This morning Joe talks about 
being a stranger on the streets in a city. It reminded me of my experience with becoming accustomed to roads in the northeast.
One of the pleasures of New England is the lovely system of winding country roads. Growing up in Michigan, I liked the orderly grid of roads that allowed you to always know where you were and what direction you were going: numbered roads went north/south and lettered roads, east/west. I remember the first time I came to New England, I thought the system of roads was archaic -- left over Indian trails: a throwback to a time when people didn't know any better. Coming back and living in New England, however, I have come to love the system. The roads here are all going somewhere. They organically follow the landscape, rather than simply cutting through it. Each little turn and bend, has something new to recommend it and make it intimately unique. Going back to Michigan, I'm rather horrified by the long, straight, senseless roads. Most roads don't go anywhere: they start at some abitrary point and end at some arbitrary point, mindlessly intersecting various things along the way.
People often describe it being easy to get lost. I don't find that to be true, but it does change how you think of travelling someplace. When there's a grid, there are a huge number of potential ways you might travel and don't necessarily have to decide how you're going when you start: at each intersection, you can decide whether to turn now or keep going straight. With a network, your choices are often more limited and you need to think it though ahead of time: If there's no road directly between A and B, you need to figure out what town or towns do have connecting roads and make a mental list: Drive to C, then to D, and then to B. It requires a different mindset and sometimes a little extra distance, but the experience is more organic and pleasant.
I think I see the same feeling in my response to the proposed charter for Amherst town government. Other parts of the country have abandoned (or never had town meeting) and when I drive through many of them, I can see the results: towns that are run efficiently to benefit business and development interests. I believe that anyone who thinks town meeting isn't an important part of the reason Amherst is a great place to live is simply fooling themselves. Town meeting requires a different mindset and sometimes takes a little extra effort, but the results are worth it.
StevenBrewer