Ring Roads of the World

[Samwill89]

Swamplot Blog Post

http://www.thumbprojects.com/index.p...-of-the-world/

This poster is designed as a sort of calling card for Rice School of Architecture, located in Houston. We collected ring roads from 27 international cities and layered them all at the same scale. As it turned out, Houston has the largest system of those we surveyed. (Beijing was second)

I found this image to be very interesting, though I am not sure if it tells the whole story. Any thoughts?


Edit: I believe this image shows urban areas with easily defined "hub and spoke" systems, though some cities are still left out.

[salaverryo]

The quote says: "Houston has the largest system of those we surveyed".

Last time I counted Houston had two ring roads: Loop 610 & Beltway 8.

Don't you think it's a bit too much to call two ring roads a "system"?

[Samwill89]

Originally Posted by salaverryo

The quote says: "Houston has the largest system of those we surveyed".

Last time I counted Houston had two ring roads: Loop 610 & Beltway 8.

Don't you think it's a bit too much to call two ring roads a "system"?

As I said earlier, I do not think this image tells the whole story. However, this "system" being mentioned includes the "spokes" of the roadway systems of the cities on this list.

As for Houston, I am not sure if it is fair to include the 1960/Highway 6/146 ring as a part of the system.

Either way, I always wanted to see what multiple major cities looked like while overlayed with each other. I think it says a lot about sprawl and the use of public transit.

[plinko]

I once had a tour guide in Xian, China lament the fact that their city had but three 'ring roads', while Beijing had six. I wanted to say something, but decided better of it.

[krudmonk]

101/37/80/780/680/280/1 doesn't count?

[TexasPlaya]

Originally Posted by Samwill89

I found this image to be very interesting, though I am not sure if it tells the whole story. Any thoughts?


Edit: I believe this image shows urban areas with easily defined "hub and spoke" systems, though some cities are still left out.

It would be interesting to see some congestion and commuter data to compare it with. Houston is definitely spread out beyond comprehension but the highway system really keeps everything reasonable.

[Reverberation]

There is a new Ring Road U/C in Houston; The Grand Parkway.

www.houstonfreeways.com

[SHiRO]

I want that poster!

[Trantor]

São Paulo´s rodoanel is not completed yet... I wonder how it will compare to those from the poster. Upon completion, it will be 172 km long (for comparassion, Houston´s Grand Parkway, far from finished, should be 270km long when completed)





by the way, does the graphic for Houston shows the Grand Parkway or Beltway 8? If it shows the uncompleted Grand Parkway, why wasnt São Paulo included in the graphic?

[JManc]

a freeway/ highway that circles an urban area. and i think that one for houston is referring to the still unfinished grand parkway.

[holladay]

The e-book shown on houstonfreeways.com is very informative, even if the subject matter is disgusting.

[tablemtn]

Well, Houston is clearly doing things right - it has one of the best economies in the US, and has weathered this downturn remarkably well.

[Trantor]

Originally Posted by JMancuso

a freeway/ highway that circles an urban area. and i think that one for houston is referring to the still unfinished grand parkway.

well, if it is, than São Paulo´s Rodoanel should be there on that graphic too, since on completion it will certainly be larger than Beijing´s. The whole yellow part is completed (west sector) and the south sector is nearing completion. Thats already MORE than the small two sections of the Grand Parkway.

[holladay]

Correction: it's doing some things right.

[touraccuracy]

I don't think my city has a ring road...

[J. Will]

Does Calgary have a ring road yet? I haven't been there in years. Are there any other major cites in Canada with a ring road? They don't seem too common here.

[ue]

^...

Calgary, AB has Stoney (or Stony) Trail under construction which will be a ring road. Calgary doesn't currently have one.

Edmonton, AB has Anthony Henday Drive - with most legs open now. Only the north end has some construction to do. But even with that you could still call it a ring road with Anthony Henday and then Yellowhead between both of Yellowhead's interchanges to AH which adequately makes a ring road.

Vancouver, BC doesn't - but they are anti-freeways (which is a good thing).

Regina, SK and Saskatoon, SK both have half ones.

Winnipeg, MB has one, with the Perimeter. It mostly goes around the city edges.

Toronto, ON doesn't seem to have one, but rather, multiple freeways that connect up to form a ring road. MacDonald-Cartier/Kings/Gardiner/Don Valley would make one.

Hamilton, ON has one if you combine Lincoln M. Alexander, 407, QEW, and Red Hill Valley.

I think that's it. Surprised Montréal doesn't have one.

[brian_b]

Originally Posted by SHiRO

I want that poster!

I emailed the school and asked if there was a way to get a copy. You should try it too.

[The Chemist]

Weird that Shanghai got left out. It's got two complete ring roads (Outer and Inner) plus another two at some stage in construction (middle and outer-outer). That's not an insignificant amount of ring roads.

[Saddle Man]

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