Sorry, but Greensboro — BY FAR — is the most “urban, gritty feeling” city out of the state’s top 5 most populous cities (Charlotte: low income, city hall)
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… I mean it’s not even close. Greensboro’s city core is so gritty and urban feeling and it’s something the remaining four most populous cities in NC cant touch.
For a brief moment, if you didn’t know where you were and compartmentalize your location, it gives off vibes of a much larger, grittier metro (such as those you’d see up north or even Atlanta before the gentrification) at its core.
Truly unique in that sense… and quite refreshing actually .
First NC cities that come to mind when talking about "grittiness" are Durham, Winston-Salem, and to some extent downtown Wilmington and Asheville. Honorable mentions to Fayetteville and Salisbury. There are certainly areas in every city that are more "gritty" than others, but Greensboro doesn't strike me as unusually more "gritty-feeling" than several of the other major NC cities.
…Greensboro's core isn't quite as new and shiny but it has several new-ish developments that are downtown anchors like Charlotte and Raleigh do...
That’s a part of a gritty characteristic. Greensboro’s core has very little new shimmer and poshness unlike Raleigh , Charlotte and to a lesser extent Durham and now Winston. I really don’t think y’all have been to G Boro in a while but I’ve just recently visited 4 out of the 5 cities (excluding Charlotte) on business and none had as much of a lived in, urban grit aesthetic at its core than Greensboro. Y’all need to really get out. Winston is close , I will concede. But a lot of Winston’s grit is found OUTSIDE of its core . So if speaking overall, Winston might have more grit, but at its core, Greensboro edges Winston. But Durham has been gentrifying left and right (will continue to do so). There’s a good bit of shiny, shimmer popping up at Durham’s core although it doesn’t have that generic aesthetic of say, a Charlotte.
Y’all continue to post based off historical reputation and not real time evidence and observation. Durham’s “grit” has been eroding for yeeeears.
Last edited by UserNamesake; 10-12-2021 at 11:22 AM..
That’s a part of a gritty characteristic. Greensboro’s core has very little new shimmer and poshness unlike Raleigh , Charlotte and to a lesser extent Durham and now Winston. I really don’t think y’all have been to G Boro in a while but I’ve just recently visited 4 out of the 5 cities (excluding Charlotte) on business and none had as much of a lived in, urban grit aesthetic at its core than Greensboro. Y’all need to really get out. Winston is close , I will concede. But a lot of Winston’s grit is found OUTSIDE of its core . So if speaking overall, Winston might have more grit, but at its core, Greensboro edges Winston. But Durham has been gentrifying left and right (will continue to do so). There’s a good bit of shiny, shimmer popping up at Durham’s core although it doesn’t have that generic aesthetic of say, a Charlotte.
Y’all continue to post based off historical reputation and not real time evidence and observation. Durham’s “grit” has been eroding for yeeeears.
I was in downtown Greensboro three days ago. I visit most of the major NC cities at least once a year and am pretty familiar with all of NC's cities. I like downtown Greensboro but it just doesn't really strike me as inordinately "gritty" relative to some of the other NC cities mentioned.
Imo, Durham does pretty good at preserving its character despite all of the growth there. 555 Mangum/Van Alen (across from DBAP) took the place of a one story office building with surface parking. The Bartlett condos took the place of a SFH and small building. The ID buildings took the place of surface parking and a Durham school building. The Roxboro at Venable Center took the place of surface parking. ATC2 will take the place of a former car dealership and surface parking. One City Center did take out a few buildings, but several of the storefronts along Main St were rebuilt as part of that project, and they could pass for something from a century ago. You don't see a *ton* of older buildings replaced by newer ones there, rather most of the new development fills in voids currently occupied by surface parking. Raleigh and especially Charlotte are much more egregious than any other NC cities at knocking down their old character-filled buildings for bland new stuff.
That’s a part of a gritty characteristic. Greensboro’s core has very little new shimmer and poshness unlike Raleigh , Charlotte and to a lesser extent Durham and now Winston. I really don’t think y’all have been to G Boro in a while but I’ve just recently visited 4 out of the 5 cities (excluding Charlotte) on business and none had as much of a lived in, urban grit aesthetic at its core than Greensboro. Y’all need to really get out. Winston is close , I will concede. But a lot of Winston’s grit is found OUTSIDE of its core . So if speaking overall, Winston might have more grit, but at its core, Greensboro edges Winston. But Durham has been gentrifying left and right (will continue to do so). There’s a good bit of shiny, shimmer popping up at Durham’s core although it doesn’t have that generic aesthetic of say, a Charlotte.
Y’all continue to post based off historical reputation and not real time evidence and observation. Durham’s “grit” has been eroding for yeeeears.
I agree with you concerning Durham, but not Greensboro. But maybe all of the recent progress of the Innovation Quarter in downtown Winston-Salem had reduced the gritty element found in its core? It's parts of Winston's core like this that give it a more gritty quality IMO:
I was in downtown Greensboro three days ago. I visit most of the major NC cities at least once a year and am pretty familiar with all of NC's cities. I like downtown Greensboro but it just doesn't really strike me as inordinately "gritty" relative to some of the other NC cities mentioned.
Imo, Durham does pretty good at preserving its character despite all of the growth there. 555 Mangum/Van Alen (across from DBAP) took the place of a one story office building with surface parking. The Bartlett condos took the place of a SFH and small building. The ID buildings took the place of surface parking and a Durham school building. The Roxboro at Venable Center took the place of surface parking. ATC2 will take the place of a former car dealership and surface parking. One City Center did take out a few buildings, but several of the storefronts along Main St were rebuilt as part of that project, and they could pass for something from a century ago. You don't see a *ton* of older buildings replaced by newer ones there, rather most of the new development fills in voids currently occupied by surface parking. Raleigh and especially Charlotte are much more egregious than any other NC cities at knocking down their old character-filled buildings for bland new stuff.
You must be specifically referring to the Charlie Goodnight's building in Raleigh. LOL
A developer is planning to raze this gem to build more McPartments. At least the Creamery is safe (for now).
After posting a few opinions about different cities and their grittiness and seeing this debated, I am left wondering, what is the goal of this thread?
Is being deemed "gritty" a desirable thing or not? As I stated in an earlier post, my opinion on whether it is a net positive or negative can vary depending on the response to that.
Or is this thread simply for abstract academic purposes?
I am definitely stealing this! "McPartments" is the perfect description for those ubiquitous blandities mushrooming up everywhere.
It's out of control. The main reason they are popping up everywhere is because they can be built relatively quickly, developers can easily get by with low quality designs and construction, and make a very good profit.
Hell, if I could secure 5 or 6 acres of prime land in downtown Raleigh or Charlotte, i'd build one.
The cores of Charlotte and Raleigh also have very similar areas as depicted in those Streetviews and pictures. Greensboro's core isn't quite as new and shiny but it has several new-ish developments that are downtown anchors like Charlotte and Raleigh do. That said, it also has a more noticeable collection of preserved older buildings in the mix so I'll walk back the "sterile" descriptor.
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This isn't true I currently live in Cary(so I'm in around Downtown Raleigh like every day) and I have lived in Charlotte and they do not give me the same vibe or look and Charlotte outside of Noda and Southend doesn't have any where near the amount of street art as Downtown Greensboro
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