Isn't Europe a much better place to live than the US? (friendly, expensive)
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If Romania and Eastern Europe are so great, then why are there 1,1 million of Romanians in Italy and almost another million in Spain?
That's easy question - because that was the whole idea behind EU, get cheap labor force from "poor" countries like Romania, this is essentially occupation without war.
Romania and others are to blame themselves, obviously Western nations have more developed greed and usury driven economies, while Romania never had time to develop its own. So now people from these "poor" countries fleeing to find job in the West since their own economies essentially collapsed. East Europe is doomed.
I didn't include metro area populations (Berlin's metro area population is over 5 million, not 4.5 million by the way).
Metro areas in the US differ markedly from metro areas in Europe in many ways which impact public transportation needs and systems.
There are only nine metro areas in the US larger than Berlin's metro area, and five of those nine have excellent public transportation systems. The other four have public transportation systems as well, but the metro areas are extremely spread out
Berlin's metro area is 11,730 square miles. In comparison, LA's metro area is 34,000 square miles. NYC's is over 13,000 square miles (larger than Berlin's but with a good public transportation system). Chicago is comparable in size to Berlin and also has an excellent public transportation system. The Philly metro area is significantly larger than Berlin's (about 15,000 square miles) and yet Philly has a good public transportation system. The DC metro area is also larger and yet has great public transportation.
So yeah, I'd say counting the metro areas that are similar in size or larger than Berlin, American cities show pretty well when it comes to public transportation.
I'm sorry, but Berlin's metro area is not 11,730 square miles; that's the whole Brandenburg! Its metro area is in fact much much smaller.
Comparing US cities with European cities is often an apple-with-orange comparison: their structures are very different.
As for the quality of public transport in American cities I won't comment; I will just say that Berlin fares really well in that department.
That's easy question - because that was the whole idea behind EU, get cheap labor force from "poor" countries like Romania, this is essentially occupation without war.
Romania and others are to blame themselves, obviously Western nations have more developed greed and usury driven economies, while Romania never had time to develop its own. So now people from these "poor" countries fleeing to find job in the West since their own economies essentially collapsed. East Europe is doomed.
It's easier to find well paid jobs in EU but that doesn't mean here the economy collapsed, on the contrary, is growing fast. Romania has a low level of unemployment:
I'm sorry, but Berlin's metro area is not 11,730 square miles; that's the whole Brandenburg! Its metro area is in fact much much smaller.
Comparing US cities with European cities is often an apple-with-orange comparison: their structures are very different.
As for the quality of public transport in American cities I won't comment; I will just say that Berlin fares really well in that department.
Sigh. YOU run a search for "Berlin metro area" and tell me what you find. And by "run a search" I don't mean "pull it out of a body orifice."
Another poster was saying "WE HAVE TO COMPARE METRO AREAS, NOT JUST CITY POPULATIONS!" so that's why I gave the metro area sizes for the cities in question. We can't compare US metro areas with Berlin's city area - that's not a fair comparison. We have to compare metro areas or city areas - apples to apples...
...Which clearly showed that most large US metro areas are more spread out than Berlin's metro area - fewer people per square mile or kilometer - which means that the same sort of public transportation system that works in a more densely populated area isn't as efficient (cost or otherwise) to use in a less densely populated area.
By the way, when I search "Berlin Metro Area" it brings up the whole Berlin/Brandenburg area, which is very densely populated. When I search, for instance, "Los Angeles Metro Area" it brings up a huge area that encompasses many smaller towns, just like the search for "Berlin Metro Area." The very definition of a "metro area" is this:
Quote:
A metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as a metropolitan region, metro area or just metro, is a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing.
No, If you said car market I would assume you meant a car lot where cars are sold. I assume you means a giant shopping mall with tons of parking that people travel too. They really are getting less popular since their heyday in the 80's and 90's. The trend is actually moving to downtown shopping areas or even outdoor shopping malls. There is and outdoor shopping mall 3 miles away from me with Shops and restaurants.
This is a more recent community near me called avalon park. It has tons of houses and townhomes centered on a downtown shopping area and park. Avalon Park Orlando | Live, Learn, Work & Play
On the weekends the show movies poutdoors in the park for residents, have downtown get togethers and fairs. etc.
Maybe Florida is my destination if I ever decide to moce to America
Neighborhoods like in that picture are exactly what I was talking about. Propably not many bus lines going trough :P
Not going to lie, Public transport in my area is terrible. On the other side of Orlando 40 miles away near Disney it is better.. It's about 3 miles to the nearest bus line.
Most people in the US wouldn't want to live in a place like that either - so we don't.
Europe has it's share of suburbia and "planned communities." I've seen them with my own eyes (and it hurt them).
And most of our cities and towns DO in fact have a "downtown" area, so I don't know where you're getting that misconception.
As for your comment about me not being well traveled - well, I won't even respond to that. I certainly don't feel the need to prove anything to you.
Great argumentation Could you give me few examples of American cities with downtowns that has plazas, terraces, no need for car, people actually walking/biking to commute? Is there any pedestrian streets even in NYC(I don't remember any)?
Berlin has a population of 3.5 million. I have a feeling (it's more than a feeling actually) that you really don't know what you're talking about, because if you did, you'd realize that there are very few American cities with that high a population (I'm discussing cities, not "metro areas" which by their very nature are more spread out). In fact, there's only one American city with a higher population than Berlin, and only two American cities even close to the population of Berlin - Los Angeles and Chicago.
NYC has an excellent public transportation system.
While significantly smaller than Berlin, San Francisco, Boston, Philly, and Chicago all have good public transportation systems as well.
Let's compare Berlin and L.A.:
As you can see in Los Angeles the city actually has much more people but some guy was drunk when they draw the city limits to a map. In Berlin "city" actually includes the whole city.
edit:
Seems to be normal in America for actual city to include only a small portion of actual metro area.
edit2:
It's practically impossible to compare cities by their population. At least American cities vs European.
Last edited by Rozenn; 03-24-2015 at 03:43 PM..
Reason: Rude
Great argumentation Could you give me few examples of American cities with downtowns that has plazas, terraces, no need for car, people actually walking/biking to commute? Is there any pedestrian streets even in NYC(I don't remember any)?
Wait, what? You can certainly walk around NYC. It is full of sidewalks, parks, plazas, As is the case in every big city in America.
Great argumentation Could you give me few examples of American cities with downtowns that has plazas, terraces, no need for car, people actually walking/biking to commute? Is there any pedestrian streets even in NYC(I don't remember any)?
Are you kidding? There are many cities in the US that are like this. There are many progressive cities where bike culture is popular and with sizeable pedestrian areas. Bike culture, smart cars, and a focus on better public transportation have become a huge focus in many US cities. As are farm to table food, environmentalism and many other things. I think you are a bit behind uninformed on American dynamism and how fast things change here.
I was just in Austin Texas and walked and biked just about everywhere. Its a very cool, creative city actually.
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Could you give me few examples of American cities with downtowns that has plazas, terraces, no need for car, people actually walking/biking to commute? Is there any pedestrian streets even in NYC(I don't remember any)?
