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Chocolate City!!! D.C. is home to the largest African American Mega Clubs in the country and the only African American clubs to make the top 100 list of club revenue in the nation at 10-15 million annual revenue. It's the place to be for a black man. D.C. baby!!!
Completely agree, I wish more cities were like DC in this regard. Honestly, I had zero Black friends before I moved to DC, here some of my closest friends are black.
I've lived here 4 years, I've learned to have a love/hate relationship with the city; I am not a fan of the development going up, and the complete lack of creativity in the city, but I understand where DC is coming from historically, so this is definitely an improvement.
That is very true. Some cities have a more urban approach than others. It has a major effect on the design principals region-wide. It's the reason D.C. is building urban and dense all over the region. We don't build non-new urbanist development here in D.C. anymore in the suburbs. Everything is built dense. It's our style. Gaithersburg basically started new urbanism and has more new urbanism developments per capita than any city in the nation. Our metro system probably has more to do with our ability to build dense everywhere region-wide than anything else. Without it, we would probably be like everywhere else. Stuck with non-premium transit outside city limits which lends to lower density. Metro has been the biggest redevelopment tool in the history of this country for region-wide development. I don't think anything could have such a major effect on the ability to build dense way outside the city core. The planners who built metro probably had no idea how much it would be able to transform the suburbs when they designed it. It is allowing people to live way in the suburbs and take the train one or two stops for work or play just like people do in the city core. What a transformation it will be!
A "more urban approach"? You mean a "New Urbanist" approach, right? I have to disagree that "density" and "urban" and "New Urbanism" are all the same thing.
And btw, you are definitely overstating the share of high density/multifamily construction as a percentage of total construction in the DC suburbs. Like anywhere else, the vast majority of construction in the past 10 years in the DC metro area has been single family homes at the edge of the metro area.
I'm still not sure that I agree with your hypothesis completely. If LA ever becomes "hot" again, which is always possible because of the weather, and grows at a similar percentage to DC then you could perhaps see a similar boom to DC over a much larger area. Especially in the basin. I don't think that will necessarily happen however, but I do see a long and steady trend of increasing density. There's really no other choice other than to stop growing and personally I think that cities are either growing or dying. It's hard to stand pat.
I agree L.A. will always grow and will always get better and denser. I said it will take longer to notice increased density over a continuous city wide feel compared to D.C. when all the development is squeezed into Metro corridors and the 37 mile 8 line streetcar network China is building in D.C. are concentrating density like mountains or rivers do in other cities. You can think planners for that though. Density increases are noticed much more here in a much shorter timeframe than they will in L.A. This is largely based on our development pattern. One is sprawling in L.A. and one is concentrated in D.C. You can build dense in one area of L.A., but what about the rest, that's the problem.
A "more urban approach"? You mean a "New Urbanist" approach, right? I have to disagree that "density" and "urban" and "New Urbanism" are all the same thing.
And btw, you are definitely overstating the share of high density/multifamily construction as a percentage of total construction in the DC suburbs. Like anywhere else, the vast majority of construction in the past 10 years in the DC metro area has been single family homes at the edge of the metro area.
I wasn't talking about the last 10 years. I'm talking about the last 3 years and going forward. Everything is going urban which is what all the regional governments have decided to do. Maryland went as far as passing this recently:
This defunds ($$$) all exurban growth at the state level except in existing communities (infill) PlanMaryland
Look at our skyline.... We have nothing in common with the rest of the nation.
Consider that a good thing. There was just something magical about looking out my hotel window and seeing highrises encircle DC insteal of being in it. The form is unique. Cherish it, don't wish any different of it.
I wasn't talking about the last 10 years. I'm talking about the last 3 years and going forward. Everything is going urban which is what all the regional governments have decided to do.
Got it. We'll have to wait to see how effective it all is, but since the recession exurban development has halted pretty much nationwide so there's a good chance this will actually happen.
Consider that a good thing. There was just something magical about looking out my hotel window and seeing highrises encircle DC insteal of being in it. The form is unique. Cherish it, don't wish any different of it.
We don't! We just defend it when all of you attack it. D.C. for the last 50 years has very much been a "us against the world city". You can ask anyone who has been in D.C. longer than the last 8 years and they will tell you that. We truly feel unconnected to the rest of you in many ways culturally. Being that this city culturally is a black city, many white residents probably didn't feel that way but they have been such a small minority they didn't add much to the city culturally.
We don't! We just defend it when all of you attack it. D.C. for the last 50 years has very much been a "us against the world city". You can ask anyone who has been in D.C. longer than the last 8 years and they will tell you that. We truly feel unconnected to the rest of you in many ways culturally.
Got it. We'll have to wait to see how effective it all is, but since the recession exurban development has halted pretty much nationwide so there's a good chance this will actually happen.
We don't! We just defend it when all of you attack it.
Listen, I have to just get this out of my system because I hate being "that guy" living a life of lie. I don't know anything other than being blunt, whether its hurtful or not I really don't care.
I really liked and enjoyed DC. I think its a glorious city on the come up and I can see myself living there if you factor topography and climate out. Contrast that with how I feel about a city near DC like Phily, a city I'm notoriously known for bashing on these forums, exceeded my expectations but that's because I went there with none. What I saw was a city that offered plenty of amenities and things to do but it got boring quick. I learned a lot but I was bored when I was learning about their Quaker history and the city just came off unattractive with the broken down roads, patchy sidewalks, patchy buildings, very industrial look to and feel to it, rusty bridges, mold on ceilings. Boston is just as old as Phily but it looks a million times more up to date and Phily doesn't even begin to compare to DC which as a city I enjoyed how clean it was, I truly left feeling that they POWERWASH everything in DC at night. That's how clean it was.
Needless to say I'm not implying Phily is a bad city but its one of those cities on this forum I feel the need to put in check when people put it on the pedestal of the elite leagues, which it doesn't belong in IMO. I am grateful to the Philadelphians for their exhausted attention in the Phily forum, recommending to me places to see, and it exceeded my expectations but I didn't walk away feeling it was anything but average.
DC belongs in it but even it has its flaws just like San Francisco has its flaws or Chicago has its flaws.
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D.C. is home to the largest African American Mega Clubs in the country and the only African American clubs to make the top 100 list of club revenue in the nation at 10-15 million annual revenue. It's the place to be for a black man. D.C. baby!!!
D.C. for the last 50 years has very much been a "us against the world city". You can ask anyone who has been in D.C. longer than the last 8 years and they will tell you that. We truly feel unconnected to the rest of you in many ways culturally. Being that this city culturally is a black city, many white residents probably didn't feel that way but they have been such a small minority they didn't add much to the city culturally.
