Discusses historic city centers in Peru, identifying the following five types of urban schemes in Peruvian colonial towns built from 1532 through the 17th century: 1) an undifferentiated grid pattern, such as the Lima <i>cuadrada</i>; 2) the hierarchical grid pattern, as in Pisaq; 3) the military model with a central street and focal point, as found in San Lázaro (Lima), San Jerónimo (Cuzco), and in Pisco; 4) the biblical model inspired in the New Jerusalem theories, such as El Cercado, Lima; 5) the legal model found in some villages in the Mantaro and Colca valleys, inspired by the urban regulations of 1573 by Spain's Philip II. There were some further adaptations, such as: city rings around one of the above models, built for defensive purposes, as found in Trujillo, Lima, and Pisco preexisting territorial infrastructures, such as Inca Street in colonial Lima and other later inclusions in the urban plan, such as Alamedas. The identification of these plans is necessary to the development of urban conservation policies.