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The general consensus is that the 8 most vibrant and urban cities in the US are some order of: NYC, Chi, SF, Philly, Boston, DC, then maybe Seattle and in a very polycentric way LA.
Outside of these cities, which would you say are the most walkable/vibrant, etc?
Austin.
And whoever made that list is very misinformed. Austin should be in the Top Five.
Maybe higher.
Philly and the word vibrant don't belong in the same sentence. Half the cities on that list have wickedd cold winters and sky high crime.
I think you're exaggerating a bit; otherwise they'd rank near the top of the pack given their sizes and densities.
Miami has no cohesiveness with it's non-downtown neighborhoods...a lot of the westside of the downtown Miami area is empty lots waiting to be developed on when the demand comes. Let's not even speak about Brickell....woeful walking experience. Miami Beach(South Beach) is by far the Miami area's most impressive walkable neighborhood.
Baltimore has a good DT by 1970s standards. A walkable corridor for about 3/4 mile along Pratt between Camden Yards, the Inner Harbor, and Fells Point. But then it falls off dramatically because very bad neighborhoods are just a couple blocks away throughout this area. As a 2010s DT, doesn't compare to Seattle, Portland, or Philly.
As usual, TGT11 has overstated Baltimore's problems. Or perhaps, he just hasn't been around for a few years. Booming Federal Hill and the rest of the South Baltimore Peninsula (the neighborhoods with lots of cranes) lie south of downtown. $6 or $7 billion in investment on the Peninsula is on the table right now (though developable land will eventually run short.)
Inner Harbor East, Harbor Point, Fells Point, Canton, etc. are east of downtown. There is only a couple of billion of investment on the table over there. What I find more interesting than buildings near the water is that the John Hopkins Medical complex and its development zone are starting to link up with the waterfront neighborhoods. There there is some public housing that needs to be rebuilt and improved for in order to complete the linkage.
To the north of downtown is Mount Vernon. This area is largely built-out, and investment is limited to smaller apartment buildings. I would be surprised if the development pipeline can be valued at even $500 million. Still, there is vibrant street life for the first mile outside of the Central Business District.
The west side of downtown is a problem that clearly needs some attention. Stuff is getting built, but not fast enough to make a real difference. To the west of the West Side is a relatively small development zone sponsored by the University of Maryland. To the west and northwest of the development zone is a mile or two of disaster - the place that people think of when they think of Baltimore - Freddie Gray, The Wire, etc.
Southwest of downtown is an area (Pigtown, etc.) that I believe is starting to get its act together. Today a coworker told me that she wants to move there.
Northeast of downtown has some development on the table that never seems to get off the ground. The area, which includes the jail complex, huge parking lots, and an area that was bulldozed and forgotten, is going to be a tough row to hoe until other areas fill up - probably 20 years out.
Anyway, even with the 9,000 plus housing units under construction or scheduled for the rest of the decade, there is a long way to go to expand the downtown core in every direction. Fortunately, not all improvements take a lot of investment in new buildings. The city and state can provide support and encouragement for walkability without lots of new private or public investment. Southeast is already trying to push walkability as the leading edge of its revival strategy. I am curios to see if that will work.
Same goes for denser polycentric metros like Miami and LA, at least in terms of places to actually walk to/through.
I find LA way more walkable and urban than Houston. There's little vibrancy in downtown and most of the neighborhoods around it, none of it suburbs are walkable like LA's.
I think you're exaggerating a bit; otherwise they'd rank near the top of the pack given their sizes and densities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ant131531
Miami has no cohesiveness with it's non-downtown neighborhoods...a lot of the westside of the downtown Miami area is empty lots waiting to be developed on when the demand comes. Let's not even speak about Brickell....woeful walking experience. Miami Beach(South Beach) is by far the Miami area's most impressive walkable neighborhood.
In comparison to Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, and Houston? I'd say so. In Miami walking from Downtown, to the Design District/Buena Vista, feels a bit more comfortable walking from Downtown Atlanta to Atlantic Station; as well from Brickell to Little Havana.
And as far as LA goes, the Urbanity and Walkabilty is far more intense than say Atlanta, Dallas, or Houston.
You'll rarely see roads like 278/Ponce in Atlanta...so close to active areas in Miami or LA
I thought that Atlanta was only walkable in certain neighborhoods.
That's true. I'd say Midtown/Virginia-Highland/Poncey-Highland are the most walkable. Outside of that, Atlanta doesn't have a lot of sidewalks. Even Buckhead does not have a lot of sidewalks.
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