What makes a city interesting? (violent crime, living in, stores)

[adirondack12804]

I'm just curious, "What do you think makes a city interesting?" For me, I feel that it is mainly the cultural influence, like Asian or European, because that I feel shapes the whole city. There are some cities that are just like beach towns, which are also pretty cool too. Specifically I like the architecture and the food. So what do you think?

[patrickinmpls]

The city layout affects people's behavior, for example if there are plazas where people congregate, then it becomes a lot more interesting.

[bchris02]

Something other than a giant mess of suburbia. Suburbs in themselves aren't bad an have their place, but when your city is so suburban you can't tell the difference between the inner city and the burbs there is a problem. I say cultural influences as well as diverse people and lifestyles are critical. If a city has diverse cultural influences, everything else that makes living in the city interesting will come automatically.

[John Shaft]

Violent crime.

[soundforlanguage81]

To me:

-History
-A lack of a tourist driven economy
-Racial diversity
-Cities that don't rely so much on automobiles
-Natural surroundings

Yeah, I know that city might as well be Shangi La, but I can equate some of those traits to cities like Minneapolis/St. paul, Albuquerque, Austin, New Orleans and Seattle to smaller cities like Boise, Casper, Duluth, Gainesville etc..

In the end, i'm really not a city person, only in small doses.

[treedonkey]

History
Arts and Architecture
Location
Cuisine
Diversity

Good thread. Too bad it won't get more comments, since it's not inherently something people want to argue about or have flame wars over.

[breeze823]

I would say history which would probably go along with architecture for me...my husband would have to add cuisine to that

[breeze823]

Originally Posted by treedonkey

History
Arts and Architecture
Location
Cuisine
Diversity

Good thread. Too bad it won't get more comments, since it's not inherently something people want to argue about or have flame wars over.

no, those people will still find something to argue about even on this thread,lol...

[chicken.or.the.nugget]

density/and a walkable city makes it interesting. When you're in a car you dont get to see the stores or people. I also like architecture, and having older buildings is definitley a plus. Having a big square or park in downtown is nice too. Like others have said, it shouldnt feel suburban. I live in a suburb and expect to live in a suburb but a city should feel dense and large.

[garmin239]

things that you cant find easily in other cities and character. There is nothing worse than being sent some place to work and being surrounded by strip malls and chain stores that I can find in anywhere suburbia