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Which area is Better
*for the sake of Comparison add Somerville, Watertown, and Arlington MA to make 260,000 people in 19 sq Miles
Arts-
Urban-
Downtown Envoirment-
Diversity(sorry hard to do, Colleges)-
Transit-
Independant Identity-
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Since you’re obliged to put neighboring cities of Cambridge in for the sake of comparison you could also throw neighboring Berkeley into the mix for Oakland adding the collegiate element and you have a real match here.
Arts- Not informed on the arts in Oakland enough to judge
Urban- Both are very urban, I give a slight edge on Cambridge as its woven into the urban fabric and synergy of Boston and is in itself very dense, while Oakland has density, it also has a bit more space and the Bay having a wider gap from San Francisco.
Downtown Environment- Oakland's is OK, Cambridge doesn't really have a downtown per se, but revolves around several Squares. If judging by Central Square alone, then not very flattering, but between Harvard and Porter Square I'd give that an edge over both downtown Oakland and Telegraph Ave in Berkeley.
Diversity(sorry hard to do, Colleges)- They are both very diverse, I'd see crunching the numbers as very arbitrary as they both have people from all over the world.
Transit- Both have excellent transit.
Independent Identity- I'd say Oakland, given it has a wider gap with the Bay between SF, it gets more media attention, and has its own major league sports franchises.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 12-10-2011 at 12:48 AM..
Yeah, I think Berkeley is a much better comparison to Cambridge, as liberal bastions with an upper-collegiate atmosphere located in major metros.
I lived in Berkeley for years, but would take vote Cambridge the better city as Berkeley has deteriorated severely in recent years. Too much red tape has killed off small business in the city, and they have the vacant storefronts to show for it.
Because Cambridge is a beeter fit than Staten Island.
They're still not really comparable though... one is a college town and the other is a mid-sized city. I get that they're both the second cities of their respective metros, but IMO the similarities end there. I would agree that Berkeley is a far better comparison to Cambridge than Oakland.
They're still not really comparable though... one is a college town and the other is a mid-sized city. I get that they're both the second cities of their respective metros, but IMO the similarities end there. I would agree that Berkeley is a far better comparison to Cambridge than Oakland.
Cambridge has 105,000 People, and it is way more than a College town, its a city with 2 of the top 5 colleges in the country though, with MIT, it helps the Tech, and Biotech fields Booming in the city.
And If you include the immeditly ajacent areas (cambridge is 1/6th the geographic size of OAK) it is roughly the same size.
Cambridge has 105,000 People, and it is way more than a College town, its a city with 2 of the top 5 colleges in the country though, with MIT, it helps the Tech, and Biotech fields Booming in the city.
And If you include the immeditly ajacent areas (cambridge is 1/6th the geographic size of OAK) it is roughly the same size.
It's a college town in the same sense that Berkeley's a college town, hence why I believe Berkeley is a better comparison.
population of Berkeley: 112,580
Land Area: 10.470 sq mi.
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