tymology[edit]

A city-centre street in Bucharest, Romania

The Porta Rosa was the main street of Elea, connecting the northern quarter with the southern quarter. The
street is 5 meters wide and has an incline of 18 % in the steepest part. It is paved with limestone blocks, girders
cut in square blocks, and on one side a small gutter for the drainage of rain water. The building is dated during
the time of the reorganization of the city during the Hellenistic age (4th–3rd centuries BC)

The word street has its origins in the Latin strata (meaning "paved road" - abbreviation from via
strata[4]); it is thus related to stratum and stratification. The first recorded use of word stratæ referring
to the road has been made by the Eutropius.[5] Ancient Greek stratos means army: Greeks originally
built roads to move their armies. Old English applied the word to Roman roads in Britain such
as Ermine Street, Watling Street, etc. Later it acquired a dialectical meaning of "straggling village",
which were often laid out on the verges of Roman roads and these settlements often became
named Stretton. In the Middle Ages, a road was a way people travelled, with street applied
specifically to paved ways.[6]

Role in the built environment[edit]

Rue Saint-Jacques, a street in Montreal, 1910.

The street is a public easement, one of the few shared between all sorts of people. As a component
of the built environment as ancient as human habitation, the street sustains a range of activities vital
to civilization. Its roles are as numerous and diverse as its ever-changing cast of characters.
Streets can be loosely categorized as main streets and side streets. Main streets are usually broad
with a relatively high level of activity. Commerce and public interaction are more visible on main
streets, and vehicles may use them for longer-distance travel. Side streets are quieter, often
residential in use and character, and may be used for vehicular parking.