n our fast changing world where technology is outdated in a blink and future-proofing is the gold standard, the grid has demonstrated remarkable flexibility. Over two hundred years, the scale of architecture has changed from three-story walk-ups to skyscrapers more than 1,000 feet tall. Parks and avenues unanticipated by the plan have been created. The grid gave rise to a particular kind of urbanism. Unlike Washington, D.C., and the capital cities of Europe, New York does not have axial avenues that focus on star buildings. New York has buildings that sit cheek by jowl and anonymously form street walls. It has narrow canyons of space bounded by those street walls with views of the horizon. It has density and enclosure but also the thrill of open-ended space. Yet when modernist urban theories turned against the vernacular urbanism of New York, and superblocks and towers in the park were imposed on the city, the grid absorbed those inventions. Although New York's real estate dynamism is typically associated with disrespect for history, with buildings toppled for the next generation of taller ones, the 1811 grid endures as living history. The plan leaves its imprint on every block, lot, and building in Manhattan, and has provided a remarkably flexible framework for growth and change.