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LA should have the 2nd or 3rd best downtown in the US, by the sheer amount of people and status of the city. But it doesn’t, not even close. Among the nation’s largest cities, NYC, Chicago, DC, Philadelphia, Boston, and SF all have FAR better downtowns. That’s a shame for a city with 15 million people. To be one of the leading influential cities in the world and have a downtown on par with the Atlantas, Miamis, Seattles, Houstons, and Dallases of the world, cities at least half of LA’s size, is a disgrace. All of these cities are either way too fractured and therefore pull people away from the core or just too damn spread out. I wouldn’t expect that from the second largest city in the country.
Ok, explain how downtown Miami, Houston, Dallas are betfer downtowns. Don't mention highrises. That has nothing to do with vibrancy either.
Downtown LA passed these cities downtowns 15 or 20 years ago. Even on this site, downtown LA is considered better and has been for awhile.
Seattle is also better, do you travel at all?.How can you not see the difference?
Nyc
Chicago
Sf
Philly
Dc
Boston
Sea
La
Is about the right order. Everything else is muddled.
La has been to known to be spread out for decades. Who doesn't expect that anymore? Its ...basic, common knowledge ., unless you live in a cave.
You're right I forgot the car exclusion act of 1919 that prohibits autos in the core city area of San Francisco and New York.
Seriously this thread is now beyond parody.
Roads are wide by design in Los Angeles, having nothing to do with discouraging pedestrian activity.
Are people passing out from exhaustion from walking that extra six feet to cross the street in L.A.?
L.A. is a bigger city geographically, in case anyone needs to hear that. Its not lacking in density or anything else, so "not being walkable" seems to be an issue of physical fitness more than anything else.
Agreed. So many strange comments in the last couple of weeks.
Ok, explain how downtown Miami, Houston, Dallas are betfer downtowns. Don't mention highrises. That has nothing to do with vibrancy either.
Downtown LA passed these cities downtowns 15 or 20 years ago. Even on this site, downtown LA is considered better and has been for awhile.
Seattle is also better, do you travel at all?.How can you not see the difference?
Nyc
Chicago
Sf
Philly
Dc
Boston
Sea
La
Is about the right order. Everything else is muddled.
I never said Miami, Dallas, etc were better! What I said is LA SHOULD be top 2 or 3 but it’s on a tier below with those other cities. Its downtown is pretty underwhelming for a global city. Do you disagree with that?
And your list needs to be tiered. After Boston or maybe Seattle, there is a SIGNIFICANT drop off. LA’s downtown is nowhere near Boston’s. That’s why I said it’s on par with those other cities. It’s literally a step below that first tier of cities with great downtowns.
La has been to known to be spread out for decades. Who doesn't expect that anymore? Its ...basic, common knowledge ., unless you live in a cave.
Exactly, and that alone is proof that LA will never have a downtown on par with San Francisco, Boston, Philly etc. It will always be second tier with Houston, Atlanta, etc.
Exactly, and that alone is proof that LA will never have a downtown on par with San Francisco, Boston, Philly etc. It will always be second tier with Houston, Atlanta, etc.
nope. It passed those places awhile ago. Once LA allowed loft conversions, it become an entirely different place .
Different tiers, like you said. Those places don't have a historic core, which is vibrant at night and on the weekends. Or little Tokyo, arts district stc. Its likely the hub for nightlife in the city these days.
Choose ONE from tier 1, and TWO from tier’s 2 thru 4
To elaborate, one city may have a large MSA population but it’s downtown may not offer very much in correspondence to its actual metro area, while at the same token a smaller metro may offer much more in its core. Which metros do you feel have the strongest downtown in correlation to their metro populations?
In principal, the smaller the metro while offering equal to or greater amenities than competitor cities would be the best.
Criteria:
Skyline
Amenities
Access to Public Transportation
Walkability
Vibrancy
Tier 1:
Chicago
Los Angeles
New York
Tier 2:
Atlanta
Boston
Dallas
D.C.
Houston
Miami
Philadelphia
Phoenix
San Francisco
Seattle
Tier 3:
Austin
Charlotte
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Columbus OH
Denver
Minneapolis
Nashville
Sacramento
Salt Lake City
St.Peterburg
Tampa
Pittsburgh
Tier 4:
Asheville
Boise
Chattanooga
Columbia SC
Colorado Springs
Myrtle Beach
Daytona FL
Olympia WA
Tier 1: Chicago
Tier 2: Boston and Philly
Tier 3: Cincinnati and Austin
Tier 4: Chattanooga and Asheville
This list is strange...
For Florida, bump St-Pete up to 2 (arguably a better downtown than even Miami) and drop Tampa to 4, replaced by Orlando at 3. Tampa's downtown is severely lacking, while Orlando's is surprisingly active and fairly robust. St-Pete is probably the top downtown in Florida.
These tiers are clearly grouped by population. I don't understand why so many people are having so much trouble understanding this.
Ok, explain how downtown Miami, Houston, Dallas are betfer downtowns. Don't mention highrises. That has nothing to do with vibrancy either.
Downtown LA passed these cities downtowns 15 or 20 years ago. Even on this site, downtown LA is considered better and has been for awhile.
Seattle is also better, do you travel at all?.How can you not see the difference?
Nyc
Chicago
Sf
Philly
Dc
Boston
Sea
La
Is about the right order. Everything else is muddled.
La has been to known to be spread out for decades. Who doesn't expect that anymore? Its ...basic, common knowledge ., unless you live in a cave.
I agree with your list for the most part, but the point is that LA has a massive population. Adjusted for that, the downtown is lacking. It's blown away by peers like NYC or Chicago and still easily beaten by much smaller cities like Boston or SF.
I compared it to Houston and Dallas because they also suck relative to metro population. I never meant to imply that they had a better downtown than LA. (They don't).
I agree with your list for the most part, but the point is that LA has a massive population. Adjusted for that, the downtown is lacking. It's blown away by peers like NYC or Chicago and still easily beaten by much smaller cities like Boston or SF.
I compared it to Houston and Dallas because they also suck relative to metro population. I never meant to imply that they had a better downtown than LA. (They don't).
LA is probably smack in the middle of Boston/SF/Philly and Houston/Dallas in terms of Downtown/million.
It’s clearly more than twice (ish) the size/density of Dallas or Houston but clearly less than Double (or 2.5x)the size of Boston or SF.
Downtown Asheville is like no other for a Metro of its size. 121 restaurants, a dozen breweries at least, dozens of really great art galleries, three bookstores, multiple rooftop bars, two hostels, and much more downtown retail/shopping than places like Charlotte, Richmond, or Raleigh.
My buddy who lives in Charlotte was there with me last weekend and he said the volume of people walking, live music, and activity in downtown Asheville on a Sunday was far more than even the busiest weekdays in Uptown Charlotte with more going on and more breweries. He said that Charlotte's Uptown seemed like a ghost town in comparison on weekends. And this is during COVID-19 and just after some very large protests downtown so tourism numbers are down and despite that it he said it felt busier than Uptown Charlotte and the sidewalks were also packed. Also, kudos to the people there for wearing masks! I'd say 90 - 95% of folks downtown last Sunday were wearing masks in public outside.
I also had a friend visit there who lives in Wrigleyville neighborhood in Chicago and he felt there was much more street activity and things within easy reach by foot than his own neighborhood and could easily compare to the densest parts of Chicago...
Other downtown's that have a tremendous amount of retail, street activity, live music, restaurants, and vibrancy for a metro of its size include:
Savannah
Charleston
Chattanooga
Santa Fe
Santa Barbara
Boulder
Greenville SC
Charlottesville
Last edited by dbcook1; 08-05-2020 at 01:41 PM..
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