City on a Grid: How New York Became New York

Winner of the 2015 New York City Book Award


The never-before-told story of the grid that ate Manhattan

You either love it or hate it, but nothing says New York like the street grid of Manhattan. This is its story.


Praise for City on a Grid

"The best account to date of the process by which an odd amalgamation of democracy and capitalism got written into New York's physical DNA."--New York Times Book Review

"Intriguing...breezy and highly readable."--Wall Street Journal

"City on a Grid tells the too little-known tale of how and why Manhattan came to be the waffle-board city we know."--The New Yorker

"[An] expert investigation into what made the city special."--Publishers Weekly

"A fun, fascinating, and accessible read for those curious enough to delve into the origins of an amazing city."--New York Journal of Books

"Koeppel is the very best sort of writer for this sort of history."--Roanoke Times