View source for Alley

{{Short description|Narrow street that usually runs between, behind, or within buildings}}
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[[File:Streets of Sanaa, Yemen (10732822016).jpg|thumb|Alley in [[Sana'a]], Yemen]]
An '''alley''' or '''alleyway''' is a narrow [[lane]], [[footpath|path]], or passageway, often reserved for [[pedestrian]]s, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road ([[back lane]]), or a path, walk, or avenue (French [[allée]]) in a park or garden.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alley|title=Definition of ALLEY|website=www.merriam-webster.com|date=12 July 2023 }}</ref>
A covered alley or passageway, often with shops, may be called an [[arcade (architecture)|arcade]]. The origin of the word alley is late [[Middle English]], from {{langx|fro|alee}} "walking or passage", from ''{{lang|fro|aller}}'' "to go", from {{langx|la|ambulare}} "to walk".<ref>''The Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary ''</ref>
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== Definition ==
[[File:Venice - Calle.jpg|upright|thumb|A narrow calle in [[Venice]], Italy]]
The word alley is used in two main ways:
# It can refer to a narrow, usually paved, pedestrian path, often between the walls of buildings in towns and cities. This type is usually short and straight, and on steep ground can consist partially or entirely of steps.
# It also describes a very narrow, urban street, or lane, usually paved, which may be used by slow-moving local traffic, though more pedestrian-friendly than a regular street. There are two versions of this kind of alley:
#* A rear access or service road ([[back lane]]), which can also sometimes act as part a secondary vehicular network. Many Americans and Canadians think of an alley in these terms first.
#* A narrow street running between houses or businesses. This type of alley is found in the older parts of many cities, including American cities like [[Philadelphia]] and [[Boston]] (see [[Elfreth's Alley]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]). Many are open to local traffic.
In [[landscaping]], an ''allée'' or [[avenue (landscape)|''avenue'']] is traditionally a straight route with a line of [[tree]]s or large [[shrub]]s running along each side. In most cases, the trees planted in an avenue will be all of the same [[species]] or [[cultivar]], so as to give uniform appearance along the full length of the avenue. The French term ''allée'' is used for avenues planted in parks and landscape gardens, as well as [[boulevard]]s such as the ''Grand Allée'' in [[Quebec City]], Canada, and ''[[Karl-Marx-Allee]]'' in [[Berlin]].
In older cities and towns in Europe, alleys are often what is left of a medieval street network, or a [[right-of-way (transportation)|right of way]] or ancient [[trail|footpath]]. Similar paths also exist in some older North American towns and cities. In some older urban development in North America lanes at the rear of houses, to allow for deliveries and garbage collection, are called alleys. Alleys and [[ginnel]]s were also the product of the [[Public Health Act 1875|1875 Public Health Act]] in the [[United Kingdom]], where usually alleys run along the back of [[Byelaw terraced house|streets of terraced houses]], with ginnels connecting them to the street every fifth house.{{Citation needed|date=October 2015}} Alleys may be paved, or unpaved, and a blind alley is a [[cul-de-sac]]. Modern [[urban planning|urban developments]] may also provide a service road to allow for waste collection, or rear access for [[fire apparatus|fire engines]] and [[parking]].
=== Steps and stairs ===
Because of geography, steps ([[stairs]]) are the predominant form of alley in hilly cities and towns. This includes Quebec City in Canada and in the United States [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]] (see [[Steps of Pittsburgh]]), [[Cincinnati]] (see [[Steps of Cincinnati]]), [[Minneapolis]], [[Seattle]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Seattle Stairway Walks|url=http://www.seattlestairwalks.com/|access-date=2022-12-01|language=en}}</ref> and [[San Francisco]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stairways of San Francisco|url=http://www.sisterbetty.org/stairways/|access-date=2022-12-01|website=www.sisterbetty.org}}</ref> as well as [[Hong Kong]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abhk.org/ill-take-the-stairs|title=I'll take the stairs |website=abhk.org}}</ref> [[Genoa]] and [[Rome]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mette|date=2011-06-29|title=5 Interesting Steps to Rome|url=https://italiannotes.com/5-steps-to-rome/|access-date=2022-12-01|website=Italian Notes|language=en-GB}}</ref>
=== Covered passages ===
[[File:Istanbul grand bazar 1.jpg|thumb|Covered arcade of the [[Grand Bazaar, Istanbul]]]]
[[Arcade (architecture)|Arcades]] are another kind of covered passageway and the simplest kind are no more than alleys to which a glass roof was added later. Early examples of a shopping arcades include: [[Palais Royal]] in Paris (opened in 1784); Passage de Feydeau in Paris (opened in 1791).<ref>Sassatelli, R., ''Consumer Culture: History, Theory and Politics,'' Sage, 2007, p. 27.</ref> Most arcades differ from alleys in that they are architectural structures built with a commercial purpose and are a form of [[shopping mall]]. All the same alleys have for long been associated with various types of businesses, especially [[pubs]] and [[coffee houses]]. [[Bazaar]]s and [[Souq]]s are an early form of arcade found in Asia and North Africa.
Some alleys are roofed because they are within buildings, such as the [[traboule]]s of [[Lyon]], or when they are a pedestrian passage through railway embankments in Britain. The latter follow the line of [[Rights of way in England and Wales|rights-of way]] that existed before the railway was built.
The [[Burlington Arcade]] (1819) was one of London's earliest covered shopping arcades.<ref>Lemoine, B., ''Les Passages Couverts'', Paris: Délégation à l'action artistique de la ville de Paris [AAVP], 1990. {{ISBN|9782905118219}}.</ref> It was the successful prototype for larger glazed shopping arcades, beginning with the [[Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert|Saint-Hubert Gallery]] (1847) in Brussels and [[Passage (department store)|The Passage]] (1848) in [[St Petersburg]], the first of Europe's grand arcades, to the [[Galleria Umberto I]] (1891) in Naples, the [[Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II]] in [[Milan]] (1867), and the [[Block Arcade, Melbourne]], Australia (1893).{{clear left}}
== By country ==
=== Asia ===
[[File:Street scene, Siem Reap, 2018 (22).jpg|thumb|An alleyway in [[Siem Reap]], [[Cambodia]]]]
Alleyways are an understudied urban form historically shared by most Asian cities. They provide a setting for much everyday urban life and place-based identity, the examination of which can shed new light on the traditional idea of a [[global city]] and contributes to a renewed conception of [[metropole|metropolization]] as a highly localized process.<ref>{{Cite book |title= Asian Alleyways An Urban Vernacular in Times of Globalization |last1= Gibert-Flutre |first1=Marie |last2= Imai |first2=Heide |year=2020 |publisher= Amsterdam University Press |location= Amsterdam |isbn=9789463729604}}</ref>
==== China ====
[[File:Beijing hutong area 3.jpg|thumb|A hutong in Beijing]]
'''''[[Hutongs]]''''' ({{zh|s=[[wikt:胡同|胡同]]|t=[[wikt:衚衕|衚衕]]|p=hútòng|w=hu-t'ung}}) are a type of narrow streets or alleys, commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, most prominently [[Beijing]].
In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of ''[[siheyuan]]'', traditional [[courtyard]] residences.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Death and Life of Old Beijing|author =Michael Meyer|url=http://archrecord.construction.com/features/beijing/deathandlife/oldbeijing-1.asp}}</ref> Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one ''siheyuan'' to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods.
During China's [[China#Dynastic rule|dynastic period]], [[Chinese sovereign|emperors]] planned the city of Beijing and arranged the residential areas according to the social classes of the [[Zhou dynasty]] (1027–256 BC). The term "hutong" appeared first during the [[Yuan dynasty]], and is a term of [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] origin meaning "town".<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Chinese Language: Its History and Current Usage |last=Kane |first=David |year=2006 |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |isbn=978-0-8048-3853-5 |page=191 |access-date=10 October 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OT_Sbk0yekC&q=mongol+loanwords&pg=PA161}}</ref>
At the turn of the 20th century, the [[Qing]] court was disintegrating as China's dynastic era came to an end. The traditional arrangement of hutongs was also affected. Many new hutongs, built haphazardly and with no apparent plan, began to appear on the outskirts of the old city, while the old ones lost their former neat appearance.
Following the founding of the [[People's Republic of China]] in 1949, many of the old hutongs of Beijing disappeared, replaced by wide boulevards and high rises. Many residents left the lanes where their families lived for generations for apartment buildings with modern amenities. In [[Xicheng District]], for example, nearly 200 hutongs out of the 820 it held in 1949 have disappeared. However, many of Beijing's ancient hutongs still stand, and a number of them have been designated protected areas. Many hutongs, some several hundred years old, in the vicinity of the [[Gulou and Zhonglou (Beijing)|Bell Tower]] and [[Gulou and Zhonglou (Beijing)|Drum Tower]] and Shichahai Lake are preserved amongst recreated contemporary two- and three-storey versions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archrecord.construction.com/features/beijing/warpspeed/0807beijing-3.asp |title=Architectural Record {{pipe}} McGraw-Hill Construction |publisher=Archrecord.construction.com |date=2011-10-05 |access-date=2014-08-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|first1=Robert |last1=Booth|first2=Jonathan|last2=Watts|title=Charles takes on China to save Ming dynasty|work= [[The Guardian]]|date= <!-- Thursday --> 5 June 2008|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/jun/05/greenbuilding.ethicalliving|access-date= 15 January 2014}}</ref>
[[File:A Lane in Shangxianfang.jpg|thumb|A longtang in Shangxian Fang, a residential compound in Shanghai, China.|upright]]
Hutongs represent an important cultural element of the city of Beijing and the hutongs are residential neighborhoods which still form the heart of Old Beijing. While most Beijing hutongs are straight, Jiudaowan (九道弯, literally "Nine Turns") Hutong turns nineteen times. At its narrowest section, [[Qianshi Hutong]] near [[Qianmen]] (Front Gate) is only 40 centimeters (16 inches) wide.<ref>Beijing Hutong: {{Cite web |url=http://hutong-beijing.com/qianshi-hutong/ |title=Qianshi Hutong {{pipe}} Beijing Hutong |access-date=2014-01-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116112704/http://hutong-beijing.com/qianshi-hutong/ |archive-date=16 January 2014}}.</ref>
The '''Shanghai [[longtang]]''' is loosely equivalent to the [[hutong]] of [[Beijing]]. A '''longtang''' (弄堂 ''lòngtáng'', [[Shanghainese]]: ''longdang'') is a laneway in [[Shanghai]] and, by extension, a community centred on a laneway or several interconnected laneways. On its own long (traditional Chinese 衖 or 弄, simplified Chinese 弄) is a Chinese term for "alley" or "lane", which is often left untranslated in Chinese addresses, but may also be translated as "lane", and "tang" is a parlor or hallway.<ref>''Frommer's Shanghai Day By Day'' – Page 162 Graham Bond – 2011 1912 "1917 China's first shopping mall, the Sincere Department Store, Lilong, or Longtang Li means "neighborhood", and long means "alley"."</ref> It is sometimes called '''lilong''' (里弄); the latter name incorporates the ''-li'' suffix often used in the name of residential developments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As with the term hutong, the Shanghai longdang can either refers to the lanes that the houses face onto, or a group of houses connected by the lane.<ref>Walking between slums and skyscrapers: illusions of open space in ... - Page 160 Tsung-yi Michelle Huang – 2004 "Shanghainese call [[lilong]], their characteristic residential design, as longtang. "Long" means alley or lane and "tang" parlor or hall. "All houses are facing the lanes and lanes become the public space used by all residents. Enclosed, the whole ...</ref><ref>Postsocialism and Cultural Politics: China in the Last Decade of ... - Page 196 Xudong Zhang – 2008 "As long means a lane and tang the front room of a house, longtang either refers to a lane that connects houses or a group of houses connected by lanes. Longtang however might not be so explicit as lilong for the li in lilong means ..."</ref><ref>Narrating Architecture: A Retrospective Anthology Page 474 James Madge, Andrew Peckham – 2006 "Four sketches by Feng Zikai of Shanghai's alley life: clockwise from top left: lowering a basket down to the alley to purchase ... these activities were certainly not considered in the original design of the lilong, but were gradually introduced in the practice of everyday life within the community. A local writer, Shen Shanzeng, has named this special way of living as 'life in the alley' (long-tang ren-sheng)."</ref><ref>Cities Surround The Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist ... - Page 320 Robin Visser – 2010 "Chunlan Zhao refers to the generalization that Shanghai without its longtang is no longer Shanghai, in ''From ... archway; li means neighborhood; long ... means alley. ... The earliest lilong compound resembled the lifang residential ward in imperial capitals, but instead of being enclosed by ...''</ref>
==== Japan ====
[[File:Golden gai.jpg|left|thumb|A Golden Gai alley, Tokyo, Japan.|upright]]
{{nihongo|'''[[Shinjuku Golden Gai]]'''|新宿ゴールデン街}} is a small area of [[Shinjuku]], [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]],<ref name="unmissabletokyo1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.unmissabletokyo.com/golden-gai|title=Golden Gai – An Unmissable Tokyo Experience|website=www.unmissabletokyo.com}}</ref> famous both as an area of architectural interest and for its nightlife. It is composed of a network of six narrow alleys, connected by even narrower passageways which are just about wide enough for a single person to pass through. Over 200 tiny shanty-style bars, clubs and eateries are squeezed into this area.<ref name="hiraganatimes1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.hiraganatimes.com/past-articles/travel/2580/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113012222/http://www.hiraganatimes.com/past-articles/travel/2580/|url-status=dead|title=''Hiragan Times'', "Shinjuku – a Town for Everybody that Has Just About Everything"|archivedate=13 January 2014}}</ref>
Its architectural importance is that it provides a view into the relatively recent past of Tokyo, when large parts of the city resembled present-day Golden Gai, particularly in terms of the extremely narrow lanes and the tiny two-storey buildings. Nowadays, most of the surrounding area has been redeveloped. Typically, the buildings are just a few feet wide and are built so close to the ones next door that they nearly touch. Most are two-storey, having a small [[bar (establishment)|bar]] at street level and either another bar or a tiny [[apartment|flat]] upstairs, reached by a steep set of stairs. None of the bars are very large; some are so small that they can only fit five or so customers at one time.<ref name="unmissabletokyo1" /> The buildings are generally ramshackle, and the alleys are dimly lit, giving the area a very scruffy and run-down appearance. However, Golden Gai is not a cheap place to drink, and the clientele that it attracts is generally well off.
Golden Gai is well known yokocho　and meeting place for musicians, artists, directors, writers, academics and actors, including many celebrities. Many of the bars only welcome regular customers, who initially should be introduced by an existing patron, although many others welcome non-regulars, some even making efforts to attract overseas tourists by displaying signs and price lists in English.<ref name="unmissabletokyo1" /> Golden Gai was known for prostitution before 1958, when prostitution became illegal. Since then it has developed as a drinking area, and at least some of the bars can trace their origins back to the 1960s.
Apart from drinking alleys (drinking yokocho), [[shotengai]] and yokocho shotengais, there are the ordinary alleyways, the rojis which seem exist in all parts of the Japanese urban landscape. The roji which was once part of people's personal spatial sphere and everyday life has been transformed by diverse and competing interests. Marginalised through the emergence of new forms of housing and public spaces, re-appropriated by different fields, and re-invented by the contemporary urban design discourse, the social meaning attached to the roji is being re-interpreted by individuals, subcultures and new social movements. Thus, their existence is in danger.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Imai |first1=Heide |title=Tokyo Roji: The Diversity and Versatility of Alleys in a City in Transition |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-1-138-94910-2}}</ref>
==== Vietnam ====
'''[[Hem (alleyway)|Hẻm/Ngõ]]''' alleyways are a Vietnamese [[Vernacular architecture|vernacular]] urban planning typology, common in [[Ho Chi Minh City]] and [[Hanoi]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1160036625 |title=Asian alleyways : an urban vernacular in times of globalization |date=2020 |others=Marie Gilbert-Flutre, Heide Imai, International Institute for Asian Studies |isbn=978-94-6372-960-4 |location=Amsterdam |oclc=1160036625}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kim |first=Annette Miae |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/906576927 |title=Sidewalk city : remapping public space in Ho Chi Minh City |date=2015 |isbn=978-0-226-11936-6 |location=Chicago |oclc=906576927 |publisher= The University of Chicago Press}}</ref>
=== Australia ===
{{further|Lanes and arcades of Melbourne|Lanes and alleyways of Sydney|Lanes of Perth, Western Australia}}
[[File:The causeway melbourne.jpg|thumb|The Causeway, Melbourne]]
[[Sydney]] features a series of laneways in its [[Sydney CBD|central business district]] that have been used to provide off-street vehicular access to city buildings and alternative pedestrian routes through [[skyline of Sydney|city blocks]], in addition to featuring [[street art]], cafes, restaurants, bars and retail outlets.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sydney Tours|url=https://www.sydney.com/things-to-do/tours|access-date=2022-12-01|website=www.sydney.com|language=en-AU}}</ref> [[The Rocks, New South Wales|The Rocks]] has the most prominent and historical laneways in Sydney, which date to the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Laneways of The Rocks|url=https://www.visitsydneyaustralia.com.au/rocks-lanes.html|access-date=2022-12-01|website=www.visitsydneyaustralia.com.au}}</ref> ''[[Forgotten Songs]]'' is a popular attraction situated in Angel Place.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://architectureau.com/articles/sydney-laneways/|title=Sydney laneway revival|last=Wood|first=Simon|date=|website=ARCHITECTUREAU|access-date=2016-09-15}}</ref> [[Chinatown, Sydney|Chinatown]] features a number of lanes and alleyways.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/sydney-city/chinatown-and-haymarket|title=Chinatown and Haymarket|publisher=Sydney.com|access-date=18 November 2022}}</ref> In suburban Sydney, several alleyways or laneways exist between residential lots that provide pedestrians a shortcut passage to nearby facilities on adjacent roads.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Google Maps|url=https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.8967886,150.9093948,3a,41.3y,188.93h,91.88t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1shbfDNMco4Y2S0qRm08rNWA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&shorturl=1|access-date=2022-12-01|website=Google Maps|language=en}}</ref>
The [[Melbourne central business district]] in is home to many lanes and arcades.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://prov.vic.gov.au/explore-collection/provenance-journal/provenance-2011/little-latrobe-street-and-historical|title=Little Latrobe Street and the Historical Significance of Melbourne's Laneways|work=Public Record Office of Victoria|accessdate=25 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://melbourneheritage.org.au/current-campaigns/laneways/|title=Melbourne Laneways|work=melbourneheritage.org.au|accessdate=25 April 2020}}</ref> These laneways date mostly from the [[Victorian era]], and are a popular cultural attraction for their cafes, bars and street art. The city's oldest laneways are a result of Melbourne's original urban plan, the 1837 [[Hoddle Grid]], and were designed as access routes to service properties fronting the CBD's major thoroughfares.<ref>{{Cite book| last1 = Bate| first1 = Weston| author-link1 = Weston Bate| title = Essential But Unplanned: The Story of Melbourne's Lanes| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uZ7uPQAACAAJ| publisher = State Library of Victoria in conjunction with the City of Melbourne| date = 1994| isbn = 978-0-7306-3598-7}}</ref> [[St Jerome's Laneway Festival]], often referred to simply as Laneway, is a popular music festival that began in 2004 in Melbourne's laneways.
The lanes and arcades of [[Perth]], Western Australia are together becoming culturally significant to the city.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.planning.wa.gov.au/dop_pub_pdf/2_Gehl_PSPL_Perth_2009_Analysis_Part1.pdf|title=Perth Public Spaces Public Life |page=36|publisher=Gehl Architects|date=2009|accessdate=6 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sciencewa.net.au/topics/technology-a-innovation/item/1289-perth-cbd-evolving-to-be-more-pedestrian-friendly/1289-perth-cbd-evolving-to-be-more-pedestrian-friendly|title=Perth CBD evolving to be more pedestrian friendly|last=Romano|first=Mary-Anne|date=12 March 2012|publisher=Science Network WA|accessdate=6 January 2015}}</ref> In 2007 modification to Liquor Licensing Regulations in [[Western Australia]] opened up the opportunities for small bars.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/video/watch/8889943/|title=Bars breathe new life into Perth Lanes|date=23 February 2011|newspaper=[[The West Australian]]|accessdate=16 June 2014}}</ref> This was followed in August 2008 by the [[City of Perth]] formally adopting a laneways enhancement strategy, "Forgotten Spaces – Revitalising Perth's Laneways".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.perth.wa.gov.au/static_files/council_minute_archive/949.pdf|title=City of Perth Council Minutes|date=26 August 2008|pages=45–49|accessdate=3 January 2015}}</ref>
=== Europe ===
==== Belgium ====
In [[Belgium]] the equivalent term is ''gang'' (Dutch) or ''impasse'' (French). [[Brussels]] had over 100 ''gangen/impasses'', built to provide pedestrian access to cheap housing in the middle of blocks of buildings, and often containing a communal water tap. Several lead off Rue Haute/Hoogstraat. Since 1858, many have been demolished as part of [[slum clearance]] programmes, but about 70 still exist.<ref name="Gaiardo">''Impasses de Bruxelles'', Lucia Gaiardo, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale-Ville de Bruxelles, 2000</ref> Some have been gentrified, for example the [[:fr:Rue de la Cigogne (Bruxelles)|Rue de la Cigogne/Ooievaarstraat]].
==== Germany ====
[[File:Engste Straße der Welt.jpg|left|thumb|''[[Spreuerhofstraße]]'' in [[Germany]], supposedly the world's narrowest street]]
The old town of [[Lübeck]] has over 100 ''[[:de:Lübecker Gänge und Höfe|Gänge]]'', particularly leading off the streets Engelswisch, Engelsgrube and Glockengießerstraße, as well as around the cathedral. Some are very low as well as narrow, and others open into more spacious courtyards (''Höfe'').
''[[Spreuerhofstraße]]'' is the world's narrowest [[street]], found in the city of [[Reutlingen]], [[Baden-Württemberg]], [[Germany]].<ref name="start">{{Cite web
|url=http://www.start-reutlingen.de/index.php?id=255&L=1&tx_ttnews%5BpS%5D=1192915429&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=35&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=254&cHash=0568b5ea29|title=Tourismus-Reutlingen: An eye of a needle with world fame|publisher=Wirtschaft-Necker Alb|access-date=2010-02-05}}</ref> It ranges from {{convert|31|cm|in|1}} at its narrowest to {{convert|50|cm|in|1}} at its widest.<ref>{{Cite book|title= Guinness World Records 2009|editor1-first= Craig|editor1-last= Glenday|year= 2009|publisher= Random House Publishing Group|isbn= 978-0-553-59256-6|page= [https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse/page/493 493]|url= https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse/page/493}}</ref> The lane was built in 1727 during the reconstruction efforts after the area was completely destroyed in the massive citywide fire of 1726 and is officially listed in the Land-Registry Office as City Street Number 77.<ref name="start" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wirtschaft-neckar-alb.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=1012507 |title=Regio-Report Neckar-Alb Aus der Region |date=April 2007 |language=de |publisher=E-Paper – Wirtschaft-Neckar Alb |access-date=2010-11-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719114104/http://www.wirtschaft-neckar-alb.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=1012507 |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}</ref>
[[Lintgasse]] is an alley ({{langx|de|Gasse}}) in the [[Old town]] of [[Cologne]], [[Germany]] between the two squares of ''Alter Markt'' and ''Fischmarkt''. It is a [[pedestrian zone]] and though only some 130 metres long, is nevertheless famous for its medieval history. The Lintgasse was first mentioned in the 12th century as ''in Lintgazzin'', which may be derived from [[basketmaker]]s who wove fish baskets out of [[Linden tree]] barks. These craftsmen were called ''Lindslizer'', meaning ''Linden splitter''. During the [[Middle Ages]], the area was also known as ''platēa subri'' or ''platēa suberis'', meaning street of ''[[Quercus suber]]'', the cork oak tree. Lintgasse 8 to 14 used to be homes of medieval [[knight]]s as still can be seen by signs like ''Zum Huynen'', ''Zum Ritter'' or ''Zum Gir''. During the 19th-century the Lintgasse was called ''Stink-Linkgaß'', a because of its poor air quality.<ref>Signon, Helmut (2006), Alle Straßen führen durch Köln, Greven Verlag, {{ISBN|3-7743-0379-7}} and Priebe, Ilona (2004), Kölner Straßennamen erzählen. Zwischen Schaafenstraße und Filzgraben, Bachem J.P. Verlag, {{ISBN|3-7616-1815-8}}</ref>
===== Lyon's traboules =====
{{seemain|Traboule}}
[[File:Traboule 8.jpg|upright|thumb|A [[traboule]] passageway in [[Vieux Lyon]], France]]
The ''traboules'' of [[Lyon]] are passageways that cut through a house or, in some cases, a whole city block, linking one street with another. They are distinct from most other alleys in that they are mainly enclosed within buildings and may include staircases. While they are found in other French cities including [[Villefranche-sur-Saône]], [[Mâcon]], [[Chambéry]], [[Saint-Étienne]], [[Louhans]], [[Chalon sur Saône]] and [[Vienne (Isère)]], Lyon has many more; in all there are about 500.
The word ''traboule'' comes from the Latin ''trans ambulare'', meaning "to cross", and the first of them were possibly built as early as the 4th century. As the [[Roman Empire]] disintegrated, the residents of early Lyon—[[Lugdunum]], the capital of Roman [[Gaul]]—were forced to move from the Fourvière hill to the banks of the river Saône when their aqueducts began to fail. The traboules grew up alongside their new homes, linking the streets that run parallel to the river [[Saône]] and going down to the river itself. For centuries they were used by people to fetch water from the river and then by craftsmen and traders to transport their goods. By the 18th century they were invaluable to what had become the city's defining industry, textiles, especially silk.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.francetoday.com/learn/history/lyon_s_traboules/|title=Lyon's Traboules – French History|first=France Today|last=unknown|date=4 December 2012}}</ref>
Nowadays, traboules are tourist attractions, and many are free and open to the public. Most traboules are on private property, serving as entrances to local apartments.
==== Italy ====
The common Italian word for an alley is ''vicolo''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vicolo|title=vicolo – Wiktionary|website=en.wiktionary.org|date=8 November 2021 }}</ref>
===== Venice =====
Venice is largely a traffic free city and there is, in addition to the canals, a maze of around 3000 lanes and alleys called ''calli'' (which means narrow). Smaller ones are ''callètte'' or ''callesèlle'', while larger ones are ''calli large''. Their width varies from just over {{convert|50|cm|in|1}} to {{convert|5-6|m|in|1}}. The narrowest is Calletta Varisco, which just {{convert|53|cm|in|1}}; Calle Stretta is {{convert|65|cm|in|1}} wide and Calle Ca' Zusto {{convert|68|cm|in|1}}. The main ones are also called ''salizada'' and wider ''calli'', where trade proliferates, are called ''riga'', while blind ''calli'', used only by residents to reach their homes, are ''ramo''.<ref>[http://www.thatsvenice.com/travel-guides/canals-bridges-calli-campi/Alleys (''calli'') of Venice]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==== Netherlands ====
Cities such as [[Amsterdam]] and [[Groningen]] have numerous [[:nl:Gang (steeg)|''gangen'' or ''stegen'']]. They often run between the major streets, roughly parallel to each other but not at right angles to the streets, following the old field boundaries and ditches.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.studiokoning.nl/Foto_Amsterdam_3/Blindekatersteeg.html |title=Stegen in Amsterdam |publisher=Studiokoning.nl |access-date=2014-08-05}}</ref>
==== Sweden ====
[[File:Marten-Trotzigs-Graend.jpg|thumb|[[Mårten Trotzigs Gränd]], 90&nbsp;cm wide, the narrowest alley in [[Gamla stan]], [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]]|upright]]
''Gränd'' is Swedish for an alley and there are numerous ''gränder'', or alleys in [[Gamla stan]], The Old Town, of [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]]. The town dates back to the 13th century, with medieval alleyways, [[Cobblestone|cobbled]] streets, and historic buildings. [[Brick Gothic|North German architecture]] has had a strong influence in the Old Town's buildings. Some of Stockholm's alleys are very narrow pedestrian [[footpath]]s, while others are very narrow, cobbled streets, or lanes open to slow moving traffic.
[[Mårten Trotzigs gränd]] ("Alley of Mårten Trotzig") runs from [[Västerlånggatan]] and [[Järntorget (Stockholm)|Järntorget]] up to [[Prästgatan]] and [[Tyska Stallplan]], and part of it consists of 36 steps. At its narrowest the alley is a mere 90&nbsp;cm (35 inches) wide, making it the narrowest street in Stockholm.<ref name="svwp">Stahre, Nils-Gustaf; Fogelström, Per Anders & Ferenius, Jonas & Lundqvist, Gunnar (2005) [1986]. Stockholms gatunamn (utgåva 3:e upplagan). Stockholm: Stockholmia förlag. Libris 10013848. {{ISBN|91-7031-152-8}}.</ref>
The alley is named after the [[merchant]] and [[Bourgeoisie|burgher]] Mårten Trotzig (1559–1617), who, born in [[Wittenberg]],<ref name="svwp" /> emigrated to Stockholm in 1581, and bought properties in the alley in 1597 and 1599, also opening a shop there. According to sources from the late 16th century, he was dealing in first iron and later copper, by 1595 had sworn his burgher oath, and was later to become one of the richest merchants in Stockholm.<ref name="Gatunamn">{{Cite book
| title = Stockholms gatunamn
| edition = 2nd  | year = 1992
| publisher = Kommittén för Stockholmsforskning
| location = Stockholm | isbn = 978-91-7031-042-3
| page = 62 | chapter = Innerstaden: Gamla stan
}}</ref>
Possibly referred to as [[Trångsund (Stockholm)|Trångsund]] ("Narrow strait") before Mårten Trotzig gave his name to the alley, it is mentioned in 1544 as ''Tronge trappe grenden'' ("Narrow Alley Stairs"). In 1608 it is referred to ''Trappegrenden'' ("The Stairs Alley"), but a map dated 1733 calls it ''Trotz gränd''. Closed off in the mid 19th century, not to be reopened until 1945, its present name was officially sanctioned by the city in 1949.<ref name="Gatunamn" />
The "[[List of streets and squares in Gamla stan]]" provides links to many pages that describe other alleys in the oldest part of Stockholm; e.g. [[Kolmätargränd]] (Coal Meter's Alley); [[Skeppar Karls Gränd]] (Skipper Karl's Alley); [[Skeppar Olofs Gränd]] (Skipper Olof's Alley); and [[Helga Lekamens Gränd]] (Alley of the Holy Body).
===== London =====
[[File:Burlington Arcade, shops.jpg|thumb|left|Shop fronts inside the [[Burlington Arcade]], London, England]]
London has numerous historical alleys, especially, but not exclusively, in its centre; this includes [[The City of London|The City]], [[Covent Garden]], [[Holborn]], [[Clerkenwell]], [[Westminster]] and [[Bloomsbury]] amongst others.
An alley in London can also be called a passage, court, place, lane, and less commonly path, [[arcade (architecture)|arcade]], walk, [[stairs|steps]], yard, terrace, and close.<ref>{{Cite web|title=City Street Names|url=https://www.maps.thehunthouse.com/eBooks/City_Street_Names.htm|access-date=2022-12-01|website=www.maps.thehunthouse.com}}</ref><ref name="Londonist's Back Passage">{{Cite web|url=https://londonist.com/|title=Londonist's Back Passage|website=Londonist}}</ref> While both a court and close are usually defined as blind alleys, or ''cul-de-sacs'', several in London are throughways, for example Cavendish Court, a narrow passage leading from [[Houndsditch]] into Devonshire Square, and Angel Court, which links King Street and [[Pall Mall, London|Pall Mall]].<ref name="Londonist's Back Passage" /> Bartholomew Close is a narrow winding lane which can be called an alley by virtue of its narrowness, and because through-access requires the use of passages and courts between Little Britain, and Long Lane and Aldersgate Street.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Google Maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps?q=Bartholomew+Close,+London,+United+Kingdom&hl=en&ll=51.518481,-0.098555&spn=0.002026,0.005284&sll=40.697488,-73.979681&sspn=0.631991,1.352692&oq=Bartholomew+Close&hnear=Bartholomew+Close,+London,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=18|access-date=2022-12-01|website=Google Maps|language=en}}</ref>
In an old neighbourhood of the [[City of London]], [[Exchange Alley]] or Change Alley is a narrow alleyway connecting shops and [[coffeehouse]]s.<ref name="refdup">{{Cite book|last=John Biddulph Martin|url=http://archive.org/details/grasshopperinlo00martgoog|title="The Grasshopper" in Lombard Street|date=1892|publisher=Scribner & Welford|others=University of Michigan|language=English}}</ref> It served as a convenient shortcut from the [[Royal Exchange, London|Royal Exchange]] on [[Cornhill, London|Cornhill]] to the Post Office on [[Lombard Street, London|Lombard Street]] and remains as one of a number of alleys linking the two streets. The coffeehouses<ref>J. Pelzer and L. Pelzer, "Coffee Houses of Augustan London," ''History Today,'' (October, 1982), pp. 40–47.</ref> of Exchange Alley, especially [[Jonathan's Coffee-House|Jonathan's]] and Garraway's, became an early venue for the lively trading of [[Share (finance)|shares]] and [[Commodity|commodities]]. These activities were the progenitor of the modern [[London Stock Exchange]].
[[File:Shoreditch, Boundary Passage - geograph.org.uk - 1692305.jpg|thumb| Boundary Passage, [[Shoreditch]], London, England]]
Lombard Street and Change Alley had been the open-air meeting place of London's mercantile community before [[Thomas Gresham]] founded the Royal Exchange in 1565.<ref name="refdup" /> In 1698, John Castaing began publishing the prices of stocks and commodities in Jonathan's Coffeehouse, providing the first evidence of systematic exchange of securities in London.
Change Alley was the site of some noteworthy events in England's financial history, including the [[South Sea Bubble]] from 1711 to 1720 and the panic of 1745.<ref>[http://www.business.uiuc.edu/lneal/Econ238/howitall.htm Larry Neal. "How It All Began: The Monetary and Financial Architecture of Europe during the First Global Capital Markets: 1648–1815."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060114083723/http://www.business.uiuc.edu/lneal/Econ238/howitall.htm |date=14 January 2006 }}</ref>
In 1761 a club of 150 brokers and jobbers was formed to trade stocks. The club built its own building in nearby Sweeting's Alley in 1773, dubbed the "New Jonathan's", later renamed the [[London Stock Exchange plc|Stock Exchange]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=London Stock Exchange {{pipe}} London Stock Exchange|url=https://www.londonstockexchange.com/about:blank|access-date=2022-12-01|website=www.londonstockexchange.com|language=en}}</ref>
West of the City there are a number of alleys just north of [[Trafalgar Square]], including Brydges Place which is situated right next to the [[Coliseum Theatre]] and just 15 inches wide at its narrowest point, only one person can walk down it at a time. It is the narrowest alley in London and runs for {{convert|200|yd|m}}, connecting St Martin's Lane with Bedfordbury in Covent Garden.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.urban75.org/london/brydges-place.html|title=Brydges Place, Covent Garden, London, the narrowest alleyway in London.|website=www.urban75.org}}</ref>
Close by is another very narrow passage, Lazenby Court, which runs from Rose Street to Floral Street down the side of the [[Lamb and Flag, Covent Garden|Lamb and Flag]] pub; in order to pass people must turn slightly sideways. The Lamb & Flag in Rose Street has a reputation as the oldest pub in the area,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pubs.com/main_site/pub_details.php?pub_id=136 |title=The Lamb and Flag |publisher=Pubs.com |access-date=30 July 2010 }}</ref> though records are not clear. The first mention of a pub on the site is 1772.<ref name=Floral>{{Cite book |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46110 |title=Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden|pages=182–184|year=1970 |publisher=Institute of Historical Research|author =F. H. W. Sheppard  |access-date=30 July 2010 }}</ref> The Lazenby Court was the scene of an attack on the famous poet and playwright [[John Dryden]] in 1679 by thugs hired by [[John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester]],<ref>{{Cite book |author =John Richardson  |url=https://archive.org/details/annalsoflondonye00rich |url-access =registration  |title=The Annals of London |page=[https://archive.org/details/annalsoflondonye00rich/page/156 156]  |publisher=University of California Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-520-22795-8 |access-date=30 July 2010 }}</ref> with whom he had a long-standing conflict.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Rochester, John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of |volume= 23 | pages = 427–428; see page 428. para 2, six lines from the end |quote=....and by his orders a band of roughs set on the poet in Rose Alley, Covent Garden, and beat him....}}</ref>
[[File:Car_in_narrow_cobblestoned_graffitied_alley_at_Whitechapel_(2).jpg|thumb|An alley in Whitechapel, London E1]]
In the same neighbourhood [[Cecil Court]] has an entirely different character than the two previous alleys, and is a spacious pedestrian street with [[Victorian era|Victorian]] shop-frontages that links [[Charing Cross Road]] with [[St Martin's Lane]], and it is sometimes used as a location by film companies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://filmlondon.org.uk/location_of_the_month_2007/assets/features/january_2007_-_cecil_court |title=January 2007 – Cecil Court |publisher=Film London |access-date=2014-08-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thelastbookshop.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/filming-in-cecil-court/ |title=Filming in Cecil Court {{pipe}} thelastbookshop |publisher=Thelastbookshop.wordpress.com |date=2011-05-24 |access-date=2014-08-05}}</ref>
One of the older thoroughfares in [[Covent Garden]], Cecil Court dates back to the end of the 17th century. A tradesman's route at its inception, it later acquired the nickname Flicker Alley because of the concentration of early film companies in the Court.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://londonfilm.bbk.ac.uk/|title=The London Project -Home|website=londonfilm.bbk.ac.uk}}</ref> The first film-related company arrived in Cecil Court in 1897, a year after the first demonstration of moving pictures in the United Kingdom and a decade before London's first purpose-built cinema opened its doors. Since the 1930s it has been known as the new Booksellers' Row as it is home to nearly twenty antiquarian and second-hand independent [[bookshop]]s.
It was the temporary home of an eight-year-old [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]] while [[Mozart family grand tour|he was touring Europe]] in 1764. For almost four months the Mozart family lodged with barber John Couzin.<ref>{{Citation|title=Mozart and his Operas|last=Cairns|first=David|year=2006|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-22898-6|page=17}}</ref> According to some modern authorities, Mozart composed his first symphony while a resident of Cecil Court.<ref>{{Citation|title=Mozart, the Early Years 1756–1781|last=Sadie|first=Stanley|year=2005|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-393-06112-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mozartearlyyears00sadi/page/64 64–5]|url=https://archive.org/details/mozartearlyyears00sadi/page/64}}</ref>
North of the centre of London, [[Camden Passage]] is a pedestrian passage off [[Upper Street]] in the [[London Borough of Islington]], famous because of its many antiques shops, and an antique market on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings. It was built, as an alley, along the backs of houses on Upper Street, then Islington High Street, in 1767.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Islington: Growth {{pipe}} British History Online|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol8/pp9-19|access-date=2022-12-01|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref>
===== Southern England =====
* In [[East Sussex]], [[West Sussex]] and [[Surrey]], '''''twitten''''' is used, for "a narrow path between two walls or hedges". It is still in official use in some towns including Lewes,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://quicksold.co.uk/area-information/BN71UB|title=Interesting information about Lewes, East Sussex|website=Area Information by Quicksold|date=25 June 2023 }}</ref> Brighton, and [[Cuckfield]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.streetcheck.co.uk/postcode/bn71ub|title=Interesting Information for Paines Twitten, Lewes, BN7 1UB Postcode|last=StreetCheck|website=StreetCheck}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-17976019 |title=Lingfield villagers seek plastic bag-free zone |date=7 May 2012 |publisher=BBC |access-date=1 January 2014}}</ref> "[[Loughton]] also has twittens, the only [[Essex]] example of use of the word and an indication of a very old street pattern"; Loughton also has a track known locally as ''The Widden'', a variant of twitten.<ref>[http://www.theydon.org.uk/lhs/Downloads/LHS%20136.pdf ''Loughton & District Historical Society Newsletter'' 136, April 1997] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618174352/http://www.theydon.org.uk/lhs/Downloads/LHS%20136.pdf |date=18 June 2015 }}.</ref> In north-west Essex and east [[Hertfordshire]] ''twichell'' is common. In other parts of Essex, alley or path is used.
* In the city of [[Brighton and Hove]] (in [[East Sussex]]), [[The Lanes]] is a collection of narrow lanes famous for their small shops (including several antique shops) and narrow alleyways. The area was part of the original settlement of Brighthelmstone, but The Lanes were built up during the late 18th century and were fully laid out by 1792.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.localhistories.org/brighton.html |title=A History of Brighton |publisher=Localhistories.org |access-date=2014-08-05}}</ref>
===== West of England =====
* In [[Plymouth]], [[Devon]] an alley is an '''''ope'''''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/070830_rpt_barbican_caamp_-_portrait_pt2.pdf |title=Barbican Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan |access-date=2014-02-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924074453/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/070830_rpt_barbican_caamp_-_portrait_pt2.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015}} Plymouth City Council</ref>
* More generally in Devon any narrow public way which is less commodious than a lane may be called a '''''drangway''''' (from ''drang'', as a dialectal variation of throng); typically it will be used on horseback or on foot with or without animals, but may also be for occasional use with vehicles.<ref>[[Mary Palmer]], ''A dialogue in the Devonshire dialect, by a lady [M. Palmer]: to which is added a glossary, by J.F. Palmer'', 1837.</ref> The word, according to [[David Crystal]], is also used throughout the West of England, Wiltshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, as well as Wales.<ref>''The Disappearing Dictionary: A Treasury of Lost English Dialect Words''. Pan Macmillan,2015.</ref>
===== Midlands and East Anglia =====
* In [[Birmingham]] an '''''entry''''' runs between houses or through terraced houses, while a '''''gully''''' runs behind houses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/articles/a-comprehensive-guide-to-brummie-slang/|title=A Comprehensive Guide to Brummie Slang|last=Franks|first=Richard|date=20 September 2018|website=theculturetrip.com|publisher=Culture Trip|access-date=16 June 2022|quote=Entry – the alley between terraced houses....Gully – an alleyway, or space round the back of houses.}}</ref>
* In [[Derbyshire]] and [[Leicestershire]] the word '''''jitty''''' or ''gitties'' is often found<ref>[http://www.barrowuponsoarheritage.org.uk/walkingthejitties.html "Walking the Jitties"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102194026/http://www.barrowuponsoarheritage.org.uk/walkingthejitties.html |date=2 January 2014 }} on the Barrow Upon Soar Heritage Group website</ref> and '''''gulley''''' is a term used in the [[Black Country]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=David |last=Wilson|title=Staffordshire Dialect Words: A Historical Survey|publisher= Moorland Publishing Company|year= 1974}}</ref>
* In [[Nottinghamshire]], '''''twichell''''' is common (See [[East Midlands English]]).
* In [[Shropshire]] (especially [[Shrewsbury]]) they are called ''shuts''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/gallery/shrewsbury_s_shuts_and_passages_11615|title=Geograph:: Shrewsbury's shuts and passages|website=www.geograph.org.uk}}</ref>
===== Northern England =====
[[File:Back alley by old bus depot in Moss Side Manchester.jpg|150px|thumb|An alley (usually called a ginnel) in [[Moss Side]], [[Manchester]]]]
* The [[Snickelways of York]], in [[York]], [[Yorkshire]], often misspelt ''snickleways'', are a collection of small streets, footpaths, or lanes between buildings, not wide enough for a vehicle to pass down, and usually public [[Rights of way in England and Wales|rights of way]]. York has many such paths, mostly [[middle Ages|mediaeval]], though there are some modern paths as well. They have names like any other city street, often quirky names such as Mad Alice Lane, Nether Hornpot Lane and even Finkle Street (formerly Mucky Peg Lane). The word ''snickelway'' was coined by local author Mark W. Jones in 1983 in his book ''A Walk Around the Snickelways of York'', and is a [[portmanteau]], a blend of the words ''<u>snick</u>et'', meaning a passageway between walls or fences, ''[[ginnel]]'', a narrow passageway between or through buildings, and ''alley<u>way</u>'', a narrow street or lane. Although a [[neologism]], the word quickly became part of the local vocabulary, and has even been used in official council documents.<ref>Arfin, Ferne. [http://gouk.about.com/od/getawaysandshorthops/ss/Yorkpassages.htm "United Kingdom Travel: Finding Medieval York:Walking the Snickelways and Ginnels of Medieval York"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102200333/http://gouk.about.com/od/getawaysandshorthops/ss/Yorkpassages.htm |date=2 January 2014 }} [[About.com]]</ref>
* In [[Whitby]], [[North Yorkshire]] ''ghauts''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.whitbywalks.com/|title=Whitby Walks {{pipe}} Whitby ghost walks with Dr Crank}}</ref>
* In [[Scunthorpe]], [[Lincolnshire]], [[Goole]] and [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], [[East Riding of Yorkshire]] other terms in use are ''cuttings'', ''8-foots'', ''10-foots'', and ''snicket''.
* In [[North Yorkshire]] and [[County Durham]], as in [[Scotland]], an alley can be a ''[[wynd]]''. There is a "Bull Wynd" in [[Darlington]], [[County Durham]] and Lombards Wynd in [[Richmond, North Yorkshire]].<ref>{{Cite web|author =The Wynd |url=http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=wynd+richmond&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl |title=wynd richmond – Google Maps |publisher=Google Maps |date=1970-01-01 |access-date=2014-08-05}}</ref>
* In [[Durham, England|Durham City]] narrow passages are also known as ''vennels''. Several of these still exist and provide steep shortcuts between the major streets.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}
* In [[north-east England]], including [[Bishop Auckland]], [[County Durham]]; [[Durham, England|Durham]]; [[Hexham]], [[Northumberland]]; [[Morpeth, Northumberland]]; [[Whitburn, South Tyneside]]; and [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], [[Northumberland]], alleys can be called ''[[chare]]s''. The chares and much of the layout of [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]]'s [[Quayside]] date from medieval times. At one point, there were 20 chares in Newcastle. After the [[great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead]] in 1854, a number of the chares were permanently removed although many remain in existence today. Chares also are still present in the higher parts of the city centre. According to "Quayside and the Chares"<ref>Published by City of Newcastle upon Tyne Education and Libraries Directorate, 2002</ref> by Jack and John Leslie, chares reflected their name or residents. "Names might change over the years, including Armourer's Chare which become Colvin's Chare". Originally inhabited by wealthy merchants, the chares became slums as they were deserted due to their "dark, cramped conditions". The chares were infamous for their insanitary conditions – typhus was "epidemic" and there were three cholera outbreaks in 1831–2, 1848–9 and finally in 1853 (which killed over 1,500 people).
* In [[Manchester]] and [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], as well as [[Sheffield]], [[Leeds]], [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] and other parts of [[Yorkshire]], '''''jennel''''', which may be spelt ''gennel'' or ''ginnel'', is common.<ref>{{Cite web|last=BBC|title=Putting SY on the Wordmap|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/content/articles/2005/08/16/voices_sywords_feature.shtml|access-date=2022-12-01|website=www.bbc.co.uk|language=en-gb}}</ref> In some cases, ''ginnel'' may be used to describe a covered or roofed passage, as distinct from an open alley. In the ''[[Yorkshire Historical Dictionary]]'', the entry for the word ''ginnel'' begins, "Many dialect words have been lost in recent times but 'ginnel' survives in good health, acceptable in polite conversation and even in newspaper articles."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://yorkshiredictionary.york.ac.uk/words/ginnel|title=Ginnel|publisher=Yorkshire Historical Dictionary|access-date=18 April 2020}}</ref>
* In [[Liverpool]], [[Merseyside]], the terms ''entry'', ''jigger'' or ''snicket'' are more common. ''Entry'' is also used in some parts of [[Lancashire]] and [[Manchester]], though not in South Manchester. This usually refers to a walkway between two adjoining terraced houses, which leads from the street to the rear yard or garden. The term entry is used for an alley in [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]] (see [[The Belfast Entries]]).
===== Scotland and Northern Ireland =====
[[File:Tolbooth Wynd leads off the Royal Mile - geograph.org.uk - 999805.jpg|thumb|Tolbooth Wynd, Edinburgh, Scotland]]
In [[Scotland]] and [[Northern Ireland]] the [[Scots language|Scots]] terms [[List of Closes on the Royal Mile|close]], [[wynd]], [[pend]] and [[vennel]] are general in most towns and cities. The term '''''close''''' has an unvoiced "s" as in ''sad''. The Scottish author [[Ian Rankin]]'s novel ''[[Fleshmarket Close]]'' was retitled ''Fleshmarket Alley'' for the American market. Close is the generic Scots term for alleyways, although they may be individually named closes, entries, courts and wynds. Originally, a close was private property, hence gated and closed to the public.
A wynd is typically a narrow lane between houses, an open throughway, usually wide enough for a horse and cart. The word derives from [[Old Norse]] ''venda'', implying a turning off a main street, without implying that it is curved.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=S |title=The Place Names of Edinburgh |year=1996 |publisher=Steve Savage |location=London |isbn=1-904246-06-0 |page=28}}</ref> In fact, most wynds are straight. In many places wynds link streets at different heights and thus are mostly thought of as being ways up or down hills.
A pend is a passageway that passes through a building, often from a street through to a [[courtyard]], and typically designed for vehicular rather than exclusively pedestrian access.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.trp.dundee.ac.uk/research/glossary/pend.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970212203357/http://www.trp.dundee.ac.uk/research/glossary/pend.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=1997-02-12 |title=Conservation Glossary, entry for "pend" |author=Town and Regional Planning Programme, University of Dundee |access-date=2008-05-12 }}</ref> A pend is distinct from a [[vennel]] or a close, as it has rooms directly above it, whereas vennels and closes are not covered over.
A [[vennel]] is a passageway between the gables of two buildings which can in effect be a minor street in [[Scotland]] and the [[North east England|north east of England]], particularly in the old centre of [[Durham, England|Durham]]. In Scotland, the term originated in [[royal burghs]] created in the twelfth century, the word deriving from the Old French word ''venelle'' meaning "alley" or "lane". Unlike a tenement entry to private property, known as a ''close'', a vennel was a public way leading from a typical [[high street]] to the open ground beyond the [[burgage]] plots.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Photographs and newspaper cuttings|url=http://www.bpra.org.uk/photos.html|access-date=2022-12-01|website=www.bpra.org.uk}}</ref> The Latin form is ''venella''.{{clear left}}
=== North Africa ===
[[File:Old medina of morocco.jpg|Alley in [[Chefchaouen]], [[Morocco]]|thumb]]
A '''[[medina quarter]]''' ({{langx|ar|المدينة القديمة}} {{transliteration|ar|''al-madīnah al-qadīmah''}} "the old city") is a distinct city section found in many [[North Africa]]n cities. The medina is typically walled, contains many narrow and maze-like streets.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Oxford English Dictionary |url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/medina?q=medina |entry=Medina definition  |access-date=9 September 2014 |archive-date=20 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420013753/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/medina?q=medina|url-status=dead}}</ref> The word "[[wikt:medina|medina]]" ({{langx|ar|[[wikt:مدينة|مدينة]]}} {{transliteration|ar|''madīnah''}}) itself simply means "city" or "town" in modern Arabic.
Because of the very narrow streets, medinas are generally free from car traffic, and in some cases even motorcycle and bicycle traffic. The streets can be less than a metre wide. This makes them unique among highly populated urban centres. The Medina of [[Fes]], [[Morocco]] or [[Fes el Bali]], is considered one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|work=Mother Nature Network|url=http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/photos/7-car-free-cities/the-medina-of-fes-al-bali-morocco-pop-156000|title=7 car-free cities}}</ref>
=== North America ===
Alleys in North America are primarily used as service lanes. They provide a space for utility poles, fire escapes, garage access, delivery loading zones, and garbage bin pickup.
Some historic alleys are found in older American and Canadian cities, like [[New York City]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Charleston, South Carolina]], [[Boston]], [[Annapolis]], [[New Castle, Delaware]], [[Quebec City]], [[St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St John's, Newfoundland]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=In the lanes of old St. John's – SkyscraperPage Forum|url=https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201199|access-date=2022-12-01|website=skyscraperpage.com}}</ref> and [[Victoria, British Columbia]].
===== Quebec City =====
[[Québec City]] was originally built on the riverside bluff [[Cap Diamant]] in the 17th century, and throughout Quebec City there are strategically placed public [[Stairs|stairways]] that link the bluff to the lower parts of the city.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Quebec, Canada|url=https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~rcollins/travel/Quebec.html|access-date=2022-12-01|website=www.ndsu.edu}}</ref> The Upper City is the site of Old Québec's most significant historical sites, including 17th- and 18th-century chapels, the Citadel and the city ramparts. The Breakneck Stairs or Breakneck Steps (French: ''Escalier casse-cou''), Quebec City's oldest stairway, were built in 1635. Originally called ''escalier Champlain'' "Champlain Stairs", ''escalier du Quêteux'' "Beggars' Stairs", or ''escalier de la Basse-Ville'' "Lower Town Stairs", they were given their current name in the mid-19th century, because of their steepness. The stairs have been restored several times, including an 1889 renovation by [[Charles Baillargé]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/quebec-city/staircases|title=Québec City and Area – Stairways|year=2011|publisher=Québec City Tourism|access-date=15 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209103208/http://www.quebecregion.com/en/quebec_city_and_area/stairways?a=vis|archive-date=9 February 2011}}</ref>
===== Victoria =====
[[File:FanTanAlley.jpg|thumb|View into Fan Tan Alley, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada]]
[[Fan Tan Alley]] is an alley in [[Victoria, British Columbia]]'s [[Chinatown, Victoria|Chinatown]]. It was originally a gambling district with restaurants, shops, and opium dens. Today it is a tourist destination with many small shops including a barber shop, art gallery, Chinese cafe and apartments. It may well be the narrowest street in [[Canada]]. At its narrowest point it is only {{convert|0.9|m|in}} wide.<ref>[http://chinatown.library.uvic.ca/fan_tan_alley "Fan Tan Alley"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107215826/http://chinatown.library.uvic.ca/fan_tan_alley |date=7 January 2014 }} on the ''Victoria's China Town'' website</ref> Waddington Alley is another interesting alley in Victoria and the only street in that city still paved with wood blocks, an early pavement common in the downtown core. Other heritage features are buildings more than a century old lining the alley and a rare metal carriage curb that edges the sidewalk on the southern end.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.islandnet.com/~jar/streetscapes/topics/waddington.htm |title = Waddington Alley: A 1908 Street Experience|publisher =Islandnet |archive-date = 28 April 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110428105854/http://www.islandnet.com/~jar/streetscapes/topics/waddington.htm|first = Janis|last=Ringuette|work = Hidden in Plain Sight|date = 2007}}</ref>
===== Vancouver =====
Nearly all blocks in Vancouver were designed with an alleyway, as the majority of homes do not have front driveways. Alleyways are, therefore, the way for home owners to access their garage and to also place their garbage for collection.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}} Commercial laneway typically prohibit stopping except for delivery vehicles.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}
==== United States ====
In the United States alleys exist in both older commercial and residential areas, for both service purposes and automobile access. In residential areas, particularly in those that were built before 1950, alleys provide rear access to property where a garage was located, or where waste could be collected by service vehicles. A benefit of this was the location of these activities to the rear, less public side of a dwelling. Such alleys are generally roughly paved, but some may be dirt. Beginning in the late 20th century, they were seldom included in plans for new housing developments.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}
===== Annapolis, Maryland =====
When [[Annapolis, Maryland]], was established as a city at the beginning of the 18th century,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Huston|first=John W.|title=Annapolis: an eighteenth-century analysis|journal=Conspectus of History|year=1977|volume=1|issue=4|page=49|url=http://dmr.bsu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/ConspectusH&CISOPTR=139&REC=1}}</ref> the streets were established in circles. That encouraged the creation of shortcuts, which over time became paved alleys. Some ten of these survive, and the city has recently worked on making them more attractive.<ref>Fahrenthold, David A. "Celebrating Annapolis's Storied Shortcuts". ''[[The Washington Post]]'' (27 January 2005) p.AA14.</ref>
===== Austin, Texas =====
Several residential neighborhoods in [[Austin, Texas]], have comprehensive alley systems. These include [[Hyde Park Historic District (Austin, Texas)|Hyde Park]], [[Rosedale, Austin, Texas|Rosedale]], and areas northwest of the [[Austin State Hospital]]. There are also numerous alleys downtown, particularly in the [[Sixth Street (Austin, Texas)|6th Street district]], where bars and restaurants place their garbage for collection.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}
===== Boston =====
[[File:(Massachusetts Avenue Back Bay Boston, Massachusetts) Alley 430 Public Way.jpg|thumb|right|[[Back Bay, Boston]] Alley 430 Public Way, off [[Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston)]]]]
In the [[Beacon Hill, Boston|Beacon Hill]] district of [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], Acorn Street, a narrow cobbled lane with [[row houses]], is one of Boston's more attractive and historic alleys. Many of the alleys in the Back Bay and South End area are numbered (e.g. "Public Alley 438").<ref>[https://backbayhouses.org/alleys/ Backbay alleys]</ref>
===== Charleston, South Carolina =====
In the [[French Quarter (Charleston, South Carolina)|French Quarter]] of Charleston's historic district, Philadelphia Alley (c. 1766), originally named "Cow Alley", is one of several picturesque alleys. In 1810 William Johnson gave it the name of "Philadelphia Alley", although locals call the "elegantly landscaped thoroughfare" "Dueler's Alley".<ref>[http://charlestongateway.com/features/a-stroll-down-duelers-alley/ "A Stroll Down Dueler's Alley"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107214301/http://charlestongateway.com/features/a-stroll-down-duelers-alley/ |date=7 January 2014 }} on the ''Charleston Gateway'' website</ref> Starting on East Bay Street, Stolls Alley is just seventeen bricks wide at its start, and named for Justinus Stoll, an 18th-century blacksmith.<ref>Poston, Jonathan H. ''The Buildings of Charleston: A Guide to the City's Architecture''. Columbia, SC, University of South Carolina Press, 1997, pp.136–7.</ref> For three hundred years, another of Charleston's narrow lanes, Lodge Alley, served a commercial purpose. Originally, [[French Huguenot]] merchants built homes on it, along with warehouses to store supplies for their ships. Just {{convert|10|ft}} wide, this alley was a useful means of access to Charleston's waterways.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SCDAH|url=http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/charleston/S10817710060/|access-date=2022-12-01|website=www.nationalregister.sc.gov}}</ref> Today it leads to East Bay Street's many restaurants.
===== Chicago, Illinois =====
Chicago has the largest network of alleys in the United States, with more than 1,900 miles of alleyways within city limits, also ranking as one of the largest systems in the world. Alleys have been an integral part of Chicago's urban landscape since the city was first incorporated, and have grown in complexity since the 1830s, with many of the city's elevated "L" transit rail lines still running overhead today.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-10-10|title=Alleys and the Making of Chicago's Shadow City|url=https://www.wbez.org/stories/shadow-city-how-chicago-became-the-countrys-alley-capital/3f2b1e3d-f5f2-49c2-a3b8-8fb3fceacdc4|access-date=2022-02-06|website=WBEZ Chicago|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Alleys|url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/38.html|access-date=2022-02-06|website=www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org}}</ref> Although initially considered seedy and uncivilized, the utilitarian nature of alleys has afforded Chicago the ability to keep main roads and thoroughfares clear of trash, unlike other large cities in the country, while also providing additional space for residential and commercial car parking, as well as maintaining accessible electrical and plumbing utilities, both above and below ground. In 2006, the Chicago Department of Transportation began implementing the "Green Alley" program, an ongoing effort to replace hardtop alley surfaces with permeable pavers and better grading to more quickly absorb storm water runoff into the groundwater below, reducing stress on the city's infrastructure, as well as introducing lighter colored "high albedo" pavement to reflect sunlight and reduce urban heat island effect.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chicago's Green Alley Program|url=https://environment.transportation.org/case_study/chicagos-green-alley-program/|access-date=2022-02-06|website=Center for Environmental Excellence {{!}} AASHTO|language=en-US}}</ref>
===== Cincinnati, Ohio =====
{{Main|Steps of Cincinnati}}
Cincinnati is a city of hills.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.cincinnati.com/article/99999999/CINCI/81202017/City-seven-hills |title=City of seven hills |publisher=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]] |date=4 December 2008 |access-date=17 May 2013}}</ref> Before the advent of the automobile a system of stairway alleys provided pedestrians important and convenient access to and from their hill top homes. At the height of their use in the 19th century, over {{convert|30|mi}} of hill side steps once connected the [[List of Cincinnati neighborhoods|neighborhoods of Cincinnati]] to each other.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ohioswallow.com/book/Walking+the+Steps+of+Cincinnati |title=Walking the Steps of Cincinnati — 1998 |publisher=Ohio University Press & Swallow Press |access-date=17 May 2013}}</ref> The first steps were installed by residents of [[Mount Auburn Historic District|Mount Auburn]] in the 1830s in order to gain easier access to [[Findlay Market]] in [[Over-the-Rhine]].<ref name="cincinnatimagazine">{{Cite news |author =Devin Parrish |title=Observer: Climb Every Hill |work=[[Cincinnati Magazine]] |date=January 1998 |page=22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1O0CAAAAMBAJ&q=steps+of+cincinnati+closure&pg=PA22}}</ref> In recent years many steps have fallen into disrepair but there is a movement now to rehabilitate them.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CityLab – Bloomberg|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/citylab|access-date=2022-12-01|website=Bloomberg.com|language=en}}</ref>
===== New Castle, Delaware =====
Another early settled American city, [[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]] has a number of interesting alleys, some of which are footpaths and others narrow, sometimes cobbled, lanes open to traffic.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/32815 |title = Most Historic Alley in Delaware|work = RoadsideAmerica.com}}</ref>
===== New York City =====
[[File:Booth Theatre Shubert Theatre NYC 2007.jpg|thumb|Looking south down [[Shubert Alley]] in [[Manhattan]]'s [[Theater District, New York City|Theater District]]]]
[[New York City]]'s [[Manhattan]] is unusual in that it has very few alleys, since the [[Commissioner's Plan of 1811]] did not include rear service alleys when it created Manhattan's grid. The exclusion of alleys has been criticized as a flaw in the plan, since services such as garbage pickup cannot be provided out of sight of the public, although other commentators feel that the lack of alleys is a benefit to the quality of life of the city.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=2005-10-23|title=Are Manhattan's Right Angles Wrong?|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/23/realestate/are-manhattans-right-angles-wrong.html|access-date=2022-12-01|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Since there are so few alleys in New York, film [[location shooting]] requiring alleys tend to be concentrated in [[Cortlandt Alley]], located between [[Canal Street (Manhattan)|Canal]] and Franklin Streets in the blocks between [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] and [[Lafayette Street]] in the [[TriBeCa]] neighborhood of lower Manhattan.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Joe |title=Cortlandt Alley |url=https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/mini-stories-volume-6/ |access-date=14 January 2019 |work=[[99% Invisible]] |date=8 January 2019}}</ref>
Two notable alleys in the [[Greenwich Village]] neighborhood in [[Manhattan]] are [[MacDougal Street|MacDougal Alley]] and [[Washington Mews]].<ref>''AIA Guide'', p.131-133</ref> The latter is a blind alley or ''cul-de-sac''. Greenwich Village also has a number of private alleys that lead to back houses, which can only be accessed by residents, including Grove Court,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alleys|url=https://forgotten-ny.com/category/alleys/|access-date=2022-12-01|website=Forgotten New York|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Patchin Place]] and Milligan Place, all blind alleys. Patchin Place is notable for the writers who lived there.<ref>''AIA Guide'', p.145</ref> In the [[Brooklyn Heights]] neighborhood of [[Brooklyn]], Grace Court Alley is another converted mews,<ref>''AIA Guide'', p.594</ref> as is Dennett Place in the [[Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn|Carroll Gardens]] neighborhood.<ref>''AIA Guide'', p.627</ref> The former is a ''cul-de-sac''.
[[Shubert Alley]] is a {{convert|300|ft|m|adj=on}} long pedestrian alley at the heart of the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway theater district]] of New York City. The alley was originally created as a fire exit between the [[Shubert Theatre (Broadway)|Shubert Theatre]] on West 45th Street and the [[Booth Theatre]] on West 44th Street, and the [[Astor Hotel]] to their east. Actors once gathered in the alley, hoping to attract the attention of the [[Shubert Brothers]] and get employment in their theatrical productions.<ref>''AIA Guide'', p.298</ref> When the hotel was torn down, and replaced with [[One Astor Plaza]] (1515 Broadway), the apparent width of the alley increased, as the new building did not go all the way to the westernmost edge of the building lot. However, officially, Shubert Alley consists only of the space between the two theatres and the lot line.
===== Philadelphia =====
[[File:Elfreth's Alley.JPG|thumb|Pedestrians walking along [[Elfreth's Alley]], [[Philadelphia]]]]
The [[Old City, Philadelphia|Old City]] and [[Society Hill]] neighborhoods of [[Philadelphia]], the oldest parts of the city, include a number of alleys, notably [[Elfreth's Alley]], which is called "Our nation's oldest residential street", dating from 1702.<ref>[http://www.elfrethsalley.org/history "History"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107212851/http://www.elfrethsalley.org/history |date=7 January 2014 }} on the Elfreth's Alley Association website</ref> {{as of|2012}}, there were 32 houses on the street, which were built between 1728 and 1836.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Elfreth's Alley Museum|url=https://www.elfrethsalley.org/|access-date=2022-12-01|website=Elfreth's Alley Museum|language=en-US}}</ref>
There are numerous cobblestoned residential passages in Philadelphia, many no wider than a truck, and typically flanked with brick houses. A typical house on these alleys or lanes is called a Philadelphia "Trinity", named because it has three rooms, one to each floor, alluding to the Christian [[Trinity]].<ref>Campbell, Colin. "About Philadelphia: Alleys Much Treasured for Their Tiny Houses" ''[[The New York Times]]'' (18 December 1984)</ref> These alleys include Willings Alley, between S. 3rd and S. 4th Streets and Walnut and Spruce Streets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps?q=loc:39.946243,-75.146517&hl=en&ll=39.946373,-75.147053&spn=0.002357,0.005284&t=m&z=18|title=39°56'46.5"N 75°08'47.5"W|website=39°56'46.5"N 75°08'47.5"W}}</ref> Other streets in Philadelphia which fit the general description of an alley, but are not named "alley", include [[:commons:Category:Cuthbert Street|Cuthbert Street]], [[:commons:Category:Filbert Street|Filbert Street]], Phillips Street,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps?q=loc:39.943743,-75.1459&hl=en&ll=39.943767,-75.14594&spn=0.001178,0.002642&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.943767,-75.14594&panoid=spE0vwa2voxRMIeDfWU9tA&cbp=12,20.48,,0,0|title=Google Maps|website=Google Maps}}</ref> South American Street,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps?q=loc:39.943743,-75.1459&hl=en&ll=39.943768,-75.14594&spn=0.001178,0.002642&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.943805,-75.146252&panoid=Pj8zcV0TwrU22DsKy854Gw&cbp=12,0.48,,0,0|title=Google Maps|website=Google Maps}}</ref> Sansom Walk,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps?q=Sansom+Walk,+Philadelphia,+PA&hl=en&ll=39.94676,-75.143631&spn=0.010051,0.021136&sll=39.946834,-75.143749&sspn=0.004993,0.010568&oq=Sansom%5C+Walk,+Philadelphia,+PA&hnear=Sansom+Walk,+Philadelphia,+Pennsylvania+19106&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=39.946768,-75.143758&panoid=-OuZ1Lv0rvohT2ufjZ6aEw&cbp=12,0,,0,0|title=Google Maps|website=Google Maps}}</ref> St. James Place,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps?q=St+James+Place,+Philadelphia,+PA&hl=en&ll=39.946081,-75.146581&spn=0.001248,0.002642&sll=39.946019,-75.146592&sspn=0.010051,0.021136&hnear=St+James+Pl,+Philadelphia,+Pennsylvania+19106&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.946013,-75.146597&panoid=6RTjoIz729d9v_19nf2WWA&cbp=12,75.14,,0,0|title=Google Maps|website=Google Maps}}</ref> and numerous others.
===== Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania =====
Steps, [[Pittsburgh]]'s equivalent for an alley, have defined it for many visitors. Writing in 1937, war correspondent [[Ernie Pyle]] wrote of the steps of Pittsburgh:
<blockquote>And then the steps. Oh Lord, the steps! I was told they actually had a Department of Steps. That isn't exactly true, although they do have an Inspector of Steps. But there are nearly {{convert|15|mi|km}} of city-owned steps, going up mountainsides.<ref>{{Cite news | title = Pyle's Great Column on Pittsburgh | publisher = Pittsburgh Press | date = 1945-04-19  | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BTgbAAAAIBAJ&dq=out-by-a-mountain-goat&pg=4953%2C5062591 }}</ref></blockquote>
The City of Pittsburgh maintains 712 sets of [[Steps of Pittsburgh|city-owned steps]], some of which are shown as streets on maps.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.frontiernet.net/~rochballparks2/towns/pgh_steps.htm|title=Pittsburgh Steps|website=www.frontiernet.net}}</ref>
===== San Francisco, California =====
[[File:Alley 2.JPG|thumb|Alley, with [[Stairs|steps]], in [[Sausalito]], [[California]]|upright]]
In hilly [[San Francisco]], [[California]] alleys often take the form of steps and it has several hundred public [[stairway]]s.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=San Francisco: 10 Things to Do — 3. The Stairs of Telegraph Hill – TIME|language=en-US|magazine=Time|url=https://content.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1845230_1845056_1844994,00.html|access-date=2022-12-01|issn=0040-781X}}</ref> Among the most famous is the stairway known as the Filbert steps, a continuation of [[Filbert Street (San Francisco)|Filbert Street]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Google Maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps?q=Filbert+St,+San+Francisco,+CA,+USA&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title|access-date=2022-12-01|website=Google Maps|language=en}}</ref> The Filbert Street Steps descend the east slope of Telegraph Hill along the line where Filbert Street would be if the hill was not so steep. The stairway is bordered by greenery, that consists both backyards, and a border garden tended to and paid for by the residents of the "street", and runs down to an eastern stub of Filbert Street and the walkway through the plaza to [[Embarcadero (San Francisco)|The Embarcadero]]. Many houses in this residential neighborhood are accessible only from the steps.
Also in [[San Francisco]], '''[[Belden Place]]''' is a narrow pedestrian alley, bordered by restaurants, in the [[Financial District, San Francisco, California|Financial District]], referred to as San Francisco's '''French Quarter''' for its historic ties to early French immigrants, and its popular contemporary French restaurants and institutions.<ref>[http://www.belden-place.com/ www.belden-place.com], Belden Place Official Website</ref> The area was home to San Francisco's first French [[settler]]s. Approximately 3,000, sponsored by the French government, arrived near the end of the [[Gold Rush]] in 1851.<ref name="frch">{{Cite news |author=Sam Whiting |title=The limited confines of San Francisco's French Quarter don't make it any less foreign |url=http://sfgate.com/columns/neighborhoods/ |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=2006-06-30 |access-date=2007-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101090654/http://www.sfgate.com/columns/neighborhoods/ |archive-date=1 January 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
===== San Luis Obispo =====
[[Bubblegum Alley]] is a tourist attraction where people have left their finished bubblegum on the walls of an alley for decades. The walls have been cleaned multiple times only to have the gum rapidly reappear.
===== Seattle =====
There are over 600 publicly accessible stairways within [[Seattle]], a city of hills, bluffs, and canyons.<ref>Seattle All Stairs: {{Cite web |url=http://seattlestairs.home.comcast.net/~seattlestairs/ |title=Seattle Stairs – map of all public stairs with guides to 30 walks |access-date=2014-05-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530061826/http://seattlestairs.home.comcast.net/~seattlestairs/ |archive-date=30 May 2014}}.</ref> For an example see [[Howe Street Stairs]].
==== Green and revitalized alleys ====
[[File:WTMTL T52 DSF2289.JPG|150px|left|thumb|Ruelle verte ([[Community Greens|Green alley]]) [[Montréal, Québec]], Canada.]]
[[File:Luzerne glover green alley.JPG|thumb|alt=Luzerne Glover Block Party to celebrate completion of gated and greened alley|Community Green behind the Luzerne-Glover Block, [[Baltimore, Maryland]]]]
Numerous cities in the United States and Canada, such as [[Chicago]],<ref name=chicago /> [[Seattle]],<ref>[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/docs/pmp/greenalleyhandbook_chicago.pdf "The Chicago Green Alley Handbook"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222172512/https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/docs/pmp/GreenAlleyHandbook_Chicago.pdf |date=22 December 2013 }} on the City of Seattle website</ref> [[Los Angeles]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Green Alleys|url=https://www.tpl.org/resource/green-alleys|access-date=2022-12-01|website=Trust for Public Land|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], [[Washington, D.C.]],<ref name=dc /> and [[Montréal]], have started reclaiming their alleys from garbage and crime by [[greening]] the service lanes, or back ways, that run behind some houses.<ref name=dc>[http://dc.gov/DC/DDOT/Projects+and+Planning/Environment/Green+Alley+Projects "Green Alley Projects"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104000808/http://dc.gov/DC/DDOT/Projects+and+Planning/Environment/Green+Alley+Projects |date=4 January 2014 }} on the District of Columbia Department of Transportation website</ref><ref>[http://integratedalleys.tumblr.com/about "About Us"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104095801/http://integratedalleys.tumblr.com/about |date=4 January 2014 }} on the ''Integrated Alleys'' website</ref> [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]] has about {{convert|1900|mi|km}} of alleyways.<ref name=chicago>{{Cite web|title=Green Alleys|url=https://www.chicago.gov/content/city/en/depts/cdot/provdrs/street/svcs/green_alleys.html|access-date=2022-12-01|website=www.chicago.gov|language=en}}</ref> In 2006, the [[Chicago Department of Transportation]] started converting conventional alleys which were paved with [[Asphalt concrete|asphalt]] into so called Green Alleys. This program, called the Green Alley Program, is supposed to enable easier water runoff, as the alleyways in [[Chicago]] are not connected directly to the sewer system. With this program, the water will be able to seep through semi-permeable [[concrete]] or [[Asphalt concrete|asphalt]] in which a colony of fungi and bacteria will establish itself. The bacteria will help breakup oils before the water is absorbed into the ground. The lighter color of the pavement will also reflect more light, making the area next to the alley cooler.<ref>{{Cite web|title=archive.ph|url=http://www.screamtobegreen.com/2007/11/chicago-alleys-to-go-green/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140103190427/http://www.screamtobegreen.com/2007/11/chicago-alleys-to-go-green/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-01-03|access-date=2022-12-01|website=archive.ph}}</ref> The greening of such alleys or laneways can also involve the planting of native plants to further absorb rain water and moderate temperature.
In 2002, a group of [[Baltimore]] residents from the [[Patterson Park]] neighborhood approached the Patterson Park Community Development Corporation (CDC) looking for a way to improve the dirty, crime-ridden alley that ran behind their homes. Simultaneously, [[Community Greens]] also approached the Patterson Park CDC looking for an alley they could use as a pilot project in Baltimore. This led The Luzerne-Glover block being granted a temporary permit from the city to gate their alleyway, despite the fact that it was not yet legal to gate a [[Right-of-way (property access)|right-of-way]]. Eventually the law was changed so that Baltimore residents could legally gate and green the alleys behind their homes.
New life has also come to other alleys within downtown commercial districts of various cities throughout the world with the opening of businesses, such as coffee houses, shops, restaurants and bars.
Another way that alleys and laneways are being revitalized is through laneway housing. A [[laneway house]] is a form of housing that has been proposed on the west coast of [[Canada]], especially in the [[Greater Vancouver|Metro Vancouver]] area. These homes are typically built into pre-existing [[land lot|lots]], usually in the backyard and opening onto the back lane. This form of housing already exists in Vancouver, and revised regulations now encourage new developments as part of a plan to increase [[urban density]] in pre-existing neighbourhoods while retaining a single-family feel to the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=a36483ce-a7e2-480b-986f-8ae6eb208b4d&k=20049|title=Laneway houses appeal to boomer generation|date=8 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108233119/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=a36483ce-a7e2-480b-986f-8ae6eb208b4d&k=20049|archive-date=8 November 2012}}</ref> Vancouver's average laneway house is one and a half stories, with one or two bedrooms. Typical regulations require that the laneway home is built on the back half of a traditional lot in the space normally reserved for a garage.<ref name=build>{{Cite web|last=Vancouver|first=City of|title=Build a new house or laneway house|url=https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/build-a-new-house-or-laneway-house.aspx|access-date=2022-12-01|website=vancouver.ca|language=en}}</ref><ref name=livable>[http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/odpub/pdf/66642.pdf?lang=en "Livable Lanes: A Study of Infill Laneway Housing in Vancouver and Other B.C. Communities"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205524/http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/odpub/pdf/66642.pdf?lang=en |date=23 September 2015 }} on the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation website (November 2009)</ref>
Toronto also has a tradition of laneway housing and changed regulations to encourage new development.<ref>{{Cite web|title=News|url=https://www.canadianarchitect.com/news/|access-date=2022-12-01|website=Canadian Architect|language=en-US}}</ref> However this was discontinued in 2006 after staff reviewed the impact on services and safety.<ref>Crowther, William G. [http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/2006/agendas/committees/wks/wks060705/it007b.pdf "Toronto Staff Report"] (20 June 2006)</ref>
== Other terms ==
=== English ===
* In Australia and [[Canada]] the terms [[lane]], '''laneway''', right-of-way<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.planning.wa.gov.au/dop_pub_pdf/pb33jul1999.pdf | title = Rights-of-Way or Laneways in Established Areas- Guidelines | access-date = 4 October 2012 | date = July 1999 | work = Planning Bulletin No 33 | publisher = Western Australian Planning Commission}}</ref> and '''serviceway''' are also used.
* In some parts of the United States, alleys are sometimes known as '''rear lanes''' or '''back lanes''' because they are at the back of buildings.
* In parts of Canada, Australia and the United States, [[mews]], a term which originated in [[London]], England, is also used for some alleys or small streets (see, for example, [[Washington Mews]] in [[Greenwich Village]], New York City).
=== Non-English ===
* In India the equivalent term is ''Gali'' which were prevalent during Moghul Period (1526 C.E. to 1700 C.E.)
* The French ''[[allée]]'' meaning [[Avenue (landscape)|avenue]] is used in parts of Europe such as [[Croatia]] and [[Serbia]] as a name for a [[boulevard]] (such as Bologna Alley in [[Zagreb]]). The [[Swedish language|Swedish]] word "''allé''" and the German word "Allee", are also based on this French ''allée'' (such as [[Karl-Marx-Allee]] in [[Berlin]]).
* In France, the term ''allée'' is not used as the actual word is ''ruelle'', which is described as, "an alley between buildings, often accessible only to pedestrians. These streets are found especially in old city neighbourhoods, particularly in Europe and in the Arab-Muslim world".<ref>French Wikipedia article, Google translation (edited).</ref><ref name="Google translation">Google translation</ref> ''Passage'' and ''sentier'' (path) are also used.
* [[Czech language|Czech]] and some other [[Slavic languages]] use the term "ulička" (little street) for alley,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://slovnik.seznam.cz/?q=uli%C4%8Dka&lang=cz_en|title=slovnik.seznam.cz Translation of "ulička"|access-date=18 February 2010}}</ref> a [[diminutive form]] of "ulice", the word for ''street''.
* In [[Montréal]], Canada ''ruelle'' (diminutive of French ''rue'', a street) is used for a back lane or service alley. There has been an endeavour to green these and some are quite attractive.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://spacing.ca/montreal/2010/07/16/montreals-best-alleyways/|title=Montreal's Best Alleyways|date=16 July 2010}}</ref>
* In the [[Philippines]], a common term is ''eskinita'', and refers to any small passage not considered a street between two buildings, especially in [[shantytown]]s. The term is ultimately derived from the diminutive of the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] word ''esquina'', meaning "corner".
== Gallery ==
<gallery class="center" widths="155px" heights="225px"><!--PORTRAIT IMAGES HERE-->
File:Alley in Fira.jpg|An alley in [[Fira]], [[Santorini]], [[Greece]]
File:Howey place melbourne.jpg|[[Howey Place, Melbourne]], [[Australia]]
File:Porto (21040325420).jpg|Rua Sobre-o-Douro, [[Porto]], [[Portugal]]
File:Peg Washington's Lane, Graiguenamanagh, Co.Kilkenny - geograph.org.uk - 213437.jpg|Peg Washington's Lane, Graiguenamanagh, [[County Kilkenny]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
File:Jamestown Jacobs Ladder.jpg|View down [[Jacob's Ladder (Saint Helena)|Jacob's Ladder]], [[Saint Helena]]
File:Ayda alley, Aleppo Christian Quarter (01).jpg|Al-Yasmeen alley in [[al-Jdayde]], [[Aleppo]], [[Syria]]
File:CentrePlace-rain.jpg|[[Centre Place, Melbourne|Centre Place]] in [[Melbourne]]
File:Medina Tripoli Libya.jpg|Medina [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]], [[Libya]]
File:2006 Выборгский замок-крепость Южный корпус DSC02230.jpg|A narrow alley of the [[Vyborg Castle]] in [[Vyborg]], Russia
File:Orvieto-Street2.jpg|A narrow Vicolo, [[Orvieto]], [[Umbria]], Italy
</gallery>
<gallery class="center" widths="237px" heights="237px"><!--LANDSCAPE IMAGES HERE-->
File:Schnoor-Bremen.jpg|[[Schnoor]] neighbourhood in [[Bremen]], [[Germany]]
File:Bar alley in the city center on Kajaani.JPG|A [[Bar (establishment)|bar]] alley in [[Kajaani]], Finland
File:Porvoo Old Town (13) (35852282094).jpg|A sloping alley in the old town of [[Porvoo]], [[Finland]]
File:Rue du Baron, Florac, France.jpg|Rue du Baron in [[Florac]], France
File:Arco di via Tirolo (Rodi Garganico).jpg|Arco di Via Tirolo, [[Rodi Garganico]], [[Apulia]], Italy
File:Breakneck Steps, Quebec City, 1870.jpg|Breakneck Steps, Quebec City, around 1870
</gallery>
== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
* {{anli|Avenue (landscape)}}, also known as tree alley or allée
* {{anli|Community Greens}}
* [[Great Yarmouth Row Houses]], England
* [[Bubblegum Alley]], [[San Luis Obispo, California]], USA
* {{anli|Mews}}
* [[Right of way (disambiguation)]]
** {{anli|Right of way (transit)}}
* {{anli|Stairs}}
* {{anli|Street}}
* {{anli|Alley house}}
* {{anli|Laneway house}}
{{div col end}}
== References ==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}
'''Bibliography'''
* DuSablon, Mary Anna, ''Walking the Steps of Cincinnati''. Athens, OH.: Ohio University Press, 1998.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140222233129/http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1149&context=theses Hage, Sara A., ''Alleys: Negotiating Identity in Traditional, Urban, and New Urban Communities''. M.A. Thesis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2008.]
* Long, David, ''Hidden City: The Secret Alleys, Courts & Yards of London's Square Mile''. London: The History Press, 2011.
* Regan, Bob, ''The Steps of Pittsburgh: Portrait of a City''. Pittsburgh, PA.: The Local History Company, 2004.
* {{Cite aia5}}
== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Alleys}}
{{Road types}}
{{Walking}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Types of streets]]
[[Category:Types of roads]]
[[Category:Footpaths]]
[[Category:Trails]]
[[Category:Hiking]]
[[Category:Alleys| ]]