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“The real urgent task was to convince a Municipality or a developer that this combination of known components worked well and that it produced desirable outcomes. Developers listened to the evidence with one ear while holding the other close to their clients – Sold! But they hesitated, being anxious that the City would not approve such plans; Cities, big and small, had just issued policy reports declaring: ‘cul-de-sacs are no longer allowed in this city because they are disconnected’,” stated Fanis Grammenos.

“While individual roads are normally built to a plan, their collective assembly into a network is retrospectively observed in totality, but never conceived as such—partly because networks grow piecemeal, often in unpredictable ways, and partly because of their time scale, often many decades long. The outcome of all these separate influences resembles a patchwork rather that a neatly woven fabric. Each new addition to the system not only becomes context for the subsequent one, but is also conditioned by factors that emerge in the long interim,’ stated Fanis Grammenos.

“Planning, common experience shows, is an act of balancing competing interests, perspectives and priorities. And since interests often waver and priorities shift, the challenge of achieving a balance is forever new. The fused grid model rests on a replicable (but not repetitive) 16 hectare superblock, a cellular unit , which displaces simplistic geometry for organic order. Translated into a neighborhood street pattern, this means shorter, skinnier, end-of-line local streets. Simple math shows that the closer this organic geometry is followed the more land becomes available for beneficial uses,” stated Fanis Grammenos.

The fused grid network pattern recently passed another test with top marks – the traffic safety test. Planers using it for its rainwater management advantages can now be confident that it will also enhance safety. “The city plan is organized in repeatable wards, with a square in the centre, which is visible to half of the homes in each ward”, explained Fanis Grammenos, “The square is protected from heavy traffic since through streets are located at the boundaries of the ward, leaving the centre relatively calm for casual strollers.”

“A consensus is emerging that conventional approaches to suburban development are not sustainable. From a transportation perspective, single-use, low-density residential developments with curvilinear, poorly connected road networks limit transportation options to the point that that private automobile is the only choice for many trips.This increases automobile travel and, as a result, fuel use, emissions and transportation costs. With this in mind, municipalities are re-examining neighbourhood layout and land use concepts,” stated Fanis Grammenos.

“A community will soon be taking shape in North-East Calgary that breaks new ground. It is the first of its kind in Canada and will put Calgary on the map for innovative planning. Two features make the Saddleton community a leading edge solution: its Fused Grid plan and its rainwater/stormwater management system,” reports Fanis Grammenos. “The Fused Grid combines the geometries of inner city grids and of the conventional suburbs. This fusion results in retaining the best characteristics of each and none of their disadvantages while raising the quality of the neighbourhood environment.”

“In 2004, the City of Stratford in Ontario approved a secondary plan for a future city expansion based on an evaluation of three plans, one of which was the Fused Grid. In 2006, CMHC initiated a supplementary case study to assess the potential for reducing or eliminating rainwater runoff from the development area,” reports Fanis Grammenos. “The question for this analysis was to assess to what extent street layout, amount and distribution of open space, and building form affect the post-development runoff resulting from the impermeable surfaces that urban development creates.”