One of the most notable features of most major European cities are what I call "promenades", the large, monumental streets with a heavy pedestrian component, often between two major monuments with many others in between. The most famous ones would be something like the Champs-Élysées in Paris and the Via Cavour in Rome, but also Istiklal Caddesi in Istanbul and Odós Stadíou in Athens. There is clearly an element of intercity competition in the creation of these streets, but what drove it to create this particular form?

My other questions would be whether this was part of the same tendency towards the creation of pedestrian spaces, often along rivers, such as along the banks of the Seine in Paris and Thames in London? Also, what sort of activity (commercial, ceremonial, etc) would be taking place along them when they were created, and to what extent were they created with that activity in mind?