Street

Street

A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable surface such as concrete, cobblestone or brick. Portions may also be smoothed with asphalt, embedded with rails, or otherwise prepared to accommodate non-pedestrian traffic.

Originally, the word "street" simply meant a paved road (Latin: "via strata"). The word "street" is still sometimes used colloquially as a synonym for "road", for instance in connection with the ancient Watling Street, but city residents and urban planners draw a crucial modern distinction: a road's main function is transportation, while streets facilitate public interaction. Examples of streets include pedestrian streets, alleys, and city-centre streets too narrow for a road.

History

The word "street" dates back to the Old English stræt, from Latin strāta; it is related to stratum, meaning 'spread out, stretch, strew', and the past participle is strātus. The first recorded use of the word street as a proper noun is in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 725, where "Ocforda Stræt" was used.

Design

Streets, like roads, are often smoothed, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel; historically they only existed in built-up areas. In the United Kingdom many minor roads are surfaced with grass and are known as green lanes. In the United States, streets have been a significant factor shaping development patterns in many cities.

See also

• Road
• Alley
• Pedestrian street
• Green lane (road)

References

Street Resources
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