Which of these cities is more urban?

[KodeBlue]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

I agree with this. Baltimore hasn’t evolved into a live/work/play model of urbanity. Baltimore has a small CBD and nodes of living that are not cohesively connected to the CBD or to one another, including Federal Hill, Mt Vernon, Harbor East, Fells Point and Camden. Most cities grow organically and this had led to Baltimore as we see it today. This is only a problem if Baltimore thinks it’s a problem.

I have to disagree with the statement to an extent. Baltimore's biggest tourist draws (Inner Harbor, Aquarium, Science Center..etc) are just across the street from the CBD. Also, Downtown Baltimore is also drawing more employees the CBD with companies relocating downtown; furthermore, there is a large nightlife complex in the CBD (Power Plant Live) Also, There are 43k people living downtown, which is expected to grow with multiple apartments/condos currently under-construction/conversion. Aside from Federal Hill, which is separated from the other neighborhoods mentioned due to the Harbor, is the only neighborhood that isn't connected to the neighborhoods mentioned, or not connected to the CBD itself. CBD, Mount Vernon (just north of the CBD), Harbor East, Little Italy, Fells Point, Harbor Point are all connected to each other. Another thing that may be unique to Baltimore is that there is a rather large indoor mall across the street from the harbor that takes foot traffic off of the street. Luckily, Baltimore has recognized that some changes to the layout have to be made to increase foot traffic and vibrancy along Pratt & Light Streets, so there will by more construction in the near future to serve that purpose. Aside from that, Downtown Baltimore is pretty active during business hours, non-business hours, and weekends.

[pwduvall]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

I agree with this. Baltimore hasn’t evolved into a live/work/play model of urbanity. Baltimore has a small CBD and nodes of living that are not cohesively connected to the CBD or to one another, including Federal Hill, Mt Vernon, Harbor East, Fells Point and Camden. Most cities grow organically and this had led to Baltimore as we see it today. This is only a problem if Baltimore thinks it’s a problem.

The West Side of downtown is a HUGE problem. It sort of looks like The Wire version of a downtown. Some of the streets are downright spooky. Even worse, the drug dealing around Lexington Market makes it seem like The Wire version of Reading Market. The good news is that this is all fixable. The bad news is that it isn't going to be easy.

[KodeBlue]

Originally Posted by pwduvall

The West Side of downtown is a HUGE problem. It sort of looks like The Wire version of a downtown. Some of the streets are downright spooky. Even worse, the drug dealing around Lexington Market makes it seem like The Wire version of Reading Market. The good news is that this is all fixable. The bad news is that it isn't going to be easy.

They're about to tear down Lexington Market and rebuild a more modern version of it. Not having Lexington Market right there could help remove the riff raff and bring in a different crowd when it get rebuilt. Some of the business around LM may close as an effect, but that's possibly for the better.