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Wow, I am really schocked by these responses. I always thought Seattle was the most urban.
I was thinking the exact same thing. And I have lived in Pittsburgh. None of these other cities remotely come close to Seattle as far as "looking urban". Overall "urbanity". I'm not too sure. I haven't explored Denver enough or Seattle. Minneapolis is one of the few cities that I haven't been too. So from my experiences with the others as well as my educated guess on Minneapolis.
I would say, my list would look like this:
1. Seattle
2. Minneapolis/ or Pittsburgh
4. Denver,
From my travels Denver is too knew looking. It doesn't have the wear and tear as some of these seemingly older cities like Pittsburgh and or Minneapolis-St. Paul. I am throwing St. Paul in there too because, let's face it, you can't ignore the fact that their so close.
I think Denver's downtown is slightly larger than Pittsburgh's and or Minneapolis's. However, Pitt and Minneapolis seem older. That's why I list them as more "Urban".
I think Seattle stands alone. I really don't see the others as really comparitive at least aesthetically. Their downtown is what makes them look so much more Urban. But that's just my two cents.
I would put Seattle rightfully so up against Atlanta, San Fran, Boston, Philly etc for Urban. Now mind you, I am very influenced by the size of their downtown. And "urbanity" is more than just how big or how little a downtown is.
But we're talking about the whole city not just the downtowns and when you mix in Residential neighborhoods Seattle doesn't touch Pittsburghs, Seattle residental neighborhoods scream suburban to me.....
But we're talking about the whole city not just the downtowns and when you mix in Residential neighborhoods Seattle doesn't touch Pittsburghs, Seattle residental neighborhoods scream suburban to me.....
I think you have a point here, but it's true that you have to distinguish between Seattle's neighborhoods. The inner neighborhoods are pretty dense residential, and Seattle has an urban village growth policy, so even some of further out neighborhoods have clusters of dense residential.
But it's true that large swaths of seattle residential are single family homes, something Pittsburgh has much less of.
I was thinking the exact same thing. And I have lived in Pittsburgh. None of these other cities remotely come close to Seattle as far as "looking urban". Overall "urbanity". I'm not too sure. I haven't explored Denver enough or Seattle. Minneapolis is one of the few cities that I haven't been too. So from my experiences with the others as well as my educated guess on Minneapolis.
I would say, my list would look like this:
1. Seattle
2. Minneapolis/ or Pittsburgh
4. Denver,
From my travels Denver is too knew looking. It doesn't have the wear and tear as some of these seemingly older cities like Pittsburgh and or Minneapolis-St. Paul. I am throwing St. Paul in there too because, let's face it, you can't ignore the fact that their so close.
I think Denver's downtown is slightly larger than Pittsburgh's and or Minneapolis's. However, Pitt and Minneapolis seem older. That's why I list them as more "Urban".
I think Seattle stands alone. I really don't see the others as really comparitive at least aesthetically. Their downtown is what makes them look so much more Urban. But that's just my two cents.
I would put Seattle rightfully so up against Atlanta, San Fran, Boston, Philly etc for Urban. Now mind you, I am very influenced by the size of their downtown. And "urbanity" is more than just how big or how little a downtown is.
I would not put Seattle in the same class as San Fransico, Boston, or Philly for urbanity. It doesn't have anywhere near the urban fabric of those cities.
I would not put Seattle in the same class as San Fransico, Boston, or Philly for urbanity. It doesn't have anywhere near the urban fabric of those cities.
I agree and everybody after me has pretty much said what I was trying too. Only going by what the downtown looks like, but beyond that "urbanity" becomes quite subjective. And I agree with what everyone has said after me. Milwaukee, outside of their downtown might look and feel more Urban than Seattle. However, you have to judge the whole package. Not just the residential neighborhoods but the downtown too. Because of that, the distinction to what the word "urban" itself even means is going to be defined as many ways as there are people to define it....
I agree and everybody after me has pretty much said what I was trying too. Only going by what the downtown looks like, but beyond that "urbanity" becomes quite subjective. And I agree with what everyone has said after me. Milwaukee, outside of their downtown might look and feel more Urban than Seattle. However, you have to judge the whole package. Not just the residential neighborhoods but the downtown too. Because of that, the distinction to what the word "urban" itself even means is going to be defined as many ways as there are people to define it....
Hope that makes any more sense.
I would not say Milwaukee is more urban than Seattle outside of downtown. Like I said, Seattle actually has some pretty dense inner-neighborhoods and even some pretty dense outer nodes.
But overall Seattle does have a lot more single family areas than SF, Boston, etc.
But it's not like Seattle is just downtown surrounded by suburb. There is definitely a progression, and some pretty dense neighborhoods in between.
Just look through the different albums, Pittsburgh is 100% oldschool urban in nature. Seattle is so huge that it is bound to have a number of urban sections...but basically all of Pittsburgh IS urban by comparison, we're talking a sort of baby Manhatten type of urban in terms of density and overall feel. Seattle is way to polished compared to the grit that Pittsburgh has, it sort of loses some points due to that.
Grit is not necessarily a requirement for urbanity. Cities have never been built with the intention of being gritty. The fact that we in the US tend to associate grit with urbanity is a product of what we allowed our cities to become in the second half of the 20th century, it is not the natural state of being.
Just look through the different albums, Pittsburgh is 100% oldschool urban in nature. Seattle is so huge that it is bound to have a number of urban sections...but basically all of Pittsburgh IS urban by comparison, we're talking a sort of baby Manhatten type of urban in terms of density and overall feel. Seattle is way to polished compared to the grit that Pittsburgh has, it sort of loses some points due to that.
Hard to argue with this, although there are many cities just as big or bigger than Seattle that are much less urban.
But overall you make a good point. Seattle is more like a collage, it really does have everything, some very urban, some industrial, some dense residential, some single family homes, some almost rural, some modern, some gritty, lots of commercial nodes, beaches, forests - it really does feel like a patchwork. If you followed a certain path through the city you could have a very urban experience for quite a long stretch, but on the flip side another path will not feel urban at all.
Pittsburgh's most urban sections don't have as much of a big city feel to me as downtown Seattle, Pioneer Square, Belltown, or Capitol Hill. But overall Pittsburgh does have a much more consistant urban fabric, much more consistant urban residential - I could easily see how one would say it is more urban, although all things considered I think its pretty close.
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