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L.A. isn't the worst downtown per se, but it's definitely underwhelming considering the town's size. I'm shocked that Detroit hasn't been mentioned yet.
L. A. has a good downtown, the developement there is quite beautiful. It just doesn't have a downtown area comparable to the expanse of the rest of the city area as a whole. Las Vegas is a city. It's the world leader in it's field by far, and New York doesn't have an answer for it, so, you should consider it. Blows your nightlife all to hell, and isn't that what's important?
Sure some of the casinos are nice, but theyre just facades, replicas of something that is somewhere else in the world, all mishmashed together. Fremont (old Fremont) is decent, but new Vegas sucks worse than a $3 hooker, of which there are plenty in that nasty city. Vegas is a giant version of a bug-zapper. Flick on pretty lights at night and watch the humans congregate, get fat and wasted, then gamble away most of their dinero in a building that is in the middle of an oven-like desert that is built to look like its the NYC skyline, or a Egyptian pyramid, or a castle, or a Eiffel Tower. Vegas is, by far, the tackiest city on the planet.
Phoenix hands down in my opinion
LA should be a lot larger for a city of it's size. But that's the LA culture.
Boise, Tucson, & El Paso are not major cities.
And BLS5555 I was in downtown STL on Saturday night and it was popping.
And Colts you can't honestly say that Indy (if that's where you're from) is better than St. Louis.
And...South-to-West, I agree with you. Minorities and crime have nothing to do with the vibrancy of a downtown.
I love dt LA. Nice condos with more to come, Nice shopping whether in a dept. store or along Broadway. One of my friends lives in dt LA. When I visit I love the pulse especially in the garment district and along Broadway. Maybe not the best but totally underrated imo. Dt Houston is coming into its own. Its a work in progress but with the added lightrail, theater district, new hotels and condos, Toyota Center, Minuate Maid, new restaurants, a new park coming and a new shopping area coming things are slowly falling into place in dt Houston.
I agree with mpope, Downtown LA is inexcusable. You can't be the second largest city in the country--as well as one of the largest in the world--and only now focus on revitalizing your CBD.
I love dt LA. Nice condos with more to come, Nice shopping whether in a dept. store or along Broadway. One of my friends lives in dt LA. When I visit I love the pulse especially in the garment district and along Broadway. Maybe not the best but totally underrated imo. Dt Houston is coming into its own. Its a work in progress but with the added lightrail, theater district, new hotels and condos, Toyota Center, Minuate Maid, new restaurants, a new park coming and a new shopping area coming things are slowly falling into place in dt Houston.
I never said the downtowns weren't nice. They're beautiful. But they need more density and 24-hour activity. One should have the choice of never having to leave downtown Houston except to go shopping or to a football game (on subway or rail).
I agree with mpope, Downtown LA is inexcusable. You can't be the second largest city in the country--as well as one of the largest in the world--and only now focus on revitalizing your CBD.
LAs Downtown I agree is subpar for a city it's size. But, I'm beginning to wonder, is that really relevant?
I used to be one of those people that disliked the idea of LA because I thought it was a sprawling lifeless collection of surburbs. How, wrong. It's actually quiet urban with a density twice that of Houston or Atlanta and more than even midwest industrial cities like Detroit, Pittsburg, Cinncinatti, Cleveland or Minneapolis.
LA has Hollywood which is loaded with tourist sites and nightlife.
Beverly Hills and Century City both of which are loaded with top notch hotels and shopping.
Santa Monica has a vibrant pedestrian friendly center with scores of good shops restaurants and entertainment.
Westwood surprisingly has so many highrises, shops, etc. it's been titled a 'mini manhattan'.
One thing missing is lack of easy public transit (or easy transportation period).
Guess what Im saying is to answer the question with another question. Is a traditional dominate central downtown really necessary to make a city a good place?
I know I feel sorry for people who visit my town Atlanta and only go downtown. But, if they would also explore Midtown, Buckhead, Virginia Highlands, Little 5 Points, etc. I'm sure they would have a great time.
LAs Downtown I agree is subpar for a city it's size. But, I'm beginning to wonder, is that really relevant?
I used to be one of those people that disliked the idea of LA because I thought it was a sprawling lifeless collection of surburbs. How, wrong. It's actually quiet urban with a density twice that of Houston or Atlanta and more than even midwest industrial cities like Detroit, Pittsburg, Cinncinatti, Cleveland or Minneapolis.
LA has Hollywood which is loaded with tourist sites and nightlife.
Beverly Hills and Century City both of which are loaded with top notch hotels and shopping.
Santa Monica has a vibrant pedestrian friendly center with scores of good shops restaurants and entertainment.
Westwood surprisingly has so many highrises, shops, etc. it's been titled a 'mini manhattan'.
One thing missing is lack of easy public transit (or easy transportation period).
Guess what Im saying is to answer the question with another question. Is a traditional dominate central downtown really necessary to make a city a good place?
I know I feel sorry for people who visit my town Atlanta and only go downtown but if they would also explore Midtown, Buckhead, Virginia Highlands, Little 5 Points, etc. I'm sure they would have a great time.
I think you're right when you mention connectivity and accessibility to all areas of a city via transit. A lot of European cities don't have "downtowns" in the tradional American sense and instead have several districts, which are almost always easily accessible by transit.
LA has made strides in expanding its Metro, however the city still has a ways to go given its size and magnitude.
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