The Urban Grid, the Hippocampus, Savannahs and Real Property

Recent neurological research gives credence to linking mechanisms in the hippocampus with human evolutionary success and urban form. This paper reviews landscapes of evolution, the development of patterns of sedentary space, relevant neurological knowledge and spatial thought in architecture. It suggests human evolution underlies the urban grid, which, in turn, offers optimal tradeoffs of generality with specificity not only in route selection (wayfinding) but also in structuring the social and economic relationships affected by private and public space and property.