Do you think of North Arlington as suburban? (Alexandria, Orange: cul-de-sac, apartment)

[brooklynborndad]

yes, i know technically Arlington county is a suburb - its a jurisdiction thats 'sub' to a larger neighboring central city.

But I tend to use suburban to mean a form of metropolitan development, not a legal relationship, and I tend to think of at least the Rosslyn - Ballston corridor as "urban" despite its location in a "suburban" county.

This has come up wrt the question of whether the rosslyn-ballston corridor should be included in discussing what "typical suburban development in NoVa" is. I was inclined to exclude that corridor. Some might think I am making up my own definition. I think that I am not alone in thinking this way, and wonder what others think.

[Carlingtonian]

Depends. Within a quarter-mile of any Metro stop, it's quasi-urban. Beyond that, it's surburban--the farther you go, the moreso.

I don't know what "typical" suburban development is. Generally, neighborhoods consisting exclusively of single-family homes, with shopping areas in their own districts. But then, if typical means typical of the modern era of development (say post 1960s, i.e., treeless tract subdivisions of identical houses with garages in the front), then N. Arlington doesn't have that--except for a few very new McMansion developments like this one.

[Stephen 81]

I agree with Carlingtonian. I don't see anything suburban about the Orange Line in Arlington, but North Arlington encompasses far more than just the Orange Line. Country Club Hills, Westover, the area near Yorktown HS - those are all definitely suburban. Relying on jurisdictional boundaries to decide what is urban and what is suburban may be necessary from a federal government standpoint, but not an urban planning one.

[BoomBoxing]

It's an interesting point that when it comes down to it, the lines between urban and suburban can be quite blurred. For example, the last place I lived was in the city of St. Louis, which is certainly an urban jurisdiction. But I had a house with a good sized yard, driveway, privacy fence, and not a ton of stuff to walk to. Yet I certainly considered it urban, or at least quasi-urban because the neighborhood had a lot of mixed use elements, it was built a grid street system, transit-accessible, bike friendly, and close to all the urban elements of the region. I would say similar DC neighborhoods would be like Cathedral Heights or Glover Park.

Here in the DC area I live in Arlington, a "suburb" but live in a high rise apartment accross the street from a transit-oriented shopping/restaurant district, and a few minutes from a metro station. It may be a suburb but in my opinion, it's a very urban place. And the SFH neighborhoods of Arlington I'd consider quasi-urban due to their walkable proximity to transit and amentities.

So the answer to your question is that I do not think of North Arlington, or south either as suburban in nature. Suburban to me equals mainly strip malls, little to no transit, cul-de-sacs, and nearly completely auto-oriented. It's a suburb that is urban in nature or "urban-oriented" if you will. I would also give the same label to Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Alexandria.

[CAVA1990]

Wilson Blvd. definitely has an urban feel to it. To me suburbs usually mean SFHs. How about Old Town Alexandria? Is that urban or suburban?

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Wilson Blvd. definitely has an urban feel to it. To me suburbs usually mean SFHs. How about Old Town Alexandria? Is that urban or suburban?

Depends where on Wilson. The western stretch is very suburban.

I'd call Old Town neither--it has a very small-town feel. Very Old New Orleans in some areas. Hopefully they'll keep it that way.

[Caladium]

LOL, to me this question is similar to asking if Judi Dench looks like a woman. If you create your own definition of what "looking like a woman" is (perhaps something like: a woman looks like the females posing in Playboy) then I suppose you can argue that Judi Dench doesn't look like a woman. You can also argue that a poodle doesn't look like a dog if you've decided a dog looks like a labrador retriever.

But, the way I see it, Judi Dench looks like a woman because she IS a woman. A poodle looks like a dog because it IS a dog. Arlington looks like a suburb because it IS a suburb. Why should there only be one look for a suburb to have?

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by Caladium

A poodle looks like a dog because it IS a dog.

No. A poodle is not a dog. Or at least the most common types of poodle (the mini and the toy) are not. Nor is a Yorkie, a Pekingese, or any other yapping animal is no larger than a housecat. A standard poodle? Maybe. But only if you let its hair grow out. And keep it away from berets and sweaters.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Wilson Blvd. definitely has an urban feel to it. To me suburbs usually mean SFHs. How about Old Town Alexandria? Is that urban or suburban?

I agree about Wilson Boulevard as well as much of South Arlington, particularly close to the Metro stations.

To me, Old Town is urban although I agree with another post that it also has a certain "small town" charm to it as well.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

I don't know what "typical" suburban development is.

Me neither, but I find this question amusing considering usually we see posts like "all the Nova burbs look exactly alike." It's fun to discuss, for a change, how they actually have different looks. They all look like suburbs to me, though. There are lots of different looks a suburb can have.

ps. FWIW, if you go by the largest number of SFHs, IMO the "typical" suburban development in northern Virginia is probably the planned "town center" types of communities. A huge number were built in the last 20-30 years.