Maps have been around for centuries- they help us know what cultures were aware of in terms of their neighbors, other lands, and so on. Map making continues today, as we map other planets, the bottom of the seas, and continually produce high quality maps here that measure various aspects of culture, demographics, and geography.
cross-posted from: https://sffa.community/post/2039338
From the Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series (second era)
I swear one of the major European cities is built like this too (lanes radiating from a central point versus being oriented on a grid) but I can't remember which one. I thought Paris at first but nope.
Paris was demolished to look similar tothis and the same in Berlin. I don't think there are any major cities in Europe that started out like this, but there's a few small ones.
There were some that started out with star-fort-like city walls, similar to Palmanova, but usually less symmetric like Antwep or Vienna. But none of them had that radial street pattern
I think you only see that radial street pattern in relatively modern planned cities.
Those waterway spokes would be so nasty that mosquitos might not be able breed in them despite the water stagnation.