Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Denver is Kansas City with mountains and the attendant outdoorsy culture.
I grew up in KC and I don't see Denver as being very much like KC. Especially if you're comparing urban KC and Denver. Metro Denver is almost 50% more people in the same area as metro KC. Denver's downtown is night and day compared to downtown KC. People live and play downtown Denver. Denver is denser, more urban, and more liberal. We have and support light rail, KC votes it down every time. Denver has a large, international airport, KC has a small, more regional airport. KC's suburbs are very conservative compared to suburban Denver. KC has a humid, buggy summer climate whereas Denver in summer is drier and more like L.A. KC has large areas of segregated poverty whereas Denver is more integrated and doesn't have the massive poverty of KC. People in Denver seem to have more of a Western attitude where as KC tends to be more MidWest, slower, and Bible Belt.
Last edited by Mike from back east; 02-02-2011 at 02:33 PM..
Denver is Kansas City with mountains and the attendant outdoorsy culture.
Other than both cities being on the plains, I could not disagree more.
I mean, Kansas City's dense and vibrant urban core, its light rail system, its centrally located sporting venues, its park system, its politics, it's free events, it's outdoors opportunities and it's sprawling, disconnected geography are clearly far superior to Denver's in every way.
And for those who haven't been to either (or just don't get it) I'll give you a hint. KC does not have a light rail system
Last edited by Mike from back east; 02-02-2011 at 02:34 PM..
Other than both cities being on the plains, I could not disagree more.
I mean, Kansas City's dense and vibrant urban core, its light rail system, its centrally located sporting venues, its park system, its politics, it's free events, it's outdoors opportunities and it's sprawling, disconnected geography are clearly far superior to Denver's in every way.
And for those who haven't been to either (or just don't get it) I'll give you a hint. KC does not have a light rail system
I know that's in jest, but it's obvious that you haven't spend much time in Kansas City. Kansas City is more or less equal to Denver in terms of sporting venues and enthusiasm. It's park system, especially throughout suburban Johnson County, is very strong, it's politics are very similar to the Denver area's (liberal city, conservative suburbs), and it is every bit as sprawling as Denver. The idea that Denver is a bastion of high-density, urban smart growth is every bit as ludicrous as the idea that it's similar to Seattle in any meaningful way.
As I said, Denver has the mountains and therefore a more robust park system, recreational opportunities, and outdoorsy culture than Kansas City. But otherwise it's more or less the same sort of city.
I grew up in KC and I don't see Denver as being very much like KC. Especially if you're comparing urban KC and Denver. Metro Denver is almost 50% more people in the same area as metro KC. Denver's downtown is night and day compared to downtown KC. People live and play downtown Denver. Denver is denser, more urban, and more liberal. We have and support light rail, KC votes it down every time. Denver has a large, international airport, KC has a small, more regional airport. KC's suburbs are very conservative compared to suburban Denver. KC has a humid, buggy summer climate whereas Denver in summer is drier and more like L.A. KC has large areas of segregated poverty whereas Denver is more integrated and doesn't have the massive poverty of KC. People in Denver seem to have more of a Western attitude where as KC tends to be more MidWest, slower, and Bible Belt.
I think you're really exaggerating the differences. You're right that the weather and "outdoorsy" culture is different. And that makes sense--having the Rockies in your backyard does make a difference.
But Denver and KC a are both sprawling, predominantly suburban cities with surprisingly vibrant urban cores. And Denver's light rail is almost as non-existent as Kansas City's truly non-existent system. If you haven't been watching the news lately, Fastracks isn't scheduled to be built out until 2040 because they can't fund it--and they know that voters won't give another dime.
As far as culture, they're not that different. KC is no more "slow and Bible Belt" than Denver. You act like KC is the hub of the deep south while Denver is one of the country's cultural superstars on the cutting edge of social reform. The truth is that they're both pretty generic, middle-American, even midwestern, cities with high liveability but little diversity or vibrancy.
I think you're really exaggerating the differences. You're right that the weather and "outdoorsy" culture is different. And that makes sense--having the Rockies in your backyard does make a difference.
But Denver and KC a are both sprawling, predominantly suburban cities with surprisingly vibrant urban cores. And Denver's light rail is almost as non-existent as Kansas City's truly non-existent system. If you haven't been watching the news lately, Fastracks isn't scheduled to be built out until 2040 because they can't fund it--and they know that voters won't give another dime.
As far as culture, they're not that different. KC is no more "slow and Bible Belt" than Denver. You act like KC is the hub of the deep south while Denver is one of the country's cultural superstars on the cutting edge of social reform. The truth is that they're both pretty generic, middle-American, even midwestern, cities with high liveability but little diversity or vibrancy.
I'd beg to differ! Metro Denver is close to (may be over once the new census data is out) 3 million while KC is at 2 million, but they have close to the same area. Metro Denver is denser, which does give a different feeling. KC's urban core leaves much to be desired. The Plaza and Midtown are very nice urban areas, but KC's downtown is at least a decade behind Denver. Denver has high rise condos, mid rise condos, and many more people actually living downtown, which makes it much more vibrant. Plus it has the 16th St. Mall, a mile long pedestrian mall that has a lot to offer. Plus, you have the football stadium, baseball stadium Pepsi Center, an amusement park, state capital, world class art museum, and an aquarium, all downtown. KC does have the new P&L district and arena, which is a big step in the right direction, but it still doesn't have the masses of people living downtown. And there's definitely an anti-urban vibe in the KC 'burbs. People think you get killed if you go downtown. And they might have reason to think like that. In 2010, Denver proper had something like 33 homicides, compared to around 115 in KCMO. Denver's a safer city. Plus, Denver's downtown-adjacent neighborhoods are safe, nice, and desirable. You have to go south of downtown KCMO into Midtown to find nice, desirable, urban neighborhoods.
As for light rail, two lines are complete and two are under construction. To say that Denver's current LR is the same as KC's nothing is laughable. Voters in KC would never have voted to raise taxes in the first place to get LR off the ground, most likely due to the conservativeness.
Did I say KC was like the South? No, nor did I say Denver has the culture of San Francisco or NYC. I don't think either city is "generic" and both have different cultures. But Metro Denver has a bigger-city feel than Metro KC and while KC is slowly moving in the right direction with re-development downtown, Denver is a couple decades ahead of KC. Not to mention, many cities wish they could have what Denver has downtown.
Denver, culturally speaking, is more in line with the West and West Coast whereas KC is definitely a Midwestern city. People there want open space, large lots, and the metro area as a whole is much more conservative with its development. Denver isn't afraid of density and is consciously re-developing within the city to create an even more urban and dense environment. KC tore down historic buildings to plop a suburban style Home depot within sight of downtown. Denver re-developed the old airport into a dense, new-urbanism neighborhood. Would KC have done that? Probably not. If KCMO found itself with a large area to develop within the urban core, they'd slap up a bunch of beige bi and tri level, vinyl-sided houses on cul-de-sacs with large lots. That says a lot about the differences in attitude between the two cities.
I know that's in jest, but it's obvious that you haven't spend much time in Kansas City. Kansas City is more or less equal to Denver in terms of sporting venues and enthusiasm. It's park system, especially throughout suburban Johnson County, is very strong, it's politics are very similar to the Denver area's (liberal city, conservative suburbs), and it is every bit as sprawling as Denver. The idea that Denver is a bastion of high-density, urban smart growth is every bit as ludicrous as the idea that it's similar to Seattle in any meaningful way.
As I said, Denver has the mountains and therefore a more robust park system, recreational opportunities, and outdoorsy culture than Kansas City. But otherwise it's more or less the same sort of city.
Politically speaking, you're way off. In the 2008 election, only one county (Douglas) went for McCain. I'm not going to look up the numbers, but Denver is definitely more liberal than KC. Have you been to Denver lately? Because all I see in Denver is more and more high-density, urban smart growth. I'd say it's closer to Portland and Seattle culturally speaking than KC. And as for parks, Denver proper has a very extensive parks and trail system, not to mention bike lanes everywhere. I would imagine that the biking culture in Denver is much larger than KC. Maybe that's why we're the center of the thinnest state in the country
Denvarian, this GoneNative person is just going to bash whoever disagrees with he/she/it.
As someone who has spent a few years on and off in the KC area, usually staying at the Westin downtown and working down in Overland Park, frankly if you can't see how very different the cities are, your eyes are not open.
KC is a dying / dead mid-western city seemingly permanently stuck in a "who sucks more battle" with St Louis, and for the record my vote is for KC in that one, St Louis has better food and more history at the expense of a horrible airport.
As it has been stated, Denver is larger, more urban, denser and growing. Both do have sprawl, all American cities have sprawl.
I think you're really exaggerating the differences. You're right that the weather and "outdoorsy" culture is different. And that makes sense--having the Rockies in your backyard does make a difference.
But Denver and KC a are both sprawling, predominantly suburban cities with surprisingly vibrant urban cores. And Denver's light rail is almost as non-existent as Kansas City's truly non-existent system. If you haven't been watching the news lately, Fastracks isn't scheduled to be built out until 2040 because they can't fund it--and they know that voters won't give another dime.
As far as culture, they're not that different. KC is no more "slow and Bible Belt" than Denver. You act like KC is the hub of the deep south while Denver is one of the country's cultural superstars on the cutting edge of social reform. The truth is that they're both pretty generic, middle-American, even midwestern, cities with high liveability but little diversity or vibrancy.
BS and completely wrong. Denver has now 35 miles of light rail, 125 vehicles and 37 stations. This were done and approved by voters, incrementally over many years, and are funded and finished. They are separate completed projects than the current expansion project which is Fastracks--again Fastracks is an EXPANSION project for an already in place system.
Under Fastracks, two lines are now under construction--the west line to Golden and the east line to the airport. The Gold Line to Wheat Ridge is expecting a final grant approval from the feds in a few months. The west line will be completed in 2013; the airport line in 2015; the Gold Line in 2016.
There are additional projects under Fastrack that are being done. The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), along 36, is now being built and some construction has been completed. Union Station is now commencing construction for a big redevelopment which must be ready to receive the new west and east lines. This week Union Station is to be closed for the project. In addition, there have been improvements of Park n' Rides which are part of Fastracks.
So, What are you talking about?? Yes, funding to complete some of the construction of Fastracks is in doubt but much has been done with light rail and heavy rail (the airport line will be the first heavy electric rail and the Gold Line will follow with the same technology).
Livecontent
Last edited by livecontent; 02-02-2011 at 09:57 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
