In the reconstruction after the Great Fire, Hooke proposed redesigning London's streets on a grid pattern with wide boulevards and arteries, a pattern that was later used in Haussmann's renovation of Paris and in many American cities, for which Wren and others also submitted proposals. The King decided both the prospective cost of building and compensation, and the need to quickly restore trade and population meant the city would be rebuilt on the original property lines. Hooke was given the task of surveying the ruins to identify foundations, street edges and property boundaries. He was closely involved with the drafting of an Act of Common Council (April 1667), which set out the process by which the original foundations would be formally recognised and certificated. According to Lisa Jardine: "in the four weeks from the 4th of October, [Hooke] helped map the fire-damaged area, began compiling a Land Information System for London, and drew up building regulations for an Act of Parliament to govern the rebuilding". Stephen Inwood said: "the surveyors' reports, which were generally written by Hooke, show an admirable ability to get to the nub of intricate neighbourly squabbles, and to produce a crisp and judicious recommendation from a tangle of claims and counter-claims".
In the reconstruction after the Great Fire, Hooke proposed redesigning London's streets on a grid pattern with wide boulevards and arteries, a pattern that was later used in Haussmann's renovation of Paris and in many American cities, for which Wren and others also submitted proposals. The King decided both the prospective cost of building and compensation, and the need to quickly restore trade and population meant the city would be rebuilt on the original property lines. Hooke was given the task of surveying the ruins to identify foundations, street edges and property boundaries. He was closely involved with the drafting of an Act of Common Council (April 1667), which set out the process by which the original foundations would be formally recognised and certificated. According to Lisa Jardine: "in the four weeks from the 4th of October [Hooke] helped map the fire-damaged area, began compiling a Land Information System for London, and drew up building regulations for an Act of Parliament to govern the rebuilding". Stephen Inwood said: "the surveyors' reports, which were generally written by Hooke, show an admirable ability to get to the nub of intricate neighbourly squabbles, and to produce a crisp and judicious recommendation from a tangle of claims and counter-claims".