Linklater begins by talking about how to measure property. In the beginning, land boundary is set by how it meets another set of boundaries or visible objects, i.e. “metes and bounds.” The idea of land as private property possibly came about in 1538, ignited by an idea that land can be measured and mapped instead of feudally owned. This development then brought about the idea of rent and residents started getting evicted if they couldn’t pay.
This new sense of ownership then required an exact measurement of the area of the land in order to put a monetary value on it. Edmund Gunter was a math enthusiast, particularly in trigonometry, which allowed surveyors to find out the distance between two objects without having to use a rope and walk between them.
The Dutch mathematician Frisius showed this knowledge to land measurers. However, instruments were needed for measuring angles etc e.g. quadrants and sector that Gunter was passionate about. He later landed a job with Edmund Spenser, and published a book that was translated from Latin to English for use by surveyors and sailors, and a chain of 22 yards for measurement. Previously, the math used came from the Greeks, but the method was imperfect. Gunther’s chain provided a means of making private property and establishing a market for land due to its consistency in results.
Linklator goes on to talk about land in the U.S during the early days of its conception. A large sum of John Jacob Astor’s came from the property he owed in Manhattan which grew exponentially in value within a few decades. City planners were debating how to draw up the streets of Manhattan, and plots of land that is easy to divide sells easier, thus the streets of NYC were draw with right angles and straight line gridiron, using Gunther’s chain. This development led to the rapid spread of real estate speculation and the building of densely packed tenement houses that were the center of disease and epidemics, and other cities followed suit e.g. Chicago, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City etc. Railroads also made use of the grid like design.