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Evanston is 20 miles away from downtown and is over 10K density per sq. mile. There is no doubt Chicago's density expands far away from the core. The most urban neighborhoods in Chicago I experienced were to the West/Northwest. Streets like Milwaukee, Clark or Clybourn are uber-commercial corridors with wall to wall Mom and Pop stores, restaurants and pubs with housing above. It's pretty impressive actually and most visitors of Chicago never check these areas out because they aren't touristy at all (except Clark St.).
Exactly. My point is that architecture, landscape, and streetscape, in addition to density, all play a role in how "urban" a place feels. Crystal City and Ledroit Park have a roughly equal population density, but yet Ledroit Park feels significantly more urban and is significantly more walkable than Crystal City. When someone asks the question, "Which city is more urban at the street level," I have a hard time not choosing the hometown because it feels so compact...even in Germantown. In Chicago, I just didn't get the sense that I could run over to the corner store and grab a Snickers bar. It feels like you need a car to go everywhere....even over to the very next neighborhood. Maybe it's an optical illusion.
I think it is an optical illusion, or you might not be visiting the right Chicago neighborhoods. I lived in the city for years without a car (until I had to get one for my job) and I got by just fine.
I live 4 miles north of downtown, My address on Walkscore.com give me a 100% ... I'm sure I have no problem getting a snicker's bar without a car. Walk Score of 802 W. Belmont Ave Chicago IL 60657
There's a bunch of corner stores where you can go to just "buy a snicker"
They're all over the place.
I don't know where you where.
And lots of the lots of land are places where abandoned buildings used to stand. Mostly see them in poorer areas of course since there's really no construction going on in those areas.
Chicago has all different types of neighborhoods so saying that city x is more urban than city y would be kinda misleading. Philly's neighborhoods basically look the same but chicago has more of a variety. An I could easily get a video of a vacant lot in north philly . Theyre both urban anyway
Exactly. My point is that architecture, landscape, and streetscape, in addition to density, all play a role in how "urban" a place feels. Crystal City and Ledroit Park have a roughly equal population density, but yet Ledroit Park feels significantly more urban and is significantly more walkable than Crystal City. When someone asks the question, "Which city is more urban at the street level," I have a hard time not choosing the hometown because it feels so compact...even in Germantown. In Chicago, I just didn't get the sense that I could run over to the corner store and grab a Snickers bar. It feels like you need a car to go everywhere....even over to the very next neighborhood. Maybe it's an optical illusion.
I am going to stick to my guns. Philadelphia- although much smaller- is more dense at the core than Chicago.
Philadelphias core is an interrupted 10 miles in length(N-S) and 7 miles in width(E-W). For comparisons sake regarding sheer spatial size Manhattan is approx 20 sq mi. Philadlephias urban core spans 70 sq mi.When they designed Philadelphias grid they didnt waste any space. I cant even imagine how awesome of a city that was 100-150 years ago when it was newly built.
Last edited by rainrock; 10-15-2010 at 05:44 PM..
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. Theyre both urban anyway
