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Old 10-09-2015, 12:15 AM
 
8,256 posts, read 17,256,590 times
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NYC definitely #1. I would make the argument that Philly competes for a solid #2 with Chicago. Chicago is very tall and urban, but Philly has the very narrow streets. Along those same lines, I would throw in Baltimore as well.

If I had to make a list, it would be:
  1. NYC
  2. Chicago/Philly
  3. Philly/Chicago
  4. SF
  5. Boston
  6. DC
  7. Baltimore
  8. LA
  9. Seattle
  10. New Orleans
  11. Miami
  12. Dallas
  13. San Diego
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Old 10-09-2015, 12:57 AM
 
Location: Erie, PA
486 posts, read 596,268 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shakeesha View Post
But how many people live in the buildings though?
The thread does say densest "built" not population density...
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Old 10-09-2015, 05:07 AM
 
1,353 posts, read 1,631,092 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jessemh431 View Post
NYC definitely #1. I would make the argument that Philly competes for a solid #2 with Chicago. Chicago is very tall and urban, but Philly has the very narrow streets. Along those same lines, I would throw in Baltimore as well.

If I had to make a list, it would be:
  1. NYC
  2. Chicago/Philly
  3. Philly/Chicago
  4. SF
  5. Boston
  6. DC
  7. Baltimore
  8. LA
  9. Seattle
  10. New Orleans
  11. Miami
  12. Dallas
  13. San Diego
I would reorder:
  1. NYC
  2. SF (completely built out to curb, 2nd highest weighted average density by a significant margin, packs similar amount of hotel rooms as much larger Chicago, packs a huge retail/commercial punch, and 83 million sf of office space in its smaller limits, too, not really all that far behind Chicago/DC and well above Philly and still above Boston)
  3. Philly (completely built out to curb, but has more vacant lots than SF and lower weighted avg density, less office/commercial/hotels)
  4. Chicago (taller DT buildings does not necessarily make for a more densely built environment on average...once out of the Loop/River North, spacing between buildings is significantly higher than in SF/Philly and Chicago achieves its densities by having more tall buildings scattered about)
  5. Boston (debated throwing this in front of Chicago, maybe even ahead of Philly frankly)
  6. LA (I think higher than DC...so much more expansive, higher densities, definitely more built out over larger area)
  7. DC
  8. Baltimore (debated putting this in front of LA/DC because like Philly, also very much built out to curb...admittedly I just don't know this city)
  9. Seattle
  10. Miami (kind of in Chicago category...lots of tall/large resi buildings boosts its density, but it's surprisingly not all that built out for how large the city and its stature are)
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Old 10-09-2015, 05:42 AM
 
Location: Washington County, PA
4,240 posts, read 4,885,592 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shakeesha View Post
But how many people live in the buildings though?
12,343.

Density of 20,572 ppl/sqmi troll.

Downtown Pittsburgh enjoys growth in population, building boom | TribLIVE Mobile
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Old 10-09-2015, 06:46 AM
 
1,353 posts, read 1,631,092 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by speagles84 View Post
Whoa. Pleasant people in Pittsburgh I guess!
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Old 10-09-2015, 07:25 AM
 
Location: MPLS/CHI
574 posts, read 683,708 times
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With the exception of NYC, cities with larger city limits are at a disadvantage here. Its not apple to apples. The only way to really compare would be to take a similar sized area for each city. On CD we always say city limits are arbitrary, so why should that not apply here?

Last edited by Mr Ambitious; 10-09-2015 at 07:47 AM..
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Old 10-09-2015, 07:39 AM
 
Location: Washington County, PA
4,240 posts, read 4,885,592 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anonelitist View Post
Whoa. Pleasant people in Pittsburgh I guess!
That poster only posts on City V City to make smug remarks about Rust belt cities, particularly Pittsburgh.
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Old 10-09-2015, 07:58 AM
 
Location: MPLS/CHI
574 posts, read 683,708 times
Reputation: 427
Philly is a beast
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Old 10-09-2015, 09:10 AM
 
2,788 posts, read 2,232,366 times
Reputation: 3674
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonelitist View Post
I would reorder:
  1. NYC
  2. SF (completely built out to curb, 2nd highest weighted average density by a significant margin, packs similar amount of hotel rooms as much larger Chicago, packs a huge retail/commercial punch, and 83 million sf of office space in its smaller limits, too, not really all that far behind Chicago/DC and well above Philly and still above Boston)
  3. Philly (completely built out to curb, but has more vacant lots than SF and lower weighted avg density, less office/commercial/hotels)
  4. Chicago (taller DT buildings does not necessarily make for a more densely built environment on average...once out of the Loop/River North, spacing between buildings is significantly higher than in SF/Philly and Chicago achieves its densities by having more tall buildings scattered about)
  5. Boston (debated throwing this in front of Chicago, maybe even ahead of Philly frankly)
  6. LA (I think higher than DC...so much more expansive, higher densities, definitely more built out over larger area)
  7. DC
  8. Baltimore (debated putting this in front of LA/DC because like Philly, also very much built out to curb...admittedly I just don't know this city)
  9. Seattle
  10. Miami (kind of in Chicago category...lots of tall/large resi buildings boosts its density, but it's surprisingly not all that built out for how large the city and its stature are)
Yeah, I pretty agree with this list. I might flip Chicago and Philly and maybe DC and LA. But, this is pretty much the top 10.

Densest built environment is a little hard to compare for a couple reasons:
1) Do you include office space/non-residential uses? DC is very urban by built environment, given its large amount of office space/hotels/etc. But, these vibrancy isn't captured in population density numbers. By, pop density, DC is less urban than Boston. But, when it comes to physical area DC almost certainty has a larger "vibrant urban core" on M-F than Boston or even Philly.

2) Do you value consistent tight density or net density? Row house cities like Philly and Baltimore have tightly built, consistent density. Most neighborhoods are super-urban in form. But, not necessary vibrant. Cities like Chicago, DC and increasingly Seattle, aren't built as tight or consistently urban. Lots of wide setbacks, little front yards, etc. But, the cities have lots of inter-mixed apartment buildings in these leafy neighborhoods (Lincoln Park, Adams-Morgan, Capitol Hill) which often make them as dense, or denser than Baltimore/Philly-style row house neighborhoods.
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Old 10-09-2015, 10:57 AM
 
103 posts, read 167,614 times
Reputation: 91
Quote:
Originally Posted by blkgiraffe View Post
Houston is built pretty dense, as well as Dallas.
Kidding right? lol
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