The Ward

Beth Reiter, writing for The New Georgia Encyclopedia, provides a great history of Savannah’s unique urban form:

Savannah’s remarkable city plan is distinguished from those of previous colonial towns by its repeated pattern of connected neighborhoods, multiple squares, streets, and designed expansion into lands held by the city (the common). It is unique in the history of urban planning in a number of respects, not the least of which is that the squares allow for more open space in Savannah than in any city layout in history.

Savannah’s brilliance is the ward, the flexible 8 acre unit of growth. The ward accommodates the majority of potential uses needed in the city including residential, commercial, civic, and public open space all in a compact, elegant form. Savannah is an amazing place and Beth provides a great history of how it came to be.

via Neil21