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A Backwards Compass Rose


This is a cool use of computer mapping technology: looking to see how much the streets align and presenting the results graphically. Manhattan generally follows the same pattern as Sydney, Mexico City, and Melbourne: most streets align along two perpendicular axes which do not themselves align with the cardinal directions. New York City as a whole is closer to the randomness of Rome or Moscow, since the grids in the different boroughs do not align with each other and, often, not even themselves.

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