Chapter 12
Streets, lanes and footpaths
Our movement through towns is normally along streets
and roads, and hence our perception of the quality of
place is shaped by what we see from them. Anybody
intent upon exploring cities through the freehand sketch
should, therefore, concentrate upon the routes people
normally take. These vary from grand streets to alleyways
and pedestrian footpaths, and each has its distinctive
character. The different types of city route can be
categorised as follows:
- street: a relatively formal route lined by continuous
frontages of buildings; - boulevard: a grander version of the street, often
containing trees planted in parallel rows, and
sometimes with a central reservation; - road: an informal car-dominated route generally of
a suburban nature; - lane: an access route often serving the rear of
properties and frequently running parallel to a street; - alleyway: a narrow route, often a service corridor
originally constructed for the movement of carts; - footpath: a pedestrian-scale route between buildings,
often an ancient right of way and known by a variety
of local names such as a ‘loke’ in Norfolk or ‘pend’
in Edinburgh.
12.1
This formal street in Glasgow enclosed by late-nineteenth-century
tenements has a regimented character that extends through architecture,
urban layout and planting design.100 Understanding architecture through drawing