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sorry billiam, but i disagree.. most of the cities mentioned (sf,seattle,portland,etc) are laughable examples. dont know what city you are from but the clevelands,chicagos,baltimores,phillies,boston,pit tsburghs,ny types have the architecture and feel more so than any southern or western u.s. city. i dont hear much polish,german,ukrainian,czech,etc. spoken in the market places out west or down south either. your comment about cleveland being one of the most "american" cities shows your lack of knowledge imo.
sorry billiam, but i disagree.. most of the cities mentioned (sf,seattle,portland,etc) are laughable examples. dont know what city you are from but the clevelands,chicagos,baltimores,phillies,boston,pit tsburghs,ny types have the architecture and feel more so than any southern or western u.s. city. i dont hear much polish,german,ukrainian,czech,etc. spoken in the market places out west or down south either. your comment about cleveland being one of the most "american" cities shows your lack of knowledge imo.
I think your assertion that Cleveland is European like shows your blinding pride imo. I said "older cities", meaning mostly cities in the east and south. Seattle and portlant are not European at all, but San Francisco is kind of like the Mediterranean. Yes, Cleveland has ethnic neighborhoods. Does most of Cleveland resemble Europe? Not at all, not even the ethnic neighborhoods. They do slightly, but it still looks very American. Big avenues, single family homes, tall skyscrapers - its a very American city. Add in the ethnic neighborhoods and it just makes it more American. Cleveland doesn't resemble Europe at all from personal experience.
Honestly outside of Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore (to lessor extent NYC) I don't think many do; and these only have some similarity - Montreal is probably the best example in NA
billiam, my point is to the ops question "most european like cities?". and i will put cleveland in the top 10 when it comes to european architecture,neighborhoods,culture,food and langauges spoken. imo you will know you are in a european "like" city, when you can easily find good home-made pierogies !
Honestly outside of Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore (to lessor extent NYC) I don't think many do; and these only have some similarity - Montreal is probably the best example in NA
New York is by far the most European US city and usually is compared to London and Paris. Sure, New York differs from London and Paris in age and presence of tall buildings yet the urban philosophy and planning (extensive public transportation, abundance of city squares, majority of multidwelling units as opposed to single houses, pedestrian oriented streets) make it much more similar to other big European cities than to other American cities. Keep in mind, New York City public transportation use is larger than of all the other big American cities combined and 50% percent of families in New Yorkers do not own cars which is way above the American big city standard. Those numbers alone separate New York City from other American cities and in the same time make it very similar to big European cities which all can claim similar numbers.
After all, New York was funded by European settlers and first the Dutch and then the British named and molded the city to resemble the Old World cities they so much missed. It shows all over New York city.
What substantially diffrentiates European and American cities is not the architecturenor natural settings that vary from one big European city to another, but a different urban philosophy: big European cities are all public transportation and pedestrian traffic oriented while all big American cities are car oriented.
New York is an exception to this rule and that's why we like it
New York is by far the most European US city and usually is compared to London and Paris. Sure, New York differs from London and Paris in age and presence of tall buildings yet the urban philosophy and planning (extensive public transportation, abundance of city squares, majority of multidwelling units as opposed to single houses, pedestrian oriented streets) make it much more similar to other big European cities than to other American cities. Keep in mind, New York City public transportation use is larger than of all the other big American cities combined and 50% percent of families in New Yorkers do not own cars which is way above the American big city standard. Those numbers alone separate New York City from other American cities and in the same time make it very similar to big European cities which all can claim similar numbers.
After all, New York was funded by European settlers and first the Dutch and then the British named and molded the city to resemble the Old World cities they so much missed. It shows all over New York city.
What substantially diffrentiates European and American cities is not the architecturenor natural settings that vary from one big European city to another, but a different urban philosophy: big European cities are all public transportation and pedestrian traffic oriented while all big American cities are car oriented.
New York is an exception to this rule and that's why we like it
With a purely transit argument I suppose you would also put Tokyo in the category
But I do agree that without a good transit system it greatly differs; I would also argue Boston and Phildadelphia are at least as pedestrian freindly as many European cities. Overall though I do get the transit perspective - that is mostly what differentiates US from Eurpoean cities (again generalizing) and those American tourists are amazed by the vibrancy - go figure -without the 10 lane freeway disecting every neighborhood you would be amazed how cohesive it is - especially when you get outside your car
New York is by far the most European US city and usually is compared to London and Paris. Sure, New York differs from London and Paris in age and presence of tall buildings yet the urban philosophy and planning (extensive public transportation, abundance of city squares, majority of multidwelling units as opposed to single houses, pedestrian oriented streets) make it much more similar to other big European cities than to other American cities. Keep in mind, New York City public transportation use is larger than of all the other big American cities combined and 50% percent of families in New Yorkers do not own cars which is way above the American big city standard. Those numbers alone separate New York City from other American cities and in the same time make it very similar to big European cities which all can claim similar numbers.
After all, New York was funded by European settlers and first the Dutch and then the British named and molded the city to resemble the Old World cities they so much missed. It shows all over New York city.
What substantially diffrentiates European and American cities is not the architecturenor natural settings that vary from one big European city to another, but a different urban philosophy: big European cities are all public transportation and pedestrian traffic oriented while all big American cities are car oriented.
New York is an exception to this rule and that's why we like it
Take out the words New York BY FAR and I would completely agree with you. Other American cities also have this "European urban philosophy", like Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Baltimore, even San Francisco etc. Perhaps its on a smaller scale but its there.
I also don't get why some people insist on saying this or that city is European based on simple physical things like hills, single family houses or a curvy street --- when European cities are not all built exactly alike. Example, just because Rome has a few hills does not mean all cities with hills look European.
Its the planning and the underlying philosophy of WHAT a city is that makes European cities so great.
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Originally Posted by LINative
Take out the words New York BY FAR and I would completely agree with you. Other American cities also have this "European urban philosophy", like Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Baltimore, even San Francisco etc. Perhaps its on a smaller scale but its there.
I also don't get why some people insist on saying this or that city is European based on simple physical things like hills, single family houses or a curvy street --- when European cities are not all built exactly alike. Example, just because Rome has a few hills does not mean all cities with hills look European.
Its the planning and the underlying philosophy of WHAT a city is that makes European cities so great.
People don't use their imaginations to find a solution, they just like to notice minor similarities and exaggerate that to serve as their explanation for their choice.
I think your assertion that Cleveland is European like shows your blinding pride imo. I said "older cities", meaning mostly cities in the east and south. Seattle and portlant are not European at all, but San Francisco is kind of like the Mediterranean. Yes, Cleveland has ethnic neighborhoods. Does most of Cleveland resemble Europe? Not at all, not even the ethnic neighborhoods. They do slightly, but it still looks very American. Big avenues, single family homes, tall skyscrapers - its a very American city. Add in the ethnic neighborhoods and it just makes it more American. Cleveland doesn't resemble Europe at all from personal experience.
Actually, most of inner city Cleveland are duplexes and apartment buildings. But, in terms of ethnicity and culture, cities like Cleveland, Chicago, NY, Balitmore, Pittsburgh, etc have far more 1st and 2nd gen European immigrants, that's just the truth.
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