Why do we have street addresses?
The House-Finding Fix
Why do we have street addresses?
Imagine trying to meet a friend at their house, but all you know is "the blue one on Oak Street." You walk down Oak Street. There are seven blue houses. Which one? You knock on three wrong doors before finding the right place. This used to happen all the time.
For most of human history, people found houses by landmarks and descriptions. "The cottage past the big oak tree." "The red door near the blacksmith." "Third house after the church." It worked fine when towns were tiny and everyone knew everyone. But then cities started growing fast.
