and the
Park Lands Adelaide is separated from its greater metropolitan area by a ring of public
parklands on all sides. The so-called "square mile" within the park lands is defined by a small area of high rise office and apartment buildings in the centre north, around
King William Street, which runs north-to-south through the centre. Surrounding this central business district are a large number of medium to low density
apartments,
townhouses and
detached houses which make up the residential portion of the city centre.
Layout The layout of Adelaide, sometimes referred to as "Light's Vision", features a
cardinal direction grid pattern of wide streets and terraces and five large public squares:
Victoria Square in the centre of the city, and
Hindmarsh,
Light,
Hurtle and
Whitmore Squares in the centres of each of the four quadrants of the Adelaide city centre. These squares occupy 32 of the 700 numbered
town acre allotments on Light's plan. All east–west roads change their names as they cross King William Street, except for
North and
South terraces. They also alternate between being wide and narrow, , except for the central Grote and Wakefield which are extra-wide, , along with the surrounding four terraces. In the south half of the city, in several places the Adelaide City Council has constructed wide footpaths and road markings to restrict traffic to a lesser number of lanes than the full width of the road could support. The street pairs, design widths, and town acres in Light's Vision are illustrated in this diagram:
Street and square names on
King William Street The streets and squares were named by a committee of a number of prominent settlers after themselves, after early directors of the
South Australian Company, after Colonisation Commissioners of South Australia (appointed by the British government to oversee implementation of the acts that established the colony), and after various notables involved in the establishment of the colony. The
Street Naming Committee comprised: All members of the committee (except Stephens) had one or more of the streets and squares in the Adelaide city centre and
North Adelaide named after themselves. Brown Street, named for John Brown, was subsequently subsumed as a continuation of Morphett Street in 1967. In the same year, Hanson Street, named for
Richard Hanson, was subsumed as a continuation of
Pulteney Street. The squares were named after: • Victoria – the regent, Princess Victoria, later
Queen Victoria • Hindmarsh – Rear Admiral Sir
John Hindmarsh, first
Governor of South Australia • Hurtle – Sir
James Hurtle Fisher, first Resident Commissioner • Light – Colonel
William Light,
Surveyor General • Whitmore –
William Wolryche-Whitmore MP, a Colonial Commissioner in London The east–west streets named on 22 December 1836 were: • Rundle –
John Rundle MP, Director of the
South Australian Company • Hindley –
Charles Hindley MP, Director of South Australian Company • Grenfell –
Pascoe St Leger Grenfell, businessman and patron, presented a town acre for the Holy Trinity Church and other country lands • Currie –
Raikes Currie MP, Director of South Australian Company • Pirie – Sir
John Pirie, alderman and later Lord Mayor of London, Director of South Australian Company • Waymouth –
Henry Waymouth, Director South Australian Company • Flinders –
Matthew Flinders, explorer • Franklin – Rear Admiral Sir
John Franklin, midshipman under Flinders •
Wakefield –
Daniel Bell Wakefield, barrister who drafted the
South Australia Act • Grote –
George Grote MP, treasurer of the South Australia Association • Angas –
George Fife Angas, a Colonial Commissioner and founding Chairman of Directors of the South Australian Company • Gouger –
Robert Gouger, first Colonial Secretary Most of these people did not reside in or visit South Australia. The naming of the streets was completed on 23 May 1837 East–west streets: • Carrington –
John Abel Smith (Lord Carrington) • Wright – John Wright, Colonial Commissioner and financier • Halifax –
Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax,
Chancellor of the Exchequer • Sturt –
Charles Sturt, explorer • Gilles –
Osmond Gilles, early treasurer of the colony • Gilbert –
Thomas Gilbert, storekeeper and postmaster The naming process, which assigned an extra name in the
Kaurna language to each place, was mostly completed in 2003, and the renaming of 39 sites finalised and endorsed by the council in 2012. • Victoria Square – Tarntanyangga ('red kangaroo dreaming') • Hindmarsh Square – Mukata • Hurtle Square – Tangkaira • Light Square – Wauwi • Whitmore Square – Iparrityi
20th–21st century precincts , an iconic live music and performance venue in Adelaide's West End. , part of the BioMed City precinct at the West End of North Terrace The City of Adelaide Council has defined a number of
neighbourhood precincts in the city centre, each with a character of their own: •
The East End, centering on
Rundle Street known for its restaurants, bars, high-end fashion shops, the Palace Nova Cinema; •
The West End, from the western end of North Terrace and encompassing several blocks southward, which includes the
University of South Australia 'CityWest' campus, the
Samstag Museum of Art,
JamFactory,
Lion Arts Centre,
Mercury Cinema, numerous bars, clubs and restaurants, and "BioMed City"; • The
South East of the city, largely residential, but including many cafés, restaurants, pubs, etc.; and • The
South West is very diverse; largely residential and including the
Adelaide Central Market ==Demographics==