Driving through downtown got me thinking about grid patterns and control...

I've always felt that city grids are designed to monitor movement, not just ease traffic. Friends say I'm overreacting and it's all about efficiency. But look at how cameras are placed at every intersection... it adds up. So, is it conspiracy or careful planning? Curious to hear other views.

3 comments

3 Comments

ray_miller844d ago

Seriously, but have you looked into if the grid layout itself was planned to make tracking easier?

young.nora4d ago

Grids go way back to places like ancient Rome (you know, before cameras were a thing). Sometimes a simple layout just works for moving lots of people and carts. Ray_miller84 has a point about making tracking easier now, but the original goal was probably just handling basic traffic flow. Modern camera placement feels creepy for sure, but calling the whole grid a control scheme might be giving planners too much credit. Isn't it more about bad traffic than big brother?

the_william3d ago

Totally spot on. My city's downtown grid has the same feel, and once you notice the camera poles on every other corner it starts to look less like traffic control and more like a system. They put in those red light cameras first for "safety", but now it's just regular surveillance cams watching you walk. Feels way too planned to be a coincidence.