Oz Study Says People More Happy With Traditional Grid-Style Housing

People who live in traditional grid-style streets are more happy with where they live, and are more likely to be good terms with their neighbours, says a new study. In a survey of 154 households in Cairns, James Cook University town planning honours graduate Matthew Ingram looked at three types of residential developments: grid-style, a mix of grid and cul-de-sacs, and one comprised entirely of cul-de-sacs.

The Herald Sun quotes Ingram's study, as saying that the grid model came up trumps, with those residents most satisfied with where they lived, and enjoying better neighbourly relations.

Ingram said there was a perception that cul-de-sacs offered a better quality of life, but his study showed many who moved into Ramsay Street-style settings later came to regret the move.

By contrast, many of the most contented residents of grid-style streets were migrants from the cul-de-sac lifestyle.

"My findings, to some extent, show that developers should consider moving away from the current norm of cul-de-sacs. People seem to prefer the grid street pattern over the cul-de-sac," he was quoted, as saying.

Source-ANI