What are Pittsburgh's peer cities? (Reading, McKeesport: apartment, place to live, vs)

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by _Buster

Agree on both points. maybe if the PDP came up with a year-round weekend/evening parking validation for shopping, that would convince some retail shops to give it more consideration.

My biggest gripe with downtown Pittsburgh nightlife right now is that you have to have reservations, stalk out a seat at the bar, or be prepared to wait 45 minutes or more. Twice last month my wife and I went downtown for drinks on a whim and wound up eating pizza at Giovanni's after getting turned away from 4 or 5 places. A Friday (understandable I guess) and a Sunday (was surprised by that).

[_Buster]

Originally Posted by ferraris

My biggest gripe with downtown Pittsburgh nightlife right now is that you have to have reservations, stalk out a seat at the bar, or be prepared to wait 45 minutes or more. Twice last month my wife and I went downtown for drinks on a whim and wound up eating pizza at Giovanni's after getting turned away from 4 or 5 places. A Friday (understandable I guess) and a Sunday (was surprised by that).

Yeah that is true - both good and bad I guess. Good in that it should bring in even more nightlife businesses for more choices, but it may have reached a critical mass where it's now more like center city Philadelphia, in that you tend to usually feel crowded, with small tables and seating areas, rubbing elbows with the nearby tables , louder, with longer waits and you feel more rushed.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by ferraris

I'm curious as to what constitutes "too gentrified"?

I mean it's basically just an expensive upper-middle class urban enclave - sort of like a larger scale Mexican War Streets/Allegheny West. I love the architecture, but that the neighborhood has been established for decades means very little is really going on there now.

Originally Posted by ferraris

Indy doesn't really have 19th century neighborhoods, but there are some pretty analogous neighborhoods. Broad Ripple is Shadyside sans chains, Fountain Square is Lawrenceville with different architecture, Irvington is Regent Square with a bigger business district, Mass Ave's Business district is a less alcohol-focused South Side.

They might serve analogous functions, but they aren't analogous neighborhoods. Their business districts are far more peppered with parking lots. The residential neighborhoods are far more dominated by detached single-family homes. They are dime-a dozen "urban" neighborhoods for the Midwest, with no distinct "sense of place" - something you get in a lot of Pittsburgh, and in select other places in the rust belt (German Village in Columbus, Over-The-Rhine in Cincinnati, etc.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I mean it's basically just an expensive upper-middle class urban enclave - sort of like a larger scale Mexican War Streets/Allegheny West. I love the architecture, but that the neighborhood has been established for decades means very little is really going on there now.

I get what you mean now. i can the appeal of living someplace that is actively improving over a place that has already improved.

They might serve analogous functions, but they aren't analogous neighborhoods. Their business districts are far more peppered with parking lots. The residential neighborhoods are far more dominated by detached single-family homes. They are dime-a dozen "urban" neighborhoods for the Midwest, with no distinct "sense of place" - something you get in a lot of Pittsburgh, and in select other places in the rust belt (German Village in Columbus, Over-The-Rhine in Cincinnati, etc.

I'd still posit that they are analogous neighborhoods despite having different architecture and planning.

In general, I don't care about the built environment of a neighborhood unless it begins to affect the function of the neighborhood. I guess an exception would be where the architecture is the key point of the neighborhood, like the Mexican War Streets or Beech Ave.

I mean sure, it's cool to see a gargoyle or "1892" chiseled in a cornerstone in Pittsburgh,, but at the end of the day I'm just trying to shop or eat or get to work. The sorts of amenities and the sorts of people in a neighborhood are much more important to me than architecture and layout.

I think we have differing views on this since I grew up in the Midwest and you grew up in the Northeast. I definitely don't consider those Indy neighborhoods to be dime-a-dozen without a sense of place.

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by gladhands

I will say, however, that downtown shopping is pretty sorry. It's the only thing about Pittsburgh that has gotten worse since I've lived here. Larrimors and Nettleton Shoes are literally the only reasons to shop downtown. Brooks Brothers, too, if you're into that sort of thing.

But people don't shop the way they used to anymore; most people are online and no one is putting on their hat and gloves to ride the streetcar to Kaufman's. It might not be prudent for developers to throw their money toward retail as was.

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

But people don't shop the way they used to anymore; most people are online and no one is putting on their hat and gloves to ride the streetcar to Kaufman's. It might not be prudent for developers to throw their money toward retail as was.

Department stores are dinosaurs, but people still shop at boutiques and high street shops.

[MountainDewGuy]

Originally Posted by _Buster

Yeah that is true - both good and bad I guess. Good in that it should bring in even more nightlife businesses for more choices, but it may have reached a critical mass where it's now more like center city Philadelphia, in that you tend to usually feel crowded, with small tables and seating areas, rubbing elbows with the nearby tables , louder, with longer waits and you feel more rushed.

Nobody goes downtown anymore. It's too crowded.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by gladhands

Department stores are dinosaurs, but people still shop at boutiques and high street shops.

Yes, and Pittsburgh has that in Shadyside, Lawrenceville, and scattered areas elsewhere. I don't see any salient reason for it to be relocated into Downtown.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I mean it's basically just an expensive upper-middle class urban enclave - sort of like a larger scale Mexican War Streets/Allegheny West. I love the architecture, but that the neighborhood has been established for decades means very little is really going on there now.



They might serve analogous functions, but they aren't analogous neighborhoods. Their business districts are far more peppered with parking lots. The residential neighborhoods are far more dominated by detached single-family homes. They are dime-a dozen "urban" neighborhoods for the Midwest, with no distinct "sense of place" - something you get in a lot of Pittsburgh, and in select other places in the rust belt (German Village in Columbus, Over-The-Rhine in Cincinnati, etc.

I suggest you take a trip to Omaha.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighb...maha,_Nebraska

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

I suggest you take a trip to Omaha.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighb...maha,_Nebraska

I'll need more time to look, but most of the housing seems to be 1.5 story cottages in the older neighborhoods. I quite like the looks of these however.