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I was thinking about this in a previous thread where it seems like some cities have a well-defined and commonly agreed upon centers for their cities, but some don't.
I live in New York City, and I honestly don't know if there's a real set and understood center. There's a fairly obscure marker in Woodside Queens that denotes it as a geographic center and the city says the center is somewhere in Bushwick, Brooklyn, but most people would probably agree that it's not really the geographic center that matters so much as a commonly agreed upon center of activity. For that, it's probably somewhere in Manhattan and below Central Park, but I don't think there will be a majority of people who would agree on a single location. There's probably a healthy split between Union Square and Times Square with a lot of other options people might mention like Madison Square Park and the Flatiron building or Herald Square.
Does your city have a well-defined and commonly agreed upon center?
I would say it's the east (Taipei 101 and environs), but some people would say it's the central (Taipei main station and environs). Tbh everything in between feels pretty center. They are like 12 mins away by underground though so the debate is a bit pointless. The city is so cramped I feel like there's not really a clearly defined centre.
I think, most bigger cities have an area called downtown where commerce, entertainment, shopping, and political power are concentrated. In older cities,
city centre is often the first settled part of a city.
I think, most bigger cities have an area called downtown where commerce, entertainment, shopping, and political power are concentrated. In older cities,
city centre is often the first settled part of a city.
Right, and some have names saying as much. It's interesting to me when a city has a very defined and specific center. Van Ness and Market for SF was mentioned earlier and is a very specific spot in the city. Another one I know of is Philadelphia with Philadelphia City Hall which figures very prominently as part of the street grid and rises to a point with a statue of William Penn. London I've heard to be also very specific with the Charles I statue in Trafalgar Square.
I live in New York City, and I honestly don't know if there's a real set and understood center. There's a fairly obscure marker in Woodside Queens that denotes it as a geographic center and the city says the center is somewhere in Bushwick, Brooklyn, but most people would probably agree that it's not really the geographic center that matters so much as a commonly agreed upon center of activity. For that, it's probably somewhere in Manhattan and below Central Park, but I don't think there will be a majority of people who would agree on a single location. There's probably a healthy split between Union Square and Times Square with a lot of other options people might mention like Madison Square Park and the Flatiron building or Herald Square.
For me, it is Bryant Park/NYPL in NYC.
In my home city it is historically considered the General Post Office.
In my home city it is historically considered the General Post Office.
I see. Were you ever a resident of NYC? I think that there would be a pretty small proportion of New Yorkers who would agree with that assessment.
I'd think City Hall, Union Square, or even Times Square would be frontrunners and then a handful of other places would be mentioned before Bryant Park.
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 04-07-2021 at 10:23 AM..
In Bologna the historical center is clearly defined by the 12 km long boulevard ring, which once was walled. All the area inside is considered as the center, which is relatively big (4,5 sq km) but small compared to the total area of the city (140 sq km)
The weird thing is that for many people, the center equals the city, and everything else is kind of a suburb even though we're talking about neighborhoods located just about 1km from the main square (piazza maggiore).
There's that weird thing where Bolognese people only know their own neighborhood and the center (if they don't live in the center already), and that's pretty much it. For many people it's strange to venture out of the center, although lately it's starting to change because of the pandemic and the need to be in greener areas.
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