ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the literature about regular grid planning in human settlements with an emphasis on why. It aims to establish at a basic level the reasons for its widespread use in so many different societies in different parts of the world over time. The chapter argues that the answer lies in both the generic and utilitarian qualities of the regular grid. Based on the historical record, the Greeks and Romans used the regular grid during extensive periods of colonization in several parts of Europe and the Mediterranean Basin as did the Europeans in colonization of the New World. Historians usually cite similar reasons for use of the regular grid in America as in other parts of the world. Historically, colonization is a means for a country, nation, or group of people to project political, economic, and/or military power over distance to a territory originally not their own.
