Administrative divisions

Taipei City is divided up into 12 administrative districts (區 qu). Each district is further divided up into villages (里), which are further sub-divided up into neighborhoods (鄰).

Map District Population (Feb. 2012) Area (km²) Postal code Name Chinese Pinyin Wade–Giles Pe̍h-ōe-jī ■ Beitou District 北投區 Běitóu Pei-t'ou Pak-tâu 252,484 56.8216 112 ■ Da'an District 大安區 Dà'ān Ta-an Tāi-an 313,710 11.3614 106 ■ Datong District 大同區 Dàtóng Ta-t'ung Tāi-tông 127,092 5.6815 103 ■ Nangang District 南港區 Nángǎng Nan-kang Lâm-káng 116,516 21.8424 115 ■ Neihu District 內湖區 Nèihú Nei-hu Lāi-ô͘ 276,217 31.5787 114 ■ Shilin District 士林區 Shìlín Shih-lin Sū-lîm 287,248 62.3682 111 ■ Songshan District 松山區 Sōngshān Sung-shan Siông-san 210,347 9.2878 105 ■ Wanhua District 萬華區 Wànhuá Wan-hua Báng-kah 190,963 8.8522 108 ■ Wenshan District 文山區 Wénshān Wen-shan Bûn-san 266,934 31.5090 116 ■ Xinyi District 信義區 Xìnyì Hsin-yi Sìn-gī 226,770 11.2077 110 ■ Zhongshan District 中山區 Zhōngshān Chung-shan Tiong-san 224,258 13.6821 104 ■ Zhongzheng District 中正區 Zhōngzhèng Chung-cheng Tiong-chèng 161,409 7.6071 100 City planning

The city is characterized by straight roads and public buildings of grand Western architectural styles. The city is built on a square grid configuration, however these blocks are huge by international standards (500 m (1,640.42 ft) sides). However there is little uniformed planning within these blocks; therefore lanes (perpendicular to streets) and alleys (parallel with street, or conceptually, perpendicular to the lane) spill out from the main throughways. These minor roads are not always perpendicular and sometimes cut through the block diagonally.

Although development began in the western districts of the city from trade, the eastern districts of the city have become the downtown. Many of the western districts, already in decline, have become targets of new urban renewal projects.