Philadelphia vs. Houston (compared, market, beautiful, live)

[kidphilly]

Originally Posted by LAnative10

And thats a good thing? Maybie for visitors, but for a place to live I dont think it is.

I beg to differ, I would take the urban vibrance over sprawl any day of the week, why I live in the middle of urban vibrancy, culture, nightlife, interesting multi-cultured people

[Spade]

Seriously, you can get all of that in Houston as well. It's just simply not as dense and urban as Philadelphia. But multicultured people (which I think Houston comes on top on that one), culture, and nightlife are abundant in Houston. The inner loop is what is considered city. The inner loop has a density of nearly 6000 per sq mile. Not great but certainly impressive by a major sunbelt city standards. Outside the loop is when it becomes very suburban.

[justme02]

Since when does density equal good? I prefer to have some space. I dont need an acre of land, but I like a front and back yard. Its seems that CD has the following standards:

Density=Good
Urban=Good
Srpawl=Bad
Diversity=Good
White People=Bad
Suburban=Bad
Foreign People=Good
Chain Resturants=Bad
Public Transit=Good
Cars=Bad

So what about the people like me who want to have a house and live in a quiet neighborhood but still want to have access to all the big city things (resturants, clubs, bars, etc.)?

[AK123]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

I beg to differ, I would take the urban vibrance over sprawl any day of the week, why I live in the middle of urban vibrancy, culture, nightlife, interesting multi-cultured people

And you can have those things in Houston, in neighborhoods near downtown, Museum District/Montrose, etc. The only thing missing from those areas is a subway system.

Houston has those things, whether you people admit it or not. Just do a little research for those who have never lived in Houston, which is most of you who make the ignorant comments. The entire city is not a suburb, that's ridiculous. Likewise, Philly has areas outside of the city that are suburban sprawl... just like anywhere.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by LAnative10

Since when does density equal good? I prefer to have some space. I dont need an acre of land, but I like a front and back yard. Its seems that CD has the following standards:

Density=Good
Urban=Good
Srpawl=Bad
Diversity=Good
White People=Bad
Suburban=Bad
Foreign People=Good
Chain Resturants=Bad
Public Transit=Good
Cars=Bad

So what about the people like me who want to have a house and live in a quiet neighborhood but still want to have access to all the big city things (resturants, clubs, bars, etc.)?

Apparently a lot of people agree with you.
IRL they vote with their feet.

Population numbers bounce back in cities - USATODAY.com

[kidphilly]

Originally Posted by AK123

And you can have those things in Houston, in neighborhoods near downtown, Museum District/Montrose, etc. The only thing missing from those areas is a subway system.

Houston has those things, whether you people admit it or not. Just do a little research for those who have never lived in Houston, which is most of you who make the ignorant comments. The entire city is not a suburb, that's ridiculous. Likewise, Philly has areas outside of the city that are suburban sprawl... just like anywhere.

I dislike the Philly suburbs (or any for that matter) very much and have spent quite a bit of time in Houston, not my kind of city. But we can agree to disagree

[a75206]

Having lived in Houston for many years, and seen it grow not only out in suburbs but also inside Loop-610, I can say that H-town has really come to be a good city with a lot to offer; it is quite international and its people are very welcoming of diversity and are friendly. It's certainly more of a city than Dallas not only in terms of urbanity but just overall feel.

Philadelphia, OTOH, has had a somewhat insular population; it is a city of neighborhoods, and if you're not from the neighborhood (meaning, your parents were born there, you were born there and lived there your entire life!), you're probably considered an outsider. On the one hand, this attitude gives Philadelphia a real local flavor, and its neighborhoods are very different from one to the next. But it can also mean that some things don't change very easily or quickly. In a way, what makes Philadelphia charming and a real urban gem (hidden gem, no less!) also holds it back a bit. Stuff like zoning laws and a strong preservation movement make it tough to just slap on a new 1000ft tower willy nilly. In cities like Dallas and Houston, OTOH, that sort of rapid development is pretty much par for the course, so those cities are growing like wild fire. Philly had its growth spurt, back before 1950... it peaked in 1950 with more than 2 million people in the city itself, in such a small area. It's growing again, with new estimates of close to 1.6 million people in the city itself.

As far as skylines, no doubt Houston has some great buildings designed by fine architects. Ones like Pennzoil Place (a company with roots in Pennsylvania, no less! hehe) and others designed by Philip Johnson and I.M. Pei and others. The only really fugly building in downtown Houston is perhaps the one occupied by ExxonMobil...it looks like a plate heat-exchanger! haha But one thing truly lacking for Houston as far as skylines, is the density. In downtown, it's got surface parking lots galore!

http://www.beyonddc.com/log/wp-conte...ownhouston.jpg

Perhaps that's a bit dated, but still, that's a *lot* of surfacing parking in downtown.


Philadelphia, OTOH, is quite dense. It doesn't have as much height, thanks to the gentleman's agreement to not build anything higher than the top of Billy Penn's hat-- the statue atop the City Hall tower. That restriction was only pierced in late 1980s with the Liberty I and II, and soon a few more tall towers came through.

A similar aerial view of Philadelphia's Center City area shows the density, as well as varied heights and how urban it feels. The surrounding residential neighborhoods all easily blend right into the downtown area. Downtown also has those square parks with their own elegance that rivals almost anything in other urban meccas.

http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/53906...hia_800_4b.jpg


And the image above doesn't even include the new Comcast Center, the new tallest tower in Philadelphia (and tallest LEED-Gold certified building in the world), nor the new high rise condo tower, Murano nor even the other high rise condo tower, Ritz Carlton.

Philadelphia could definitely use even more high rises, and hopefully it's going to be getting more of them soon, including the super super tall American Commerce Center.

http://viciousjones.files.wordpress....02/philly2.jpg

I give Philly the edge, but I love both cities.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by a75206

Perhaps that's a bit dated,

Yeah, I'll say. I don't recognize anything in that photo...

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by AK123

Yeah, I'll say. I don't recognize anything in that photo...

His point does stand though. Just scout around on google maps and you'll see just how much space surface lots still take in the downtown area.

downtown houston - Google Maps

[wpmeads]

Originally Posted by a75206

Having lived in Houston for many years, and seen it grow not only out in suburbs but also inside Loop-610, I can say that H-town has really come to be a good city with a lot to offer; it is quite international and its people are very welcoming of diversity and are friendly. It's certainly more of a city than Dallas not only in terms of urbanity but just overall feel.

Philadelphia, OTOH, has had a somewhat insular population; it is a city of neighborhoods, and if you're not from the neighborhood (meaning, your parents were born there, you were born there and lived there your entire life!), you're probably considered an outsider. On the one hand, this attitude gives Philadelphia a real local flavor, and its neighborhoods are very different from one to the next. But it can also mean that some things don't change very easily or quickly. In a way, what makes Philadelphia charming and a real urban gem (hidden gem, no less!) also holds it back a bit. Stuff like zoning laws and a strong preservation movement make it tough to just slap on a new 1000ft tower willy nilly. In cities like Dallas and Houston, OTOH, that sort of rapid development is pretty much par for the course, so those cities are growing like wild fire. Philly had its growth spurt, back before 1950... it peaked in 1950 with more than 2 million people in the city itself, in such a small area. It's growing again, with new estimates of close to 1.6 million people in the city itself.

As far as skylines, no doubt Houston has some great buildings designed by fine architects. Ones like Pennzoil Place (a company with roots in Pennsylvania, no less! hehe) and others designed by Philip Johnson and I.M. Pei and others. The only really fugly building in downtown Houston is perhaps the one occupied by ExxonMobil...it looks like a plate heat-exchanger! haha But one thing truly lacking for Houston as far as skylines, is the density. In downtown, it's got surface parking lots galore!



Perhaps that's a bit dated, but still, that's a *lot* of surfacing parking in downtown.


Philadelphia, OTOH, is quite dense. It doesn't have as much height, thanks to the gentleman's agreement to not build anything higher than the top of Billy Penn's hat-- the statue atop the City Hall tower. That restriction was only pierced in late 1980s with the Liberty I and II, and soon a few more tall towers came through.

A similar aerial view of Philadelphia's Center City area shows the density, as well as varied heights and how urban it feels. The surrounding residential neighborhoods all easily blend right into the downtown area. Downtown also has those square parks with their own elegance that rivals almost anything in other urban meccas.




And the image above doesn't even include the new Comcast Center, the new tallest tower in Philadelphia (and tallest LEED-Gold certified building in the world), nor the new high rise condo tower, Murano nor even the other high rise condo tower, Ritz Carlton.

Philadelphia could definitely use even more high rises, and hopefully it's going to be getting more of them soon, including the super super tall American Commerce Center.



I give Philly the edge, but I love both cities.

Great post! BTW, that picture of Houston is VERY dated. Is that photo from 70's? It's missing about half of our current downtown! It doesn't even look like the Chase Bank Tower had been built yet. Most of those parking lots have been filled in with skyscrapers, although, we do still have a quite few parking lots downtown. Here's a better picture of our current downtown:
http://img337.imageshack.us/i/600xpopupgalleryey0.jpg/

The nice shiny modern building in the middle I believe is called City Center (although I could be wrong) and it's currently under construction. As you can see, a lot of density as well as a nice mix of historical and modern buildings. I really like skylines like Houston's and Philly's where you can tell how the architectural styles have changed over the years. I would make the argument that Houston has the densest downtown of the Sun Belt cities, but I'm not sure how it would match up to Philly's if we're talking JUST CBDs. I've never been to Philly so it's hard for me to make the comparison.