Urban geography: what is an alley?

Self-tutoring about urban geography: the tutor explores the meaning of a term.

In yesterday’s post I mention the game “streets and alleys,” which impressed upon me that alleys are perpendicular to streets. Yet, in reality, I considered that notion with suspicion.

You hear the term “back alley.” Yet, there could be no such thing if streets and alleys are perpendicular. What, then, is an alley, for real?

dictionary.com suggests an alley can run between buildings or behind them, but that it’s somehow confined – it can’t be a wide passage. That meaning, while being somewhat open-ended, indeed does fit the many profiles an alley might assume in different circumstances.

When you say “alley,” everyone knows what you mean, yet I can’t recall learning the word “alley” in school. Anyway, I’ve always loved alleys, and look forward to writing more posts about them.