback Machine Third International Congress on Construction History , Cottbus, May 2009. [3] Archived 2022-04-18 at

3780-418: Is necessary not only in the general interest of the population, but, above all, for the sake of the children, whose health (amongst the working classes ) is mainly dependent on the opportunity of moving about in close connection with their dwelling places, without the danger of being run over. In the earlier periods, traffic was excluded from residential streets simply by gates or by employing the cul-de-sac. It

3885-411: Is not a necessary outcome of street network design and can be improved. The practice of naming orthogonal networks by numbers and letters in the corresponding cardinal directions has been criticized by Camilo Sitte as lacking imagination. Nonetheless, police and fire departments now use advanced GPS systems that quickly locate the destination and the shortest path to follow. School buses can also have

3990-687: Is not surprising since he devoted himself more to his studies than to draughtsmanship." Jacob Burckhardt portrayed Alberti in The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy as a truly universal genius. "And Leonardo Da Vinci was to Alberti as the finisher to the beginner, as the master to the dilettante. Would only that Vasari's work were here supplemented by a description like that of Alberti! The colossal outlines of Leonardo's nature can never be more than dimly and distantly conceived." Alberti

4095-472: Is not the most common expression used in all English-speaking places. Official terminology and traffic signs include many alternatives, some only used regionally. In the United States, a cul-de-sac is often not an exact synonym for "dead end " and refers to a dead end street with a circular end allowing for easy turning at the end of the road. In Australia, Canada, and some parts of the United States,

4200-534: Is said to appear in Mantegna's great frescoes in the Camera degli Sposi , as the older man dressed in dark red clothes, who whispers in the ear of Ludovico Gonzaga , the ruler of Mantua. In Alberti's self-portrait, a large plaquette , he is clothed as a Roman. To the left of his profile is a winged eye. On the reverse side is the question, Quid tum? (what then), taken from Virgil 's Eclogues : "So what, if Amyntas

4305-551: Is similar to Alberti's Palazzo Rucellai in Florence and other later palaces. Noteworthy is the internal court of the palazzo. The back of the palace, to the south, is defined by loggia on all three floors that overlook an enclosed Italian Renaissance garden with Giardino all'italiana era modifications, and spectacular views into the distant landscape of the Val d'Orcia and Pope Pius's beloved Mount Amiata beyond. Below this garden

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4410-400: Is surmounted by a heavy cornice. The inner courtyard has Corinthian columns. The palace introduced set the use of classical building elements in civic buildings in Florence, and became very influential. The work was executed by Bernardo Rossellino . At Santa Maria Novella , Florence, between (1448–70) the upper façade was constructed to the design of Alberti. It was a challenging task, as

4515-408: Is to imitate nature. Painters and sculptors strive "through by different skills, at the same goal, namely that as nearly as possible the work they have undertaken shall appear to the observer to be similar to the real objects of nature". However, Alberti did not mean that artists should imitate nature objectively, as it is, but the artist should be especially attentive to beauty, "for in painting beauty

4620-410: Is viewed as a dynamic social and cultural construct , especially in contemporary, open, multicultural cities. Residential area street configuration can assist its emergence only by reducing through-traffic and increasing local pedestrian movement – a design goal for which connected cul-de-sac and looped streets are suited. Issues of pedestrian trip length and isolation are very evident in

4725-754: The Foundation for the Built Environment in the UK for encouraging car transport for even short distances, as more direct connections are precluded by the geometry, which necessitates long travel distances even to physically-nearby locations. This increases fuel consumption and vehicle emissions and has negative effects on health by reducing walking and cycling rates. Related research in the United States by Richard Jackson has shown that people in car-based (cul-de-sac heavy) communities weigh on average 6 pounds (2.7 kg) more than those in traditional towns (with open grid networks). An extensive analysis of

4830-744: The London Guildhall , was based at Spring Gardens, as was the London County Council , until it moved to County Hall . This building has since been demolished. The area hosted an open-air market for milk, the Milk Fair, from the formation of the Mall; this was closed before World War I . The buildings now at Spring Gardens include: 51°30′23″N 0°07′40″W  /  51.5065°N 0.1279°W  / 51.5065; -0.1279 Dead end (street) The term "dead end"

4935-567: The Radburn model in the late 1960s. In the 1960s the cul-de-sac attained systematic international application in planned new cities such as Doxiadis' Islamabad (1960). In the UK, new towns such as Harlow (1947) by Sir Frederick Gibberd and Milton Keynes (1967) incorporated cul-de-sacs and crescents in their layouts. Planning theorists have suggested the use of alternatives to cul-de-sacs. Most notably, Christopher Alexander et al., in his 1977 book " A Pattern Language " (pattern #49) suggests

5040-609: The United States (such as Radburn , New Jersey , and Village Homes , California ), England (such as Milton Keynes ), and Greece (such as Papagou , a suburb of Athens ). Acknowledging their use, Germany , under the 2009 amendment to the Road Traffic Act, introduced an additional sign for cul-de-sacs that are permeable to pedestrians and cyclists (see under signage below). A new system for organizing connected, permeable cul-de-sacs into complete neighbourhoods,

5145-569: The Villa Medici in Fiesole might have been designed by Alberti, rather than by Michelozzo . This hilltop residence commissioned by Giovanni de' Medici , Cosimo il Vecchio 's second son, with its view over the city, is sometimes considered the first example of a Renaissance villa: it reflects the writing by Alberti about country residential buildings as "villa suburbana". The building later inspired numerous other similar projects buildings from

5250-403: The ancient ruins , which excited his interest in architecture and strongly influenced the form of the buildings that he designed. Leon Battista Alberti was gifted in many ways. He was tall, strong, and a fine athlete who could ride the wildest horse and jump over a person's head. He distinguished himself as a writer while still a child at school, and by the age of twenty had written a play that

5355-415: The fused grid , has been developed by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation . In the development context and planning literature of North America , cul-de-sacs have been associated with low-density residential development. Sustainable development theorists and proponents claim that to be, in some undefined way, inefficient. The increased prevalence of cul-de-sac streets occurred in the 1960s and 1970s,

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5460-644: The 1920s, the garden city movement became more popular in the United States and, with it, came its design elements, such as the cul-de-sac. Clarence Stein , a main proponent of the movement, incorporated it in the Radburn, New Jersey (1929) subdivision, which was to become a model for subsequent neighborhood developments. The first modern cul-de-sac (1922) in America might be found in Buffalo, New York . The country's Federal Housing Authority (FHA) recommended and promoted their use through their 1936 guidelines and

5565-672: The 1960s, the pattern has been the dominant road network structure of suburbs and exurbs in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It is also increasingly popular in Latin America , Western Europe , and China . In this pattern, there are only a few roads (relative to the number of cul-de-sac streets) leading out of the subdivision and into other subdivisions or onto major roads. In the US, these changes can be attributed to real-estate developers' desire to meet FHA guidelines and make federal home loans available to their customers. In Canada,

5670-551: The Arab polymath Alhazen ( Ibn al-Haytham , d. c.  1041 ), which was transmitted by Franciscan optical workshops of the thirteenth-century Perspectivae traditions of scholars such as Roger Bacon , John Peckham , and Witelo (similar influences are also traceable in the third commentary of Lorenzo Ghiberti , Commentario terzo ). In both Della pittura and De statua , Alberti stressed that "all steps of learning should be sought from nature". The ultimate aim of an artist

5775-537: The Greek word for blame or criticism. After being expelled from heaven, Momus , the god of mockery, is eventually castrated. Jupiter and the other deities come down to earth also, but they return to heaven after Jupiter breaks his nose in a great storm. Alberti did not concern himself with engineering, and very few of his major projects were built . As a designer and a student of Vitruvius and of ancient Roman architecture, he studied column and lintel based architecture, from

5880-572: The Tuscan dialect. The work was not printed until 1843. Like Erasmus decades later, Alberti stressed the need for a reform in education. He noted that "the care of very young children is women's work, for nurses or the mother", and that at the earliest possible age children should be taught the alphabet. With great hopes, he gave the work to his family to read, but in his autobiography Alberti confesses that "he could hardly avoid feeling rage, moreover, when he saw some of his relatives openly ridiculing both

5985-509: The UK, their prior existence is implied by the Public Health Act 1875 , which banned their use in new developments. Inferential evidence of their earlier use can also be drawn from the text of a German architect, Rudolf Eberstadt, that explains their purpose and utility: We have, in our medieval towns, showing very commendable methods of cutting up the land. I ought to mention here that to keep traffic out of residential streets

6090-466: The amount of through-traffic (vehicular or pedestrian) that might notice an accident or crime victim in need of help. Proponents of cul-de-sacs and gated communities have in turn countered that the reduction in through-traffic makes any "stranger" much more recognisable in the closed local environment and thus reduces crime danger. That view has in turn been characterized as unrealistic. It is argued that, since only very few of all non-locals passing through

6195-449: The area are potential criminals, increased traffic should increase rather than decrease safety. Research has expanded the discussion on the disputed issue. A 2008 study did extensive spatial analysis and correlated several building, site plan and social factors with crime frequencies and identified subtle nuances to the contrasting positions. The study looked at, among others, a) dwelling types, b) unit density (site density) c) movement on

6300-436: The back-to-front housing arrangement where the front of the house fronts onto the cul-de-sac street while the rear fronts onto the main roads. Some of the problems can be mitigated by the newer practice of connecting the neighbouring roads and cul-de-sacs with public pedestrian or cycle paths. In effect, this removes the discontinuity aspect for these modes of transport. Built examples of such connected cul-de-sacs can be found in

6405-544: The basement. Alberti anticipated the principle of street hierarchy, with wide main streets connected to secondary streets, and buildings of equal height. In Rome he was employed by Pope Nicholas V for the restoration of the Roman aqueduct of Acqua Vergine , which debouched into a simple basin designed by Alberti, which was later replaced by the Baroque Trevi Fountain . Some researchers suggested that

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6510-433: The corresponding number of entries and exits that need to be controlled. Dead ends are traditionally considered safer traffic environments for children than normal streets, but research shows that areas with many dead ends in fact have higher rates of traffic accidents involving young children. This increased risk of death is due to multiple factors, including: Cul-de-sacs are criticised by urban designers like those of

6615-517: The cul-de-sac and crescent (loop) street types not intended to network with each other. It has been suggested that such street layouts can cause increased traffic on the collector streets. It is recognized that cul-de-sacs and looped streets inherently remove car traffic through them and restrict access to residents only. Resident traffic is naturally channelled to minor residential collectors and to arterials that provide inter-neighbourhood and inter-district connectivity. A study, reported in 1990, compared

6720-551: The cul-de-sac street type among home buyers is implied by the evidence that they often pay up to a 20% premium for a home on such a street, according to one study. That could be because there is considerably less passing traffic, resulting in less noise and reduced actual or perceived risk, increasing the sense of tranquility. A survey of residents on three types of streets: cul-de-sac, loop, and through (grid) recorded their preferences among these types. It found that 82% of cul-de-sac residents preferred their own street type, 18% preferred

6825-478: The edges of rivers and property lines. They also choose these discontinuous network patterns of cul-de-sac and loop streets because of the often significant economies in infrastructure costs compared to the grid plan . From an environmental perspective, cul-de-sacs allow greater flexibility than the common grid in adapting to the natural grades of a site and to its ecologically sensitive features, such as streams, creeks, and mature forest growth. The desirability of

6930-498: The end of World War II , new subdivisions in the United States and Canada, as well as New Towns in England and other countries have made extensive use of the cul-de-sac and crescent (loops) street types. Typically, there is one or several central roads in the subdivision with many cul-de-sac streets of varying length, branching out from the main roads, to fill the land in the subdivision, a dendrite or hierarchical pattern. Since

7035-480: The end of her life here, and wrote her most famous work A Bold Stroke for a Wife at her home at the corner of Buckingham Court, Spring Gardens, in 1718. The 19th-century architect Decimus Burton bought a plot at Spring Gardens, where he constructed Nos. 10, 12, and 14 Spring Gardens as both his townhouse and his own office. The headquarters of the Metropolitan Board of Works , which had moved from

7140-546: The end of the fifteenth century. The Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini (1447, 1453–60) is the rebuilding of a Gothic church. The façade, with its dynamic play of forms, was left incomplete. The design of the façade of the Palazzo Rucellai (1446–51) was one of several commissioned by the Rucellai family. The design overlays a grid of shallow pilasters and cornices in classical style onto rusticated masonry, and

7245-563: The entry of the streets that make this permeability for pedestrians and cyclists clear. Its application retains the dead end's primary function as a non-through road, but establishes complete pedestrian and bicycle network connectivity. The earliest examples of dead ends were unearthed in the El Lahun workers' village in Egypt , which was built in c. 1885 BC. The village is laid out with straight streets that intersect at right angles, akin to

7350-552: The fine arts". Although Alberti is known mostly as an artist, he was also a mathematician and made significant contributions to that field. Among the most famous buildings he designed are the churches of San Sebastiano (1460) and Sant’Andrea (1472), both in Mantua . Alberti's life was told in Giorgio Vasari 's Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects . Leon Battista Alberti

7455-601: The first Italian edition came out in 1546. and the standard Italian edition by Cosimo Bartoli was published in 1550. Pope Nicholas V , to whom Alberti dedicated the whole work, dreamed of rebuilding the city of Rome, but he managed to realize only a fragment of his visionary plans. Through his book, Alberti opened up his theories and ideals of the Florentine Renaissance to architects, scholars, and others. Alberti wrote I Libri della famiglia —which discussed education, marriage, household management, and money—in

7560-418: The gardens that stood here. These featured a decorative fountain in the time of Elizabeth I that was set in motion by passers-by treading on hidden machinery, knowingly or unknowingly. Mostly Victorian buildings have been built lining the street. The Whig playwright and poet Susanna Centlivre (c.1669 – 1723), who has been described as "the most successful female playwright of the eighteenth century", spent

7665-490: The hierarchical but more conducive to short trips. Local trips in it are shorter in distance but about equivalent in time with the hierarchical layout. A later similar comparative traffic study of about 830 acres (3.4 km ; 340 ha) concluded that all types of layouts perform adequately in most land-use scenarios and that a refined hierarchical, dendrite network can improve traffic performance. Anecdotal and research evidence suggests that navigation (especially on foot) in

7770-525: The home value. The positive feelings that a cul-de-sac street could evoke, that residents value, are expressed vividly by Allan Jacobs in describing Roslyn Place , a short (250 ft [76 m]), narrow (60 ft [18 m]), densely built (14 du per acre [35 per hectare]), and wood-paved cul-de-sac in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania: "Step into Roslyn Place and you are likely to sense, immediately, that you are in

7875-465: The landscape of existing districts. Conversely, transforming existing streets that are part of a grid plan into permeable, linked cul-de-sacs, as was done in Berkeley, California , and Vancouver, British Columbia , is physically and administratively easy due to the public ownership of the street right-of-way. However, residents on adjacent through roads may resent the potential traffic increase and delay

7980-402: The length of car trips by the circuitous geometry of the dendrite network structure of which it is a part. Research studies examined the influence of several variables on the amount of car travel that residents of several types of districts recorded. Results vary considerably among them, but there is general agreement on a number of key correlations: a) the wealthier and the larger the family is,

8085-458: The lower level already had three doorways and six Gothic niches containing tombs and employing the polychrome marble typical of Florentine churches, such as San Miniato al Monte and the Baptistery of Florence . The design also incorporates an ocular window that was already in place. Alberti introduced Classical features around the portico and spread the polychromy over the entire façade in

8190-518: The mathematicians those things with which my subject is concerned." Della pittura (also known in Latin as De Pictura ) relied on the study classical optics to approach the perspective in artistic and architectural representations. Alberti was well-versed in the sciences of his age. His knowledge of optics was connected to the tradition of the Kitab al-manazir ( The Optics ; De aspectibus ) of

8295-533: The more cars they own, and the more they drive, b) the farther away a family lives from the city centre, and the fewer the jobs in the vicinity, plus a slow bus service, the more they drive, and c) street patterns may add a 10% length to local trips, but the total VKTs are affected more by the "macro" urban than the "micro" neighbourhood structure. Cul-de-sacs, especially those that also limit pedestrian routes instead of only road-traffic routes, have also been criticised for negative effects on safety because they decrease

8400-438: The nature of those identified now as polymaths . He is considered the founder of Western cryptography, a claim he shares with Johannes Trithemius . He is often considered primarily an architect. However, according to James Beck, "to single out one of Leon Battista's 'fields' over others as somehow functionally independent and self-sufficient is of no help at all to any effort to characterize Alberti's extensive explorations in

8505-598: The open grid street pattern. Cul-de-sacs reduce perceived danger from traffic, thereby encouraging more outdoor play. Similar studies in Europe and Australia found that children's outdoor play is significantly reduced on through roads where traffic is, or perceived by parents to be, a risk. In addition, they confirmed the results of the seminal Donald Appleyard 1982 study, which showed the negative correlation between amount of traffic and social networks. The inverse correlation between amounts of traffic and sociability of streets

8610-416: The outcome as, for example, in cities that are landlocked or that have low average incomes. Another concern is often voiced by emergency services, which can have difficulty locating streets when a community consists of a large number of similarly named cul-de-sacs; also, large fire response vehicles, in particular, can have great difficulty with turning around in a cul-de-sac. However, confusing street naming

8715-402: The outcome of an energy imbalance. Many contemporary lifestyle trends, some inevitable (sedentary work) and some avoidable (frequent energy-rich food consumption or the watching of television [four hours per day]), contribute to the imbalance and must be considered in understanding and combating obesity . The impermeability deficiency of the typical cul-de-sac street can be addressed by applying

8820-710: The power of lending development funds. In Canada , a variation of Stein's Radburn 1929 plan that used crescents (loops) instead of cul-de-sacs was built in 1947: Wildwood Park, Winnipeg , designed by Hubert Bird. In 1954, the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation published its own guidelines in which the cul-de-sac was strongly recommended for local streets and, as the FHA in the US, used its lending power to see its inclusion in development plans. Varsity Village and Braeside, subdivisions in Calgary , Alberta , also used

8925-455: The process. In Berkeley, the barriers used were permeable to both pedestrian and bicycle traffic and became the backbone of the bicycle boulevard system in that region. Increases in pedestrian and bicycle permeability may result in a displacement of local car trips for short-distance destinations and consequently a reduction in neighbourhood vehicle emissions. The impermeable cul-de-sac not only discourages walking and biking but also increases

9030-474: The rear of houses that are now heated by electricity, piped natural gas or oil. The use of cul-de-sacs reduces the amount of car traffic on residential streets within the subdivision, thus reducing noise, air pollution, and the probability of accidents. Ben-Joseph (1995), and Lovegrove and Sayed (2006), indicate a substantially lower collision rate for street networks based on the cul-de-sac street type. Dumbaugh and Rae (2009) suggest that land-use patterns play

9135-399: The research evidence by TRB, however, shows only an association between the built environment and physical activity levels, not causal connections. The evidence also does not identify with certainty which characteristics of the built environment are most closely associated with physical activity behaviour. The study also warns against confusing inadequate physical activity with obesity which is

9240-455: The road network. This design feature reflects the predominance of pedestrian movement for local trips at the turn of the 20th century, and presages the current planning priority for increased pedestrian accessibility. The 1906 Act defined the nature of the cul-de-sac as a non-through road and restricted its length to 500 feet (150 m). Garden cities in the UK that followed Hampstead, such as Welwyn Garden City , all included cul-de-sacs. In

9345-429: The street, d) cul-de-sacs or grids, and e) the permeability of a residential area. Among its conclusions are, respectively, that a) flats are always safer than houses and the wealth of inhabitants matters, b) density is generally beneficial but more so at ground level, c) local movement is beneficial but larger-scale movement not so, d) relative affluence and the number of neighbours has a greater effect than either being on

9450-504: The traditional "confusing" street networks. Cul-de-sac and loop streets can reduce the size of any given neighbourhood to a single street. Neighbourhoods can be defined by geographic boundaries but more often it is shared ethnic, socioeconomic and cultural characteristics that produce social cohesion irrespective of apparent physical "boundaries". Mehaffy et al. (2010), who propose a model for structuring an urban network, suggest that neighbourhoods cannot be designed into being. "Community"

9555-412: The traffic performance in a 700-acre (2.8 km ; 280 ha) development that was laid out using two approaches, one with and the other without hierarchy or cul-de-sac streets. It concluded that the non-hierarchical, traditional layout generally shows lower peak speed and shorter, more frequent intersection delays than the hierarchical pattern. The traditional pattern is not as conducive to long trips as

9660-481: The use of looped local roads which do not abruptly stop. Although dead end streets would fit his definition of looped local roads, Alexander suggestions that "cul-de-sacs [sic] are very bad from a social standpoint—they force interaction and they feel claustrophobic, because there is only one entrance". Doxiadis has additionally argued their important role in separating man from machine. Originally-unplanned dead ends have been added in city centers that are laid out on

9765-453: The village as a retreat, but needed for it to reflect the dignity of his position. The piazza is a trapezoid shape defined by four buildings, with a focus on Pienza Cathedral and passages on either side opening onto a landscape view. The principal residence, Palazzo Piccolomini , is on the western side. It has three stories, articulated by pilasters and entablature courses, with a twin-lighted cross window set within each bay. This structure

9870-465: The whole work and the author's futile enterprise along it". Momus , written between 1443 and 1450, was a notable comedy about the Olympian deities. It has been considered as a roman à clef — Jupiter has been identified in some sources as Pope Eugenius IV and Pope Nicholas V. Alberti borrowed many of its characters from Lucian , one of his favorite Greek writers. The name of its hero, Momus, refers to

9975-437: The world and studying the proportions of antiquities; but above all, following his natural genius, he concentrated on writing rather than on applied work." In On Painting , Alberti uses the expression "We Painters", but as a painter, or sculptor, he was a dilettante. "In painting Alberti achieved nothing of any great importance or beauty", wrote Vasari. "The very few paintings of his that are extant are far from perfect, but this

10080-596: Was a humanist who studied Aristotle and Plotinus . He was among the rapidly growing group of intellectuals and artists who at that time were supported by the courts of nobility. As a member of a noble family and as part of the Roman curia , Alberti enjoyed special status. He was a welcomed guest at the Este court in Ferrara , and spent time with the soldier-prince Federico III da Montefeltro in Urbino. The Duke of Urbino

10185-471: Was a shrewd military commander, who generously funded artists. Alberti planned to dedicate his treatise on architecture to him. Among Alberti's minor but pioneering studies, were an essay on cryptography , De componendis cifris , and the first Italian grammar . He collaborated with the Florentine cosmographer Paolo Toscanelli in astronomy, a science close to geography at that time. He also wrote

10290-601: Was born in 1404 in Genoa . His mother was Bianca Fieschi. His father, Lorenzo di Benedetto Alberti, was a wealthy Florentine who had been exiled from his own city, but allowed to return in 1428. Alberti was sent to boarding school in Padua, then studied law at Bologna . He lived for a time in Florence , then in 1431 travelled to Rome, where he took holy orders and entered the service of the papal court. During this time he studied

10395-631: Was brought to completion and is his most significant work employing the triumphal arch motif, both for its façade and interior, and influencing many works that were to follow. Alberti perceived the role of architect as designer. Unlike Brunelleschi , he had no interest in the construction, leaving the practicalities to builders and the oversight to others. Giorgio Vasari , who argued that historical progress in art reached its peak in Michelangelo , emphasized Alberti's scholarly achievements, not his artistic talents: "He spent his time finding out about

10500-603: Was encouraged by the Marchese Leonello d'Este of Ferrara, for whom he built a small triumphal arch to support an equestrian statue of Leonello's father. In 1447 Alberti became architectural advisor to Pope Nicholas V and was involved in several projects at the Vatican . His first major architectural commission was in 1446 for the façade of the Rucellai Palace in Florence. This was followed in 1450 by

10605-647: Was in the United Kingdom that the cul-de-sac street type was first legislated into use, with the Hampstead Garden Suburb Act 1906. The proponents of the Act, Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker, thus gained permission to introduce cul-de-sacs in their subsequent site plans, and they promoted it as a suitable street type for garden suburbs. Unwin's applications of the cul-de-sac and the related crescent always included pedestrian paths independent of

10710-468: Was never completed and for which Alberti's intention can only be speculated upon, and the Basilica of Sant'Andrea . The design for the latter church was completed in 1471, a year before Alberti's death: the construction was completed after his death and is considered as his most significant work. As an artist, Alberti distinguished himself from the contemporary ordinary craftsmen educated in workshops. He

10815-832: Was reconfirmed by a newer study that repeated Appleyard's San Francisco analysis in Bristol, UK. It showed that the cul-de-sac street with the lowest traffic of the three streets had the highest level of social interaction. The studies recommend the use of the cul-de-sac or strong traffic calming measures. When cul-de-sacs are interconnected with foot and bike paths, as for example in Vauban, Freiburg and Village Homes in Davis, California , they can increase active modes of mobility among their residents. Real estate developers prefer cul-de-sacs because they allow builders to fit more houses into oddly-shaped tracts of land and facilitate building to

10920-402: Was successfully passed off as a genuine piece of Classical literature. In 1435 he began his first major written work, Della pittura , which was inspired by the burgeoning pictorial art in Florence in the early fifteenth century. In this work he analysed the nature of painting and explored the elements of perspective, composition, and colour. In 1438 he began to focus more on architecture and

11025-459: Was the first architectural treatise of the Renaissance. It covered a wide range of subjects, from history to town planning, from engineering to the aesthetics . De re aedificatoria , a large and expensive book, was not published until 1485, after which it became a major reference for architects. However, the book was written "not only for craftsmen but also for anyone interested in the noble arts", as Alberti put it. Originally published in Latin,

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