ABSTRACT
On a map of modern New Orleans, streets seem to emerge from a nebulous midcrescent origin and radiate outwardly toward the arching river, like the blades of a handheld fan. By the 1720s, most riverine land near New Orleans had been delineated into arpent-based long lots. Straight portions of the river yielded neat rectangular long lots. Meandering portions rendered diverging parcels on the convex side of the meander (for example, the West Bank) and converging units on the concave side, forming a radiating pattern of elongated triangles or trapezoids. Modern-day uptown represents a classic American streetcar suburb; replete with beautiful mansions as well as colorful shotgun houses, humble cottages, and vibrant commercial clusters, the leafy district ranks as one of the most splendid urban residential environments in the nation. The ancient agrarian logic of the arpent system to this day defines the urban texture of uptown New Orleans.
