ordinal number
In set theory, an ordinal number, or ordinal, is a generalization of ordinal numerals (first, second, th, etc.) aimed to extend enumeration to infinite sets.
A finite set can be enumerated by successively labeling each element with the leas ...
, as in ''Second Street'' or ''Tenth Avenue''. Such forms are among the most common street names in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, but also exist in other parts of the world, especially in
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, which takes the system to an extreme, and the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
. Numbered streets were first used in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
and now exist in many major cities and small towns. Grid-based naming systems usually start at 1 (but sometimes at a higher number or even at zero), and then proceed in numerical order. In the United States, seven out of the top ten most common street names are numbers, with the top three names being "2nd," "3rd," and "1st" respectively. Streets named "0th" are quite uncommon, however, but do exist (sometimes spelled out "Zero Street") (like 0 Avenue in BC, Canada), and negative numbered streets (i.e, "−1st", "−2nd", etc.) are extraordinarily rare. Fractional numbered streets exist in some places, such as Street in
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...
.
Some cities also have lettered street names. For example,
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, in addition to having numbered streets, also has streets identified as a letter followed by "Street," going as high as the letter W.
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
has avenues titled "Avenue" followed by the respective letter of the alphabet, such as Avenue D. The idea for such a system was developed by Pierre Charles L’Enfant, who devised the system for Washington.
The numbered street system is criticized for taking away the individuality from a community that a named street would provide.
United States and Canada
United States
Baltimore
The city of
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
, has numbered streets in the north-central part of the city. The numbered streets in Baltimore do not begin with 1, but rather start with 20th Street just north of and parallel to North Avenue, the former northern boundary of the city, and what is viewed by many today is the northern boundary of
Downtown Baltimore
Downtown Baltimore is the central business district of the Baltimore, city of Baltimore traditionally bounded by Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (Baltimore), Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the west, List of streets in Baltimore#F, Frank ...
. The numbered streets, which go as high as 43rd Street, correspond with the first two digits in the addresses of the north–south streets they cross. Unlike in Washington, where the numbered streets run north–south, Baltimore's numbered streets run west–east. All begin their names with either "West" or "East," depending on which side of Charles Street the block is located.
Some of Baltimore's numbered streets are well known for various reasons. 28th and 29th streets, a
one-way pair
A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities.
Descriptio ...
, are the only numbered streets to have an interchange with I-83. They use the numbered designations to the east of the expressway, and to the west, they merge into a six-lane road known as Druid Park Lake Drive. East 33rd Street was the location of the now-demolished Memorial Stadium, home to the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...
for 38 years and the
Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...
for 31. West 34th Street is the location of the annual Miracle on 34th Street, where residents on one block of the street open their porches to tourists to view their holiday decorations. West 40th Street is the location of The Rotunda shopping mall, and it merges into West 41st Street, which crosses over (but does not have an interchange with) I-83 into Television Hill and is the only numbered street in the city west of I-83.
Chicago
The City of
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
is set on a grid with eight "standard" city blocks per mile. Some blocks are further divided in half. A standard block has 100 address numbers, meaning there are 800 numbers per mile. Chicago address numbering begins downtown at State Street and Madison Street; State Street is 0 east and west, and Madison Street is 0 north and south. Major streets a mile apart have address numbers that, for the most part, are multiples of 800.
The south side of the city uses numbered east–west streets, although older streets that were already named retained their names, particularly in the Loop. As stated above, Chicago house numbers are generally assigned at the rate of 8 blocks to a mile. The only exceptions are from Madison to 31st Street, just south of downtown.
The first two main numbered roads in the system were renamed for historical figures after the numbering system was adopted. Roosevelt Road (previously 12th Street and renamed for
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
) is one mile south of Madison with 12 blocks to the mile, Cermak Road (previously 22nd Street and renamed in memory of assassinated mayor Anton Cermak) is two miles south of Madison with 10 blocks to the mile, and 31st Street (3100 S) is three miles south of Madison with 9 blocks to the mile. South of 31st Street, the pattern of 8 blocks to the mile resumes, with 39th Street the next major street, 47th after that, and so on.
The numbering within Chicago is continued in many suburbs south of the city proper. For instance, Chicago Heights has a 185th Street, set on the same numbering scheme.
Chicago's numbered street system was established in 1911 by legislation that made Madison Street the base for the numbering of east–west streets, and State Street for north–south streets.
Cleveland
As a general rule, the only numbered streets in
Cleveland
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
run generally north–south, while streets that run parallel to the
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
shoreline (generally east–west) have names rather than numbers.
Public Square
A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...
in downtown Cleveland separates east- and west-numbered streets, with the numbers increasing in both directions as one travels further away from Public Square, in a system initiated in 1906. Conforming east–west roads are given a name, rather than a number, and the suffix "Avenue." Where an avenue crosses Ontario Street or the
Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River (see ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie.
As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...
, its name changes, meaning that a numbered street does not intersect a given avenue more than once. For example, stating a location as "65th and Detroit" implies West 65th Street, since Detroit Avenue changes to Superior Avenue when it crosses the river. Non-conforming streets are suffixed with names other than "street" or "avenue," e.g., West Boulevard, Old River Road, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Geographic idiosyncrasies in certain parts of the city mean that this is by no means an absolute rule but generally applies within the city proper. The street numbering extends from West 233rd in North Olmsted to East 367th in Eastlake.
Denver
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
has two systems in place in two distinct areas of the city. Downtown Denver's diagonal street system technically begins with 4th Street near Auraria Campus, underneath the Colfax Avenue viaduct. The system then counts up northeastward from 4th Street to 40th Street. The diagonal system meets the normal numbered grid at various points, with the termination of the downtown system at 40th Avenue and 40th Street in the Five Points neighborhood.
The second system is a typical East/West layout, with directional indicators. First Avenue is adjacent to Ellsworth Avenue in Central Denver; the series extends to 168th Avenue in unincorporated Adams County. Exceptions include Colfax Avenue, which takes the place of 15th Avenue, and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, which generally takes the place of East 32nd Avenue. The designations ''East'' and ''North'' are generally not used unless needed. Building numbers on cross-streets reflect the street numbering; for example, 1800 Colorado Boulevard would be at the corner of 18th Avenue. (1800 South Colorado Boulevard is outside the area of numbered streets.)
Detroit
In the northern suburbs of
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, "___ Mile Road" runs east–west, a stated number of miles from the center of Detroit. Some of these roads are also known by other names. The lowest numbered road is 5 Mile Road, while the city limits end at 8 Mile Road, which at one time was called " Baseline Road". The highest such numbered road is 38 Mile Road, which is mostly in Almont.
The city of Detroit also has some conventional numbered streets within the city limits.
Los Angeles
In the city of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, all numbered streets begin from the historic corner of First and Main and are numbered according to the distance from there in their respective quadrants.
Greater Miami
In
Greater Miami
The Miami metropolitan area is a coastal metropolitan area in southeastern Florida. It is the sixth-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the lar ...
, numbered streets go into the three digits, with varying, overlapping sets of numbered streets. The area has roads that are named as a number followed by "Street" that runs west–east, and a number followed by "Avenue" that runs north–south. All these streets start their names with NW, NE, SW, or SE, depending on where they are in relation to the center of
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
.
In the Miami suburbs, some numbered streets and avenues are paired with a parallel "Court", "Drive", "Place" or "Terrace"; while in the same area, other sets of numbered streets and avenues exist with lower numbers, such as in Hialeah, where W 68th St is also designated NW 122 S This is known to lead to confusion among some, especially non-locals.
Similar numbering systems are used throughout the state of Florida, such as i Gainesville Ocala Panama City an Jacksonville
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
today. Most east–west streets (which actually run southeast–northwest) are named "___th Street", and a few major north–south streets (which actually run northeast–southwest, roughly parallel to the island's long axis) are named "___th Avenue".
The highest-numbered street on Manhattan Island is 220th Street, and the highest-numbered street in the Borough of Manhattan is 228th Street.
The Manhattan numbered street grid continues north in The
Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
, where the highest numbered street is West 263rd Street on the border of
Yonkers
Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...
. The only numbered avenue in The Bronx is a continuation of Manhattan's
Third Avenue
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...
.
In Queens, the melding of various grids from pre-consolidation villages resulted in repeat numbers, for example, 31st Street, 31st Place, 31st Lane, and their perpendicular counterparts 31st Avenue, 31st Road, and 31st Drive. Streets, Places and Lanes run north to south, while Avenues, Roads, and Drives run east to west. Avenues run from 2nd Avenue in Whitestone to 165th Avenue in Howard Beach. Streets run from 1st Street in Astoria to 271st Street in Glen Oaks.
In
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, there are ten sets of numbered streets ( unprefixed numbered streets as well as North, South, East, West, Bay, Brighton, Paerdegat, Plumb, and Flatlands numbered streets), along with numbered avenues up to 28th Avenue and letter avenues up to Avenue Z. Manhattan's Alphabet City consists of Avenues A through D.
The Rockaways section of Queens has streets prefixed with the word ''Beach''. However, street signs in this area typically identify this prefix using only the letter B (e.g. "B 116 St"). The neighborhood of Broad Channel also has its own network of numbered roads, prefixed with East or West, relative to Cross Bay Boulevard.
The closest cross street to a given building number in Manhattan can be estimated using the Manhattan address algorithm.
The highest-numbered street in all of New York City is 271st Street, in Glen Oaks, Queens. 704th Street in Orangeburg, New York is the highest-numbered street in the Greater New York City area, and at one point was the highest-numbered street in the United States. The highest-numbered Avenue in Manhattan is the obscure Thirteenth Avenue, on Gansevoort Peninsula in the Hudson River just north of Gansevoort Street. Currently, only one unmarked block remains, currently used as a garbage truck access behind the Bloomfield Street Sanitation Depot. The street was once longer, but much of the land it was built on was removed to provide longer piers for berthing larger ships, such as and , without protruding further into the Hudson River. Twelfth Avenue is the highest numbered avenue that is signed by the city and accessible to the public. Higher-numbered avenues exist in other boroughs.
Sixth and a Half Avenue is the only numbered avenue in Manhattan involving
fraction
A fraction (from , "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, a fraction describes how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, eight-fifths, thre ...
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
was laid out by Thomas Holme in 1683 and was the first city to use numbered streets systematically. While the original plan had two sets of north–south numbered streets, one parallel to the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
and one to the Schuylkill; all are now numbered from the Delaware, with numbers increasing westward and continuing across the Schuylkill through
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Although there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the n ...
to the edge of the city. There are two main exceptions to this pattern: Holme's plan included Front Street in place of First and Broad Street in place of Fourteenth; "Schuylkill Front Street" became 22nd when the streets west of Broad were renumbered. The highest numbered street is 90th Street. In Southwest Philadelphia, the grid is oblique, with numbered streets running from northwest to southeast and meeting their West Philadelphia equivalents at Baltimore Avenue. In general, numbered streets northwest of the Schuylkill are not aligned with their counterparts across the river in
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...
.
The
Kensington
Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
area has streets lettered "A" through "O". The East Oak Lane and West Oak Lane sections of the city contains east–west streets numbered from 64th Avenue to 80th Avenue, with the numbers correspondent with the block numbers north from Market Street.
In the early 20th century, many of Chestnut Hill's previously numbered streets were renamed for Native American tribes.
Phoenix
In
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, the north-south streets used a numbered system, with the center street being Central Avenue. Streets west of Central Avenue are named "avenue", thus, for example, 33rd Avenue is the thirty-third street west of Central Avenue. Streets east of Central Avenue are named "street", thus, for example, 27th Street is the twenty-seventh street east of Central Avenue. These streets and avenues are further divided into, for example, "North 9th Street" and "South 9th Street", with the dividing line being a line extending from Washington Street. East-west streets are not named using a numbered system. Adjacent municipalities, such as Glendale and Peoria, continue this grid system, although there are exceptional streets that do not follow the numbered street convention.
Pittsburgh
In the city of
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, the numbered streets were originally named streets that were perpendicular to the
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...
. Sixth Street, for example, was originally named St. Clair Street. The numbered streets were created by an ordinance passed in 1868.
San Francisco
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
has two numbered series: streets, which run generally east–west, and avenues, which are north–south. The two series do not meet, nor are house numbers coordinated with cross streets' numbers.
The numbered streets begin with 1st Street in SoMa and end with 30th Street in Noe Valley. Some of these streets are only nominally east–west, which causes anomalies such as 3rd Street meeting 26th Street in the
Dogpatch
Dogpatch was the fictional setting of cartoonist Al Capp's classic comic strip ''Li'l Abner'' (1934–1977).
''Li'l Abner'' comic strip
The inhabitants of Dogpatch were mostly lazy hillbillies, who usually wanted nothing to do with progress. ...
.
The numbered avenues are in the Richmond and Sunset Districts beginning with 2nd Avenue and continuing westward to 48th Avenue, which runs parallel to the Pacific Ocean shore.
St. Louis
Number streets of St. Louis, Missouri, start at the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
and increase as they go west. Over time, the various municipalities took over and renamed most of the numbered streets with names. However, a few numbered streets remained.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
includes both radial avenues and grid system consisting of both numbered and lettered streets. North–south streets are named with numbers, such as " 7th Street," and west–east streets are named with letters, such as " H Street." The name is then followed with a directional suffix (NW, NE, SW, or SE), specifying a quadrant of the city (e.g. B Street Southwest). The quadrants meet at the U.S. Capitol building.
Within the city, the quadrants are divided by three streets known as ''
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
'', ''
East
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
'', and ''
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
'' Capitol Streets, and by the
National Mall
The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...
, which takes the place of the non-existent ''West Capitol Street''. Numbers start counting upward on either side of North and South Capitol Streets, and letters start counting upward on either side of East Capitol Street and the National Mall.
Statewide systems
*
North Dakota
North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
uses a quadrant system with a grid set. The east–west demarcation line separating the north and south is the
Bow River
The headwaters of the Bow River in Alberta, Canada, start at the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, Canadian Rocky Mountains. The glacial stream that feeds Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake ...
west of Nose Creek, Centre Avenue directly east of Nose Creek, and Memorial Drive east of 36th Street. The north–south line is Centre Street north of Glenmore Trail and Macleod Trail south of Glenmore Trail. Streets run north–south and avenues run east–west; both are numbered beginning at the demarcation lines. Many older areas also have "A" and "B" streets interspersed between the numbered streets; for instance, in most older neighbourhoods the street directly west of Centre Street is 1st Street, but a Centre A Street runs for short distances in certain areas. Suburban neighbourhoods built since approximately 1971 tend to have named streets except in cases where numbered streets extend into the district. A typical (if fictional) street address in an older district would be "4214-19A Street SW". As a result, addresses of buildings on numbered streets are worthless unless the quadrant (SW, NW, NE, SE) is indicated.
The grid is based on the
Dominion Land Survey
The Dominion Land Survey (DLS; ) is the method used to divide most of Western Canada into one-square-mile (2.6 km2) sections for agricultural and other purposes. It is based on the layout of the Public Land Survey System used in the United St ...
, with many of the main roads in the older areas of town (such as Crowchild Trail SW and 17th Avenue SE) following the lines that separate one DLS section from another ("section lines").
Avenues in the Municipal District of Foothills No. 31 south of Calgary are numbered as they would be if they were in the city (with quadrant omitted). However, the basis for numbered streets in the Municipal District of Foothills (the "zero" street) is the Fifth Meridian (114° west), approximately east of Calgary's Centre Street. Streets are then numbered east and west with 16 streets for each one-mile grid road – or one street number per 100 m. This leads to situations at the south city limit where the street number changes (e.g. 85 Street SW changes to 144 Street W). The impetus for this came originally from emergency response groups, such as fire departments and police.
Rocky View County
Rocky View County is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada that is named for its views of the nearby Rocky Mountains to the west. It surrounds most of Calgary, forming the city's northern boundary and most of the city's western and e ...
, which surrounds Calgary to the east, west and north, uses a different system of road numbers based on the Alberta Township System for land surveys. In Rocky View, range roads run north–south and are numbered in (the boundary of one survey section) increments west from the nearest survey range line (e.g. Range Road 51 is 1 mile west of the east edge of Range 5 west of the 5th Meridian). Township roads are east–west roads numbered in similar increments north of survey township lines (e.g. Township Road 264 is 4 miles north of the south edge of Township 26). Addressing is based on the distance west or north from the nearest crossroad (e.g. 264054 Range Road 51 would be north of Township Road 264). Roads ending in 0 are on their respective range or township lines. Suffixed roads (e.g. ending with an "A", "B", etc...) are between section lines (e.g. along "quarter" lines which split the 640-acre sections into smaller quarter-sections).
Edmonton
The city of
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
's grid system is similar in nature to Calgary's, except that the two roads designated at the "center" of Edmonton were numbered 101st (Jasper) Avenue and 101st (Main) Street. This was done to eliminate the possibility that the city would have quadrants as Calgary does. The gradual expansion of the city now extends it east and south of what is 1st (Meridian) Street and 1st (Quadrant) Avenue. As a result, most of the city is officially in the northwest quadrant, but common practice is to not refer to the quadrant unless the address being mentioned is not in the northwest quadrant. The city limits do not yet extend into where the southeast quadrant would be located, meaning addresses will be post-fixed with either NW, SW, or NE.
Metro Vancouver
A grid system of numbered streets and avenues is used south of the
Fraser River
The Fraser River () is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of V ...
, in the municipalities of
Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet
* D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
and Langley. Avenues run east–west and are numbered starting with 0 ("Zero") avenue next to the Canada–US border and going north, with the numbers incrementing each . Streets run north–south and are numbered starting with zero lying in the
Strait of Georgia
The Strait of Georgia () or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada, and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington, United Stat ...
and going east, with the numbers incrementing each mile, just like the avenues. Minor streets named with a number followed by a letter (136A Street, 136B street) are situated between the numbers.
The city of
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
proper uses its own road numbering system, numbering east–west avenues from first at
False Creek
False Creek () is a short narrow inlet in the heart of Vancouver, separating the Downtown Vancouver, Downtown and West End, Vancouver, West End list of neighbourhoods in Vancouver, neighbourhoods from the rest of the city. It is one of the four ...
and incrementing south. Avenues are further classified with an "East" or "West" prefix (''e.g.'' E 41st Ave). Ontario Street (two blocks west of Main Street) demarcates the boundary for this prefix. The highest numbered street in the city is W 77th Avenue, in an industrial area of the
Marpole
Marpole, originally a Musqueam village named , is a mostly residential neighbourhood of 23,832 in 2011, located on the southern edge of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, immediately northeast of Vancouver International Airport, and is approx ...
neighbourhood.
Similarly, the city of
New Westminster
New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...
has its own numbering system with avenues northeast–southwest and streets northwest–southeast. This numbered grid continues into southeastern parts of neighbouring
Burnaby
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...
.
Other Canadian cities and towns
Many small towns and cities in Western Canada use numbered streets. Some begin numbering at Centre or Main (0) as Calgary does, but others follow Edmonton's example and begin numbering at 1, 50, or 100. Examples include
Brandon, Manitoba
Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...
, where streets, running north–south, are numbered; and
Red Deer, Alberta
Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and its key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and educati ...
, where numbered streets run east–west, and numbered avenues run north–south. In
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
only the streets, running east–west, are numbered (aside from avenues downtown, which is numbered from 1st to 10th); there are lettered avenues to the west of Idylwyld Drive, which was formerly known as Avenue A (a stub of Avenue A does remain south of 20th Street though). Streets in the Sutherland district in Saskatoon have numbered 101 St to 117 St. This was done when the town of Sutherland amalgamated with Saskatoon, to avoid confusion with Saskatoon's numbered streets, which run from 1 to 71.
Numerous street numbering schemes were proposed for the various municipalities originally making up Greater
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
, but most were quickly rescinded, as the city is not built on a uniform grid and numbering was considered unwieldy. Only one roadway (Fifth Avenue in St. Vital) retains its "number", but the street name is legally the word "Fifth" and not the number. Numbered roadways are also found within Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg, but the street names within the base were chosen by the Department of National Defence and not by the city itself.
Numbered streets are less common in Eastern Canada, with some notable exceptions.
Owen Sound, Ontario
Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The seat of government of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay.
The primary tourist ...
, is one of the few cities that primarily use numbered streets and avenues.
Saint-Georges, Quebec
Saint-Georges () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of Beauce-Sartigan Regional County Municipality, part of the Chaudière-Appalaches region. The population was 32,935 as of the Canada 2021 Census. Route 173 runs ...
has a numbered system of streets/rues and avenues that extends into the surrounding Chaudière-Appalaches region. Many urban enclaves were established with numbered streets or avenues as part of their distinct character. Ottawa has several numbered roads, notably in
The Glebe
The Glebe is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located just south of Downtown Ottawa in the Capital Ward. As of 2016, the neighbourhood had a population of 13,055.
The Glebe is bounded on the north by the Queensway, on the e ...
, with avenues numbered First to Fifth.
New Toronto
New Toronto is a neighbourhood and former municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-west area of Toronto, along Lake Ontario. The Town of New Toronto was established in 1890, and was designed and planned as an industr ...
has numbered streets, running westward off of Lake Shore Boulevard, starting at 1st Street (just west of
Royal York Road
Royal York Road, historically known as Church Street or New Church Street, is a north-south arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, 5 concessions (10 km) west of Yonge Street, and runs through many residential ne ...
), to 43rd Street, excluding Eighteenth Street and Thirty-Fourth Street, as Kipling Avenue and the Long Branch Avenue replace them, respectively. The city of
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North Ame ...
has a single numbered street called 18th Street, in the Waterford Valley area; it is unclear how this name originated or whether this street was meant to form part of a larger grid system.
Latin America
Argentina
Cities built on a grid plan in the interior of Argentina tend to use numbers for their streets, in the familiar even versus odd configuration, with the notable exception of
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...
, where the numbering is consecutive.
Brazil
Some cities (such as
Goiânia
Goiânia ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian federative units of Brazil, state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region and the 10th-larges ...
and Rio Claro) use numbered streets, though main streets might receive different names.
Colombia
All 1,119
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
have numbered streets divided into a grid, with numbered ''calles'' intersecting numbered ''carreras'', and the government of Colombia has a complete nomenclature to classify the streets. Occasionally main streets receive names, like El Dorado Avenue in the capital Bogota.
Cuba
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
A notable European example is the city center of
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...
where blocks are numbered in a grid-like system since 1811, and streets actually do not have names anymore—for example the houses in "street" B7 are those in the block in grid B7. The houses on the other side of the street belong to other blocks and therefore have another street name.
Hungary
In the capital city
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
there are some outer districts which have areas with numbered streets (and in one case, a numbered square), like Akadémiaújtelep. These areas are
planned communities
A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
built in the 1950s.
Netherlands
In
Lelystad
Lelystad () is a Dutch Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and the capital city of the province of Flevoland in the central Netherlands. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who en ...
some streets have a combination of names and numbers. The streets with the same name (but different number) are in the same area. In Botter the names are Botter and Tjalk, in Galjoen the names are Galjoen and Jol, in Schouw the names are Schouw and Gondel, although there are "normal" names there, etc. There are also other cities with similar numbering like Wijchen and
Nijmegen
Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...
.
Portugal
A notable example of a citywide numbered streets system in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, is the city of Espinho. Espinho, in the district of Aveiro, was mainly built in the late 19th century in a grid pattern, with its streets being numbered instead of being named. Streets running north–south are numbered with
even number
In mathematics, parity is the property of an integer of whether it is even or odd. An integer is even if it is divisible by 2, and odd if it is not.. For example, −4, 0, and 82 are even numbers, while −3, 5, 23, and 69 are odd numbers.
The ...
s and streets running west–east are numbered with
odd number
In mathematics, parity is the property of an integer of whether it is even or odd. An integer is even if it is divisible by 2, and odd if it is not.. For example, −4, 0, and 82 are even numbers, while −3, 5, 23, and 69 are odd numbers.
The ...
s.
Numbered streets are also occasionally used in other Portuguese cities, but only in specific areas within them and not as a citywide system. This happens mainly in newly built neighborhoods, especially those planned in a grid pattern.
Russia
Saint Petersburg
United Kingdom
With the notable exception of
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
, numbered streets are uncommon in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
because cities and towns are generally not laid out in grids. However, the Village, a small area of
Trafford Park
Trafford Park is an area of the metropolitan borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Manchester city centre and north of Stretford. Until the la ...
is laid out in a grid pattern. It has north–south streets numbered from First Avenue in the east to Fifth Avenue in the west, and west–east streets numbered from Fifth Street in the south to Eleventh Street in the north.
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
has First to Fourth Avenues, but these are not part of a logical sequence, and Fifth Avenue is in another part of the city. The former mining town of
Newtongrange
Newtongrange () is a former mining village in Midlothian, Scotland. Known in local dialect as ''Nitten'', or ''Nitten by the Bing (mining), Bing'' (),
it became Scotland's largest mining village in the 1890s, with the sinking of the Lady Victor ...
in
Midlothian
Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
has residential streets numbered from First Street to Tenth Street. Another former mining settlement, the village of
Horden
Horden is a village and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in County Durham, England. It is situated on the North Sea coast, to the east of Peterlee, approximately 12 miles south of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, S ...
in
County Durham
County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
, has a series of numbered streets which were built to house workers at the local colliery, but today suffer from extreme poverty and high levels of crime.
Asia
Hong Kong
On Hong Kong Island, in the
Sai Ying Pun
Sai Ying Pun is an area in Sai Wan, on Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. It is administratively part of the Central and Western District.
Etymology
In Cantonese, ''Sai'' ( zh, t=西, labels=no) means "west" and ''Ying Pun'' ( zh, t=營盤, l ...
neighbourhood, there are a series of streets named with numbers. They are part of a planned layout of the early development of Hong Kong. See First Street, Second Street and Third Street. In the Fairview Park development in the northwestern
New Territories
The New Territories (N.T., Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: ) is one of the three areas of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of H ...
many streets are numbered, with sections named by alphabets. A similar system is used in Hong Lok Yuen to the north of Tai Po New Town in northeastern New Territories.
Iran
In
Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
there are multiple sets of numbered streets running from west to east in various sections of the north side of town. In many such sections, the street numbers count upward by two, with even-numbered streets on one side of a neighborhood, and odd-numbered streets on the other. The highest numbered street is 304th Street. The city also has other series of streets with a name combining with a number.
Japan
United Arab Emirates
In the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
, most streets and roads are numbered. Most commonly in smaller cities, they are identified with a 4-digit number followed by "way".
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
has even-numbered streets running west–east, and odd-numbered streets running north–south.
Dubai
Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
has numbered streets that simply have the number followed by "street" (e.g. 41st Street), as well as streets named with a number followed by a letter (23 B Street).
See also
*
House numbering
House numbering is the system of giving a unique number to each building in a street or area, with the intention of making it easier to locate a particular building. The house number is often part of a Address (geography), postal address. The ter ...
, which often forms an integrated system with s
*
Street name
A street name is an identifying name given to a street or road. In toponymic terminology, names of streets and roads are referred to as odonyms or hodonyms (from Ancient Greek 'road', and 'name', i.e., the Doric Greek, Doric and Aeolic Gre ...