Tvärgata

Tvärgata is a Swedish term for a street that runs perpendicular to a larger main street (huvudgata) and forms a cross street within a city block. The concept is used in urban planning and addressing to describe secondary streets that provide access to properties on both sides of the main thoroughfare and to connect different parts of the built environment.

In typical Swedish street layouts, tvärgator are narrower than main streets, may be residential or mixed-use, and carry local traffic and pedestrians rather than through-traffic. They often serve to break up long façades of buildings along the huvudgata, creating smaller blocks and opportunities for courtyards, parking, and façades facing multiple streets. Traffic arrangements vary; some tvärgator are two-way, others are one-way or subject to traffic calming measures to reduce speed and improve pedestrian safety.

Naming and addressing: buildings situated on a tvärgata receive their postal address with the tvärgata name. In many towns, tvärgator intersect the huvudgata at right angles and may link several streets, forming a grid-like structure in older city centers or newer developments.

In English-language contexts, tvärgata is commonly translated as cross street or perpendicular street. The term is primarily used in Swedish urban planning and addressing to describe this specific street type within city layouts.