Black Rock City versus Manhattan: An economist’s view

Abstract

Urban street networks take many forms, from the circular streets in Black Rock City (which is built and removed every year as part of the Burning Man Festival) to the streets and avenues in the Manhattan grid. This paper compares the traits of cities with different street networks using the tools of urban economics. When both cities have commuting arteries of the same length, cities with circular streets have higher population densities unless access to these arteries is expensive and the number of arteries is large. Cities with arteries set at a 45o angle to the grid have smaller population densities under all circumstances.