William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, had a unique vision for Philadelphia. He planned the city on a grid layout with wide streets and five public squares, meant to serve as parks. These squares were intended as public open spaces, a radical idea for a 17th-century city. Penn’s design was inspired by his desire for a “greene country towne,” which would offer healthy living conditions, away from the crowded and disease-prone cities of Europe at the time. This plan was part of Penn’s larger goal of creating a city that embodied Quaker ideals of equality, cooperation, and religious tolerance.