WEBVTT - What's the Difference Between Avenues, Roads, and Boulevards?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren fog obamb Here. Have you ever wondered why the

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<v Speaker 1>road you live on may be called an avenue, a boulevard,

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<v Speaker 1>or a court instead of a plain old street? Was

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<v Speaker 1>it the whim of your neighborhood's developer or the town council?

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<v Speaker 1>Actually there are rules regarding road classifications, and while they're

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<v Speaker 1>not always followed, typically they are. The basic premise behind

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<v Speaker 1>road naming conventions, which are fairly consistent around the English

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<v Speaker 1>speaking world, is that the name bestowed upon a paved

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<v Speaker 1>or unpaved passage depends upon its size and function. A road,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, is a path that connects two points. Generally

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<v Speaker 1>roads head out of town or away from the heart

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<v Speaker 1>of a city. A street, in contrast, is a public

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<v Speaker 1>road with buildings on both sides. This means that a

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<v Speaker 1>street is also a road, but a road isn't necessarily

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<v Speaker 1>a street. Avenues generally run perpendicular streets, but also have

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<v Speaker 1>trees and buildings on both sides, and each municipality decides

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<v Speaker 1>in which direction to place its streets and avenues. In Manhattan,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, avenues run north and south, while streets run east,

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<v Speaker 1>and west. In Denver it's the opposite, and in Tucson

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<v Speaker 1>they got innovative calling the roads running diagonally to streets

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<v Speaker 1>and avenues stravenues a postal abbreviation S t R A.

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<v Speaker 1>So streets, avenues, and roads are the main names for

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<v Speaker 1>our passages, but here are some other common definitions. A

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<v Speaker 1>boulevard is a wide street with trees and other vegetation

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<v Speaker 1>on one or both sides, and often a median to

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<v Speaker 1>divide traffic. A court is a street ending in a

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<v Speaker 1>looper circle a k a. A coul de sac, while

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<v Speaker 1>a place is a rotor street with a dead end

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<v Speaker 1>that's not a looper circle. A crescent is a winding

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<v Speaker 1>and curved road that typically attaches to another road at

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<v Speaker 1>each end. A drive is a long road that winds

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<v Speaker 1>around a geographical feature, such as a river or mount.

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<v Speaker 1>A lane is a narrow road that typically leads to

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<v Speaker 1>a residential zone and are often found in rural areas.

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<v Speaker 1>A terrace is a street following the upper portion of

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<v Speaker 1>a slope, and away is a small street branching off

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<v Speaker 1>of a road. These passages are usually short and often

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<v Speaker 1>feature another dead end. Of course, as areas and especially

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<v Speaker 1>bustling residential areas develop and change. New passes may be

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<v Speaker 1>built connecting roads that previously ended in dead ends, or

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<v Speaker 1>buildings or infrastructure may be built blocking what was formerly

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<v Speaker 1>an intersection. In addition to most places in the United

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<v Speaker 1>States following fairly standard street naming conventions, most major cities

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<v Speaker 1>are laid out in a grid system where the streets

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<v Speaker 1>run at right angles with each other. This makes it

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<v Speaker 1>relatively easy to find your way around. Chicago took things

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<v Speaker 1>a step further by selecting the intersection of State Street

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<v Speaker 1>and Madison Avenue in the heart of the city as

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<v Speaker 1>its zero coordinates, and this means that if your address

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<v Speaker 1>is twenty North Lotus, for example, you of fifty four

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<v Speaker 1>blocks north of State and Madison. When it comes to

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<v Speaker 1>giving streets their first names, like Maine or Washington or Blueberry,

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<v Speaker 1>this is generally the province of subdivision developers with the

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<v Speaker 1>blessing of the municipality. The two groups that have the

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<v Speaker 1>most veto power over proposed names are the police and

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<v Speaker 1>fire departments, who want unique monikers that can easily be

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<v Speaker 1>distinguished in an emergency. To May's episode was written by

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<v Speaker 1>Melanie rad Zekie McManus and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of I Heart Radios how stuff Works.

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