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FWIW. Yesterday Amtrak just got $500 M federal funding for a high speed rail connecting Manhattan to Center City. 36 minute commute.
Will be fascinating to see the ramifications this has on Philadephia. The avg commute into Manhattan is currently 42 minutes.
I think it's for the entire NE corridor - Boston to DC
$2 billion in rail projects announced; Northeast to get largest share for high-speed upgrades - The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/amtrak-15-states-get-2-billion-that-florida-lost-after-governor-canceled-high-speed-trains/2011/05/09/AFZDrBXG_story.html - broken link)
Actually, you selected images of what I call corridors in DC, not canyons (unlike your images for NYC and Philly). I will agree with you on one thing, however - this topic is played.
Philly's DT is really small so it should not even be compared with DT DC. When Philly reaches that critical mass like DC, then maybe we can revisit this topic. On a closing note, I still haven't seen an area in CC as vibrant as Chinatown/Gallery Place at all hours of the night.
Last edited by DC's Finest; 05-10-2011 at 12:07 PM..
On the edge of downtown, looking south down 14th Street at Thomas Circle. This area is vibrant on week nights featuring upscale clubs, hotels and restaurants like DC Coast, Lima, Lotus, The Park, Tuscana West and K Street Lounge to name a few. Out of the picture to the west and east are more canyons of buildings strething for at least a mile in each direction.
Actually, you selected images of what I call corridors in DC, not canyons (unlike your images for NYC and Philly). I will agree with you on one thing, however - this topic is played.
Maybe if we were discussing hallways in a 18th century mansion you could use corridors however, this is not a Sherlock Holmes novel and we are talking about real buildings that form a wall creating an unbreakable urban fabric for miles in a grid format. Another thing you need to realize, anything over 7 stories is a high rise. There is a difference between a skyscraper and a high rise.
Maybe if we were discussing hallways in a 18th century mansion you could use corridors however, this is not a Sherlock Holmes novel and we are talking about real buildings that form a wall creating an unbreakable urban fabric for miles in a grid format. Another thing you need to realize, anything over 7 stories is a high rise. There is a difference between a skyscraper and a high rise.
Your canyons are my corridors. You are welcomed to them.
And I repeat your assessment - this topic is played.
Your canyons are my corridors. You are welcomed to them.
That is fine. Some people believe people have been abducted by aliens too. There has to be a minority somewhere and those people including you have every right to believe what they choose. That is what is great about opinions.
A tremendous amount, actually. The term "urban neighborhood" has typically been taken to mean a neighborhood that is dense, populated with people (likely some combination of workers, residents and visitors), walkable and lively (i.e. a staging area for commerce, public spaces, and so forth). It's the reason why Penn Quarter is considered an "urban neighborhood" whereas a suburban office park is not, even though they may both have large volumes of people at given times.
Your definition of "urban" appears to be rather uni-dimensional: if there are a lot of office buildings and workers, apparently the neighborhood can be considered "urban". Whereas that is merely one component of what qualifies a neighborhood as urban; the other qualities mentioned above are often found lacking in a number of areas throughout downtown.
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And your Tyson's reference is ridiculous at best. Tyson is a suburban office park. DT DC is a continuous grid of building after building of office canyons. So what if they are only 13 stories tall.
Well, first off, if you're going to rebut my argument, at least rebut points I've actually made rather than a strawman you've concocted. I've never once mentioned the height of DC's office buildings as either enhancing or detracting from downtown DC's urban qualities--in fact, a few comments up from yours you'll find me arguing precisely the opposite: that building height has very little whatsoever to do with defining an area's urban qualities.
And we agree that considering Tyson's to be an urban neighborhood is ridiculous--you'll note, again, that in my response I said precisely that. However, using the criteria you yourself have established--a great density and geographic area filled with office buildings--Tyson's would have to be considered "urban". It has a lot of office space--top 15 in the country, actually. And it continues to grow. But why do we not consider Tyson's to be an urban center? Because it lacks many of the other qualities I discussed above.
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You keep mentioning the Mall and Federal Triangle? I don't understand what this has to do with DC's commercial office space.
Because those areas are either included in or immediately border downtown DC, and heavily influence the look, feel and vibrancy of the area. Downtown DC is more than 7th Street and H Street--it contains many blocks of buildings that effectively shut down after 6 PM and the office workers head home. The Mall is a wonderful open public space, but it contributes very little to DC's urban aesthetics.
Look, it's no mark against DC to say that its downtown doesn't top Center City or central San Francisco. The four or five cities DC lags behind are the most vibrant, energetic, enjoyable urban centers that this country has to offer. It doesn't mean that DC isn't a fantastic city, or that we don't have a tremendously enjoyable downtown area. But some perspective is in order--DC has got a ways to go if it wants its downtown to be considered on par with the Philadelphia's and San Francisco's of the country, even with all of those office building canyons.
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