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Not everybody is a sucker for urbanness. It's a good bet to say most people in real life actually prefer suburban.
I don't think most people prefer them, but most people can more easily afford them. Survey after survey shows that people want to live in walkable communities, but suburban car-centric areas like Buckhead are normally cheaper than urban walkable areas like Santa Monica. We all know that demand increases cost, therefore demand for walkability and urbanism is much higher.
Exactly. I left that out because it's not part of the city limits, but yes, the two flow into each other pretty well. With both centered on the beach mainly, riding a bike between the two along the bike path is a breeze. From Washington to Montana it's about 4-5 miles and is almost entirely built up with things to do and see and walk/bike to.
I was surprised to see it built as dense as it is, but it could be much better. The fact that there's not already light rail or subway going from SA to Hollywood/DTLA is crazy.
I don't think most people prefer them, but most people can more easily afford them. Survey after survey shows that people want to live in walkable communities, but suburban car-centric areas like Buckhead are normally cheaper than urban walkable areas like Santa Monica. We all know that demand increases cost, therefore demand for walkability and urbanism is much higher.
Well LA as a whole is more expensive than Atlanta (and even a lot of other cities that are more urban than it), but make no mistake, Buckhead is not cheap. I don't think people actually know that the older residential area of Buckhead, consisting of huge, expensive mansions, predates the commercial area and is what set the tone for newer development in terms of exclusivity, desirability, and cost.
I was surprised to see it built as dense as it is, but it could be much better. The fact that there's not already light rail or subway going from SA to Hollywood/DTLA is crazy.
Basically Santa Monica won't allow tall buildings to be built, citing traffic concerns. Nevermind the fact that if more people could actually live IN the city, more people would be walking or biking places instead of driving to the restaurants, shops, offices, etc. It's just old rich white people who have lived there for decades and don't want new people moving in.
Venice won't change much because it has a lot of older, historic bungalow homes that would need be torn down. I don't think the city is ready to lose even more history.
The Expo Line will soon end at 4th Street in downtown Santa Monica, 4 blocks from the beach. It will run from downtown SaMo directly to DTLA, and then with a transfer at the end of the line to the Red Line, a rider can get to Hollywood from there.
True, though technically Santa Monica is its own city.
Basically it has everything to support itself though, Buckhead would be nothing with Midtown and Downtown. Santa Monica has enough housing, tourism, nightlife, and shopping to support itself.
Well LA as a whole is more expensive than Atlanta (and even a lot of other cities that are more urban than it), but make no mistake, Buckhead is not cheap. I don't think people actually know that the older residential area of Buckhead, consisting of huge, expensive mansions, predates the commercial area and is what set the tone for newer development in terms of exclusivity, desirability, and cost.
Exactly. While now a part of the Atlanta History Center, the Swan House is the epitome of old money residential in Buckhead that will never exist in SM. Wealthy families built Summer estates to escape the heat of the City (Buckhead is a higher elevation than Downtown and HEAVILY forested), and many are 20+ acres. It's pretty unique for a major City, and drives our density numbers down dramatically. I wouldn't trade these neighborhoods for all of the density in the world, though - which SO many don't understand.
Basically it has everything to support itself though, Buckhead would be nothing with Midtown and Downtown. Santa Monica has enough housing, tourism, nightlife, and shopping to support itself.
Buckhead is similar; not much in the way of tourism though and while nightlife is tamer these days than it was during the heyday of Buckhead Village, there are still plenty of nightlife options present.
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