Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I would say that Hollywood and Coral Gables are somewhat similar. Not exactly similar, but certainly similar than comparing Coral Gables with Orange County.
Hollywood is a weird urban/suburban hybrid, like Coral Gables. I'm not comfortable calling it urban (way too auto-oriented and density drops off too soon), but it definitely isn't suburban (very dense, many apartment complexes, and some pedestrian-oriented blocks). Coral Gables is similar, though somewhat less intense.
Coral Gables is half the size and half as dense as a suburb 26 miles from DTLA. Most of these urban giants being touted here are borderline rural 25 miles from their core, and most barely hit the density, over a comparable area of land, that Hollywood does.
Coral Gables is half the size and half as dense as a suburb 26 miles from DTLA. Most of these urban giants being touted here are borderline rural 25 miles from their core, and most barely hit the density, over a comparable area of land, that Hollywood does.
Coral Gables has a strip (sort of like Sunset or even Hollywood proper DT as its not that big) the difference lies in the residential density which wanes quicker in Coral Gables. LA definately maintians this density but to many it just feels and sort of functions differently than do more traditional urban places. Just is what it is
Coral Gables has a strip (sort of like Sunset or even Hollywood proper DT as its not that big) the difference lies in the residential density which wanes quicker in Coral Gables. LA definately maintians this density but to many it just feels and sort of functions differently than do more traditional urban places. Just is what it is
Different function != Suburban
But I agree, L.A. is unique among cities with its residential density. Not a bad thing.
Coral Gables has a strip (sort of like Sunset or even Hollywood proper DT as its not that big) the difference lies in the residential density which wanes quicker in Coral Gables. LA definately maintians this density but to many it just feels and sort of functions differently than do more traditional urban places. Just is what it is
Which in turn means there is a significantly higher proportion of residents within a quick walk of said commercial strip. Again, I fail to see how these high-density residential corridors in Los Angeles differ in any way from high-density rowhouse corridors that are exclusively residential / lack retail.
And again, it's not as if the North - South corridors in Hollywood are lacking retail or pedestrian friendliness. In Hollywood, the typical resident is within a 1/4-1/2 mile walk of two-to-four commercial strips.
Which in turn means there is a significantly higher proportion of residents within a quick walk of said commercial strip. Again, I fail to see how these high-density residential corridors differ in any way from high-density rowhouse corridors that are exclusively residential / lack retail.
And again, it's not as if the North - South corridors in Hollywood are lacking retail or pedestrian friendliness. In Hollywood, the typical resident is within a 1/4-1/2 mile walk of two-to-four commercial strips.
would agree, but visually it more resembles a different styling. LA is decieving in its population density.
Another thing is in general (not always) much the development is more single mode. Residential and commercial than some more traditionally dense places. Again this is what it is, but is more palbable. And even the commercial just appears different. In general looks more like a coral gables than a Boston if that makes sense
to Ray - it gives off a more suburban look/feel - less distinction in LAs case if that makes sense and also is more amenable tothe automobile, which in the NE is a more suburban characteristic. A lot of LA feels in some in between space - not as muc as a DFW or Houston but has some characteristics of both
But I agree, L.A. is unique among cities with its residential density. Not a bad thing.
It is kind of a bad thing. The potential benefits of density are fast and extensive public transit, auto-indepedence, and an active pedestrian life. Los Angeles does not offer any of those things to any significant degree. If I want to live in a city where nearly everyone drives, I could live in any number of American suburbs. So to that extent, L.A. does function much more like the suburbs than a Chicago or NYC.
Coral Gables is half the size and half as dense as a suburb 26 miles from DTLA. Most of these urban giants being touted here are borderline rural 25 miles from their core, and most barely hit the density, over a comparable area of land, that Hollywood does.
You don't just compare areas by blindly listing residential density stats.
The least dense areas of Manhattan have the highest built density. Wall Street and Midtown are the least dense neighborhoods in Manhattan, going by your definition. They are less dense than many parts of Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and even Jersey.
So are you really going to claim that Midtown Manhattan is less dense than Jersey because it's true that the residential density is lower in some Midtown tracts?
And obviously not all residential density is equal. You have to look at the quality of the residential density, and the functionality.
The issue in LA is that the denser neighborhoods often "punch well below their weight", because they function as if they're far less dense.
In most cases (working class areas) they're basically dense because of very large household sizes. You basically have older garden-style apartment buildings, mixed in with strip malls, that achieve very high densities because of large families from Central America or wherever.
In a few affluent Westside neighborhoods you have good density, but it's basically Century City-style highrise autotopia, or that stuff you see around Cedars Sinai and the like (dense, but not really pedestrian friendly or anything, and everything is built for auto access, even if hidden in the back alley or whatever).
So, yeah, the best LA density doesn't really compare with Boston/DC/Philly/SF/Chicago (I won't even get into NYC, which is a totally different beast). LA achieves the same residential density stats as Boston/DC/Philly/SF/Chicago, but isn't close to the same quality, because of functionality issues. The density is mostly (or at least largely) a function of higher household sizes.
I agree, BTW, that Hollywood is denser and more urban than Coral Gables. I don't think that Hollywood is really pedestrian oriented and classicly urban, though. It's more of a hybrid, and is closer to Miami neighborhoods (say Coconut Grove or parts of Miami Beach moreso than Coral Gables) than it is to the other cities under discussion.
would agree, but visually it more resembles a different styling. LA is decieving in its population density.
Another thing is in general (not always) much the development is more single mode. Residential and commercial than some more traditionally dense places. Again this is what it is, but is more palbable. And even the commercial just appears different. In general looks more like a coral gables than a Boston if that makes sense
Yeah this is true, there is more single-use in LA than other cities. The codes that caused this (not in place till the 50s or so) have mostly been wiped away. You can see nearly all new development in LA is mixed use now. For instance this: http://www.blvd6200.com/Pages/Home.aspx is going into one of the most notorious series of parking lots in Hollywood.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
