At 08:11 AM 11/25/2003 -0000, you wrote: >- how far is a block? When you're used to distances in yards, >fractions of miles and miles, '3 blocks' gives no impression of how far >someone has walked or driven. The distance covered when "Taking the dog for >a walk round the block" (an area of ground covered with buildings that has a >road or path running around it) could vary from say 100 yards to a mile or >more depending on how big the 'block' of buildings is. >
Exactly right! That block -- area surrounded by road -- can be any size. In Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, the city plat was laid out with the blocks each 1/4 mile long -- or 4 blocks to a mile. I used to think those were the longest block I'd experienced, until I visited Las Vegas. Along the Strip, the blocks seemed to be about one mile long because of the huge size of the casino properties. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that an average city block was seven to a mile while DH thought it was eight. In my little town, the streets are fairly close together and I'm sure there's 12 blocks to a mile. I tried searching for something on the web and found myself in all kinds of web pages, but none of them addressing any sizes. So -- I think 'block' is a generic term without size configuation. The original designer of the town arbitrarily set the size for that town. The average USA city, that I've visited, has had 8-12 blocks per mile. (I may be attacked for this, but I don't consider Salt Lake City nor Las Vegas to be built in the normal manner.) However, your morning constitutional walk of one mile would be easy in SLC because you only have to circle one block to achieve your mile. <G> (I might add that there are many places, especially in the residential sections, where these huge blocks are divided by an extra street to give better access to the center of the blocks. I lived there one year so had definite experience with these large blocks.) When I was in London, taking a walk, I decided to go 'around the block' that contained my hotel. That's when I discovered that London does not have a square-grid street system. It was many 'blocks' later before I found my way back. I learned to wander 'out' on whatever path looked interesting, but to always return by the same path in reverse. This was also true of other cities experienced on my tour around the island. I guess you can imagine the blocks in a story any size you want to. Happy reading, Alice in Oregon - Happy Thanksgiving to all USA lacemakers!! Oregon Country Lacemakers Arachne Secret Pal Administrator Mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
