Piet Mondrian painted this piece entitled "Broadway Boogie Woogie" (left) representing the restless motion of the citylife.

It's interesting the way he decides to boldly represent the city with strict grid-like horizontal and diagonal lines.

After viewing a map of New York City (right), the viewer can see why Mondrian decided to represent the city in the way he did; streets criss-cross in a never ending fashion.

Why are the streets of New York created this way? Space efficiency?
...To be able to drive down the street and predict that the next intersection is exactly 400 meters away from this intersection?
.. and that the intersection after that is exactly 400 meters away?
... and that the intersection after that is exactly 400 meters away?