Editing Guadalajara (section)

=== Urbanism ===

[[File:Panorámica Guadalajara desde edificio Bansi hacia sur.jpg|thumb|Radial urban planning in central Guadalajara]]
[[File:Zonas de Guadalajara.svg|thumb|Map of the city's zones]]
[[File:Plaza de armas de Guadalajara.jpg|thumb|Street in the historic center]]
Guadalajara's street plan has evolved over time into a [[urban planning|radial urban plan]], with five major routes into and out of the city. It is surrounded by ring roads.

The original city of Guadalajara was planned on a grid, with north–south and east–west intersecting streets.
Over time, villages surrounding Guadalajara were incorporated into the city - first Analco to the southeast, then Mexicaltzingo to the south, Mezquitan to the north, and San Juan de Dios to the east, all of which introduced more variety to the plan. As it grew towards the west, it kept the original north–south orientation. As it grew towards the east, this grid was tilted towards the south-east to match up with the grids of the former towns Analco and San Juan de Dios, across the river from central Guadalajara on the eastern side of Rio San Juan de Dios (Rio San Juan de Dios is now underground; it runs beneath Calzada Independencia).

When the railway was introduced to Guadalajara in 1888, the southern part of the city began development, and its streets aligned with the grid to the east of the old Rio San Juan de Dios. Additional 20th-century expansion of the city introduced even more variety, as developers introduced different kinds of non-grid street plans in new areas. During the government of José de Jesús González Gallo, between 1947 and 1953, major public works changed the urban landscape of the historic center of the city.

Major controversial projects included the widening of Avenida 16 de Septiembre and Avenida Juárez, which were no longer adequate to handle car traffic in the center of the city. In the process, many buildings of architectural and historical value were demolished. Historical buildings around Guadalajara Cathedral were also demolished to leave large open spaces on the four sides of the Cathedral in the form of a large Latin cross, in which the cathedral is now centered. There were other, somewhat less controversial, projects to improve the flow of traffic and increase commerce in other parts of the city.