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H. Background The City of Pequot Lakes was originally built around a railroad stop. The traditional way in which this was done throughout the Midwest was that the railroad company would install the rail line, plat out towns along the line, then sell the platted land to defray their construction costs.The railroad companies used the traditional grid pattern of development, a development style that had been used for human settlement across continents for thousands of years. The grid layout has its origins with the first cities in ancient �ecropol(t v i".. Mesopotamia.These places developed a less-rigid block structure within fortified walls.This approach can still be seen in the historic sections of very old towns, such as Paris or Rome. In the United States, most of the early settlements took x+y� 1Tv.ntn u 1 advantage of improvements to surveying methods and established along a grid pattern. As settlement went further west, the ease of surveying a grid made it the standard approach to development surrounding railroad stops. Nearly all Midwestern The grid pattern in Athens of Ancient cities established during the 1800's, including Pequot Lakes, have Greece. a historic grid layout at their core. The grid approach served cities of this era well.The grid created a fairly dense, walkable development pattern that worked well for people getting off the train and the business owners trying to service them. As the city grew and matured, the grid provided the framework for mixed-use neighborhoods to expand around the commercial district. The entire area was surrounded by farms and hunting areas and was, in nearly every sense, self-sufficient. Just prior to the Great Depression, as automobiles were starting to become more prevalent, and then following World War II when auto ownership became ubiquitous, the grid design was largely replaced by the curvilinear, suburban design and highway-oriented development. The historic districts of many cities, such as Pequot Lakes, are now surrounded by suburban-style development. The streets in the grid pattern have been subsequently retrofitted for automobile travel. Accommodating automobiles is now the primary design criteria for the public right-of-way in most cities, including Pequot Lakes. Even so, the core of Pequot Lakes and its surrounding neighborhoods are constructed on the traditional grid. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of this pattern is critical to understanding how to revitalizing it. Sense of Place Besides the ease of surveying, the grid pattern provides a number of design advantages that were important in an era prior to automobile-base design. The public realm (the space between buildings now devoted largely to automobiles) provided space for social interaction. The orientation of the homes towards the public realm increased security. Mobility for pedestrians was enhanced by the connectivity Pequot Lakes Downtown Plan— Updated November 2014 4