Accessibility and Street Layout Exploring spatial equity in

Introduction
The present study has roots in my interest in neighbourhood as a special phenomenon
in the city planning. The concept of neighbourhood has evolved from efforts
and thoughts of many practitioners and scholars over time (Perry 1929, Dahir 1947,
Mumford 1938, Jacobs 1961, Rappaport 1977, Brower 1996). The neighbourhood is
a multifaceted concept which has been subject of a diverse body of literature. Even
though it has been discussed by the thinkers from different view points but it seems
to be agreed among many of them that the neighbourhood is a definable, imaginable
and manageable residential area (Kallus & Law-Yone 2000). The idea of neighbourhood
despite traces in ancient cities is particularly connected with modern urban
settlements and its use conforms to planning methods and management process of
the modern city.
In the context of modern architecture and urban planning we can observe an endeavour
to mediate between the single house and the city. This endeavour has elaborated
the neighbourhood not only as an appropriate physical form but also as entity
with substantial content and meaning. Thus the neighbourhood is a component of
a larger whole, but at the same time a recognized urban unit having its own logic. A
unit which despite perplexing conditions of the city, offers a manageable environment.
In this connection neighbourhood is portrayed as a defined urban area with
clear boundaries which is able to generate a social interactions.
The neighbourhood is underpinned by two main tendencies which one strives for
physical order in the city and the other stemming form a social perspective, sees it
as a tool for community making, equity and social interactions. Physical order is a
result of rational thinking connected with modernism movement and also a reflection
on chaotic urban conditions of early industrial cities. Social incentives have also
played a significant role in formation of the neighbourhood concept. In this regard
Clarence Perry is a key figure who put forward a neighbourhood model based upon
school as the main contributor to community making (Perry 1974). Perry’s model
of neighbourhood made strides in development of neighbourhood concept by addressing
physical properties and functional aspects from a social perspective (Figure
1). His schematic plan assigns some guidelines to the spatial layout of the neighbour-
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