Editing Missoula, Montana (section)

===City layout and development===
{{See also|Buildings and structures in Missoula, Montana}}
[[File:Higgins Block - Missoula.jpg|thumb|left|Higgins Block in Downtown Missoula]]

In the mid-1860s, {{nowrap|[[Christopher P. Higgins|C. P. Higgins]]}} and Frank Worden began plotting what would become the town of Missoula along the Mullan Military Road, which ran parallel to the Clark Fork River. Through downtown Missoula, the route of the road is now Front Street.<ref name="FortMissoulaMuseum"/> It is intersected by Higgins Avenue, to which a bridge across the Clark Fork was added in 1873. The intersection of these two streets became the default center of the city, and remains the numerical center regarding city street addresses.<ref>{{cite book |page=172 |date=1955 |title=Montana: A State Guide Book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLM1KEsUM5IC |location=New York |publisher=Hastings House Publishers |isbn=978-0-403-02176-5 |oclc=869757480 |edition=4th |chapter=Cities and Towns §&nbsp;Missoula |others=Compiled by the [[Federal Writers' Project]] |orig-year=1st pub. 1939 |series=[[Works Progress Administration]]: American Guide |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLM1KEsUM5IC&pg=PA172 |quote=Street Numbering: Streets are numbered from Higgins&nbsp;Ave. E.&nbsp;and&nbsp;W.; from Front&nbsp;St. N.&nbsp;and&nbsp;S. |access-date=August 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904113534/https://books.google.com/books?id=uLM1KEsUM5IC |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> The arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1883 led to a housing boom along the tracks, particularly on the northern side where many of the railway workers would reside. When the Higgins Avenue Bridge was replaced in 1893, they debated whether the bridge should continue southwest toward the Bitterroot Valley as it had earlier or due south. Attorneys {{nowrap|W. M. Bickford}} and {{nowrap|W. J. Stephens}} had already laid out plots of land five years earlier for what they hoped would be a new town of "South Missoula". The streets there were perpendicular to the Bitterroot Wagon Road. In contrast, Judge Hiram Knowles who owned the land just south of the river preferred the north–south plan and did not want to become part of South Missoula. [[File:Slant Streets in Missoula, Montana.png|thumb|right|The "Slant Streets"]] The result was a {{nowrap|7×14–block area}} along the west side of Higgins Avenue commonly referred to as the "Slant Streets" centered along what is now Stephens Avenue. Stephens Avenue and Brooks Street are the only arterials to traverse the city diagonally along with the Bitterroot Branch of [[Montana Rail Link]]. With the exception of Downtown, the rest of the city, where streets follow the angle of the river, and newer expansions into the hills, strictly follow the [[grid plan]].<ref name="FortMissoulaMuseum"/> With the establishment of the University of Montana in 1893 and the announcement that the tracks of the [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad|Milwaukee Road]] would be located south of the river, houses began to spread quickly throughout the university and south side districts. The area near the university was promoted as high-end and luxurious homes appeared on Hammond Avenue (then nicknamed "Millionaires Row" and known today as Gerald Avenue).<ref name="Mathews 2002"/>{{rp|32}}

The arrival of Interstate{{nbsp}}90 in the mid-1960s forced the removal of 60 homes, including the Greenough Mansion. The north side of Missoula became isolated between the Interstate and the tracks while the Greenough Mansion was moved to a South Hills golf course and converted to a restaurant. This dichotomy has prevailed with the North Side feeling neglected by the city while the South Hills became an upscale neighborhood. The Missoula Downtown Master Plan of 2009 emphasized redevelopment of the North Side's former rail yard and the area just south of the tracks.<ref name="NMCDC">{{cite web |url=http://nmcdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Neighborhood-History.pdf |title=History of Missoula's Northside and Westside neighborhoods |publisher=North Missoula Community Development Corporation |access-date=August 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150809192008/http://nmcdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Neighborhood-History.pdf |archive-date=August 9, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.missouladowntown.com/wp-content/uploads/MissoulaDowntownMasterPlanFINAL.pdf |title=Missoula Greater Downtown Master Plan |publisher=City of Missoula |date=August 19, 2009 |access-date=August 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203195354/http://www.missouladowntown.com/wp-content/uploads/MissoulaDowntownMasterPlanFINAL.pdf |archive-date=February 3, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The city is divided into 18 neighborhood councils, of which all Missoula residents are members.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ci.missoula.mt.us/269/My-Neighborhood |title=Missoula Neighborhood Councils |publisher=City of Missoula |access-date=August 9, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150813080612/http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/269/My-Neighborhood |archive-date=August 13, 2015}}</ref> The city further contains 10 historical districts: Downtown Missoula, East Pine Street, Fort Missoula, Lower Rattlesnake, McCormick, Northside, Southside, University Area and, the [[campus of the University of Montana]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historicmissoula.org/Tours/HistoricDistricts/tabid/274/Default.aspx |title=Historic Districts |work=Historic Missoula |publisher=Missoula's Office of Planning and Grants |access-date=August 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214101522/http://historicmissoula.org/Tours/HistoricDistricts/tabid/274/Default.aspx#dnn_dnnBREADCRUMB_lblBreadCrumb |archive-date=February 14, 2015}}</ref>

====Trail system====
Missoula has an extensive trail system for both commuting and recreation that extends over {{convert|22|mi|km}}. The city is actively trying to connect its various sections within the city to each other and to recreational trails extending beyond the city. The heart of the Missoula Commuter Bike Network is the trails along either side of the Clark Fork River that link Downtown with surrounding neighborhoods, the university, city parks, and outlying open space with smooth surfaces and three bicycle/pedestrian bridges. The most southern of these is Milwaukee Trail, which follows the former [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad|Milwaukee Railroad]] and continues east out of town as the Kim Williams Nature Trail beside Mount Sentinel. The Bitterroot Branch Trail connects to the Riverfront trails west of Downtown and, when completed, will provide a trail from Downtown to Southgate Mall. Near the Bitterroot Branch Trail, but not connected, is the South Avenue Trail on the west side of Reserve Street that connects the Community Medical Center with Fort Missoula, nearby athletic fields, and the Bitterroot River. The South Hills neighborhood has its own system of trails that is also approaching, but not quite meeting, the larger network.<ref>{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.ci.missoula.mt.us/Maps%20and%20Graphics/Parks%20and%20Rec/Trails/mapside11-9-final_s2_web-small.PDF |title=City of Missoula Parks, Open Space & Trail Map |publisher=City of Missoula |access-date=August 26, 2015}}</ref>