In Tucson, Arizona, most roads running east-west are called streets while roads running north-south are labeled as avenues. But there is a hybrid type unique to this city: the stravenue, a portmanteau of street and avenue used for diagonal roads (abbreviated: Stra). This unusual convention aside, though, designations tend to be more consistent — and you can get pretty far just by understanding a few common ones.

In this Vox video, Phil Edwards takes you on an axonometric tour of an animated built environment, explaining the differences between various types of roads. Spanning city streets, rural routes and intercity connectors, here are some of the highlights:

Road (Rd): any route connecting two points

Street (St): has buildings on both sides, perpendicular to avenues

Avenue (Ave): perpendicular to streets, may have trees on one side

Boulevard (Blvd): wide city street with median and side vegetation

Way (Way): small side street

Lane (La): narrow and often rural

Drive (Dr): long, winding road shaped by natural environments

Terrace (Ter): wraps up and around a slope

Place (Pl): no through traffic or dead end

Court (Ct): ends in a circle or loop (like a plaza or square)

And at the larger, longer and faster end of the spectrum:

Highway (Hwy): major public road connecting larger cities

Freeway (Fwy): two or more lanes in each direction

Expressway (Expy): divided highway for faster traffic

Interstate (I): often goes between states but not always

Turnpike (Tpke): usually an expressway with a toll booth

Beltway (Bltwy): wraps around a city like a belt

Parkway (Pkwy): usually has parkland on the side

Causeway (Cswy): runs on embankment across water or wetland

New roads have endless naming options, which can lead to such depressing examples as Hopeless Way, Broken Dreams Drive and Suffering Street. But the second part — Way, Drive and Street in these instances — has a specific meaning (though uses still vary).

“They’re not just named at random,” explains Edwards. And while “there’s no rule book for building a city there are naming conventions that are surprisingly strong — ones you’ll find across the world. There are exceptions, but if you comb through postal service guides, state departments of transportation and dictionaries you can start to decipher a code behind our roads.”