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Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Easy
Thanks. The article below makes it sound as if the overwhelming majority of federal workers are still remote. Given their significant numbers in DC, does that mean that private employers in DC have nearly fully returned to the office? Or maybe I'm misreading or misunderstanding.
No. The majority of remote workers in the DC region still come from the private sector, at least 56%. DC's still right up there with the Bay Area essentially.
"Federal workers in the Washington region did work remotely at higher rates than other workers in 2022 — 32% versus 25% of for-profit workers, 28% of non-profit workers, and 12% of local, county, and state government workers. However, only 19% of workers working from home in the region in 2022 were federal employees, while 56% were employed by for-profit organizations."
Lol...I wrote a post where I said DC is a top 6 urban core that's head and shoulders above the rest of the US and pointed out several areas where it excels. But I have to leave town because I also highlighted a few areas where I thought a couple other cities have stronger points.
Yeah, it's never going to have a classic urban downtown. But we are comparing downtowns, so I don't see why it's wrong to point that out?
I didn’t say you have to move. I said you’re using a personal criteria for what you consider the best downtowns and you have referenced Boston and Philly for years. Tight streets and architecture are personal preference and different people will say they prefer one type of architecture over the other. It’s too subjective to use apples to apples. If you prefer their style which you have mentioned and said you wished DC was like them, knowing it will never be like them, why not move to those cities?
Tight streets is more of a Boston and Philly thing. NYC streets are similar to DC. Personally, I think human scaled streets that are walkable with lots of air and light are best, but that’s my personal preference. Any street that creates a wind tunnel is not something I would prefer especially in the winter. Walking around DC is very pleasant because of the lack of skyscraper. It’s the type of place where sidewalk cafes can exist anywhere. Building’s that are 50-100 stories aren’t conducive for sidewalk cafes.
The urban core is a completely different discussion. DC doesn’t have the intensity in the center of Downtown DC the other cities do, but it maintains the intensity over a much further distance. If you want to say Downtown Boston and Center City are above Downtown DC for intensity, I agree. DC’s urban core is larger though so the ranking changes when you measure the entire urban core.
This may also come down to personal preference. I prefer a massive urban core over a smaller more intense downtown. I would prefer to be able to travel all over the city and maintain the same level of intensity for miles. It makes the city seem way larger before it drops off. DC excels in that area.
That preference is probably why I consider Navy Yard, Buzzard Point, The Wharf, NOMA, Union Market, Mt. Vernon Triangle, and Northwest One part of downtown. If I have dinner in Union Market with friends and then we head over to The Wharf for drinks, driving is 15 minutes (without traffic). Walking is 1 hr and 2 minutes (2.9 miles). Taking the train is 15 minutes. Having so many neighborhoods built up to this scale makes the city feel larger.
Last edited by MDAllstar; 10-31-2023 at 05:19 AM..
Tight streets is more of a Boston and Philly thing. NYC streets are similar to DC. Personally, I think human scaled streets that are walkable with lots of air and light are best, but that’s my personal preference. Any street that creates a wind tunnel is not something I would prefer especially in the winter. Walking around DC is very pleasant because of the lack of skyscraper. It’s the type of place where sidewalk cafes can exist anywhere. Building’s that are 50-100 stories aren’t conducive for sidewalk cafes.
In Boston the tightest curviest streets are best for walking. Air coming from underground vents is warm and awesome. Were not on a grid so there's very veyr minimal possibility for wind tunnels. What you have instead is a pretty black top heavy and lowkey heated street which is a massive relief over being exposed to the elements.
TO put that on a personal level walking on Trement Street i nthe winter
Additionally even on slightly wider streets its insanely easy to cross on foot as a pedestrain and duck into an alley, under an over hang, or stand on a heat vent. All options within like 15 feet of me here.
Imo street width is a personal preference. Particularly when it comes to sidewalks/setbacks. But I think street level engagement is more objective or at least universally preferred. Older buildings tend to have better street level engagement than modern buildings. Generally speaking downtowns with more prewar architecture will be preferable to more modern downtowns.
In Boston the tightest curviest streets are best for walking. Air coming from underground vents is warm and awesome. Were not on a grid so there's very veyr minimal possibility for wind tunnels. What you have instead is a pretty black top heavy and lowkey heated street which is a massive relief over being exposed to the elements.
TO put that on a personal level walking on Trement Street i nthe winter
Additionally even on slightly wider streets its insanely easy to cross on foot as a pedestrain and duck into an alley, under an over hang, or stand on a heat vent. All options within like 15 feet of me here.
I'll just back BostonBornMassMade up here by noting that wind tunnels are actually pretty rare on Center City Philadelphia streets because the building heights vary. Usually, you only get wind tunnels when a street is lined with uniformly tall buildings.
I don't think I've even experienced wind-tunnel conditions on JFK Boulevard, the street where I'd say they would be most likely.
In Boston the tightest curviest streets are best for walking. Air coming from underground vents is warm and awesome. Were not on a grid so there's very veyr minimal possibility for wind tunnels. What you have instead is a pretty black top heavy and lowkey heated street which is a massive relief over being exposed to the elements.
TO put that on a personal level walking on Trement Street i nthe winter
Additionally even on slightly wider streets its insanely easy to cross on foot as a pedestrain and duck into an alley, under an over hang, or stand on a heat vent. All options within like 15 feet of me here.
Well, part of this is also the difference in weather between DC and Philly/Boston. DC is rarely cold enough to even get snow these days. We haven't had a winter cold enough for snow in years. They will say it's going to snow, but it ends up raining instead now. Our weather is very similar to Charlotte and Atlanta.
Imo street width is a personal preference. Particularly when it comes to sidewalks/setbacks. But I think street level engagement is more objective or at least universally preferred. Older buildings tend to have better street level engagement than modern buildings. Generally speaking downtowns with more prewar architecture will be preferable to more modern downtowns.
DC has more sidewalk cafes with seating than most cities because the sidewalks are so big. I don't think Philly and Boston really compare to DC in that regard. Is that what you mean by orientation or are you talking about the setbacks which would make sense for DC since the sidewalks are so large? I guess you have to pick your poison.
Imo street width is a personal preference. Particularly when it comes to sidewalks/setbacks. But I think street level engagement is more objective or at least universally preferred. Older buildings tend to have better street level engagement than modern buildings. Generally speaking downtowns with more prewar architecture will be preferable to more modern downtowns.
This, 100%. In my view, it's because older buildings are much more likely to have been built with an actual sense of creativity, craftsmanship and more natural/solid materials that give them permanence. It's why preservation is incredibly important.
This honestly used to be the norm in cities across the US a century ago, but sadly, these practices are few and far between in new construction today. American society has lost concern for how good architecture makes good communities.
Here's a not so fun fact. The US used to run on small stores in small storefronts. Shoes from one, bread from another, paint from another. This was true in both downtowns and neighborhood districts. Now that that's fallen dramatically, there's much less opportunity for traditional main streets to thrive...even before WFH and the internets. It's why sidewalk retail outside of a few destination districts -- demanded by cities even when the market won't support it -- is commonly rented at a loss.
Well, part of this is also the difference in weather between DC and Philly/Boston. DC is rarely cold enough to even get snow these days. We haven't had a winter cold enough for snow in years. They will say it's going to snow, but it ends up raining instead now. Our weather is very similar to Charlotte and Atlanta.
DC has milder winters than both, but the winter weather between DC and Philadelphia is more similar than Philadelphia and Boston.
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