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Los Angeles: 3,124/km2 (8,092/sq mi)
Barcelona: 15,991/km2 (41,420/sq mi)
I haven't visited LA, so I won't rate them, but Barcelona is 5 times more dense than LA. Barcelona would be the 4th densest city in the US. Guttenberg, Union City and West New York (all in NJ) are denser. The largest city of those is Union city, pop 67k.
Barcelona is incredibly dense, but you should keep in mind that city limits aren't a great base for comparison. Barcelona's city boundaries are about 100 square kilometers with 1.6 million in population while LA's is taking in over 1200 square kilometers for it's 3.7 million. However, that 1200 square kilometers includes areas such as airports, a mountain range where pretty much no building is allowed, the giant port complex, and areas of suburban housing that just generally don't figure into a city environment. If you were to grab a good continuous glob of Los Angeles from its downtown running to the west of about 100 square kilometers, you'd get something closer to something like a third the density rather than a fifth.
Another comparison for the US is Manhattan which is a part of the city of New York which has Barcelona's population in a far smaller land area (for a density of 26,939/km2 or 69,771/sq mi) and with a significantly larger percentage devoted to greenspace/parks.
Let's not kid ourselves. Look at any city photos of Barcelona. It is FAR denser and more urban than LA. I've lived in LA and stayed in Barcelona for a few months. Barcelona's land area is much smaller, but it makes LA look like a bedroom community in comparison. Anyone who tries to claim that LA's sprawl of little single story single family houses are more urban than Barcelona's uninterrupted urban wall of 10-15 story buildings is just plain wrong. Sorry LA boosters, but Europe has the US (save for Manhattan) completely beat when it comes to density.
I've been to both several times.
For me, LA in a heartbeat; simply exotic for an European like me.
And I'm weary of pickpockets in Barcelona
(didn't even talk about the climate, much warmer in LA)
Culture - are you kidding
Food - are you kidding
Diversity - LA
Urbanity - Barcelona
Transit - are you kidding
Beaches - are you kidding
Natural beauty - are you kidding
History - are you seriously kidding me, breh?
Architecture - really breh?
Which city would you rather visit? Live? - Barcelona
Food -Barcelona (L.A. has an amazing variety of food cultures, not least Califonia's, but food in Barcelona is an inextricable part of the historic fabric of the region. The ham, the seafood... ahhhh. And not very expensive to eat out, either)
Diversity -L.A. Their real strong suit. And from a culinary perspective, a strong draw for the city
Urbanity -Barcelona. Though, in general, I am not so impressed with either city as an expresion of urbanism.
Transit -N/C I have mostly walked in Barcelona, traffic on the highways leading out were not bad the few times I have driven out. Not enough experience with transit in L.A. but when I am in L.A., I bring a book.
Beaches -L.A., Barcelona's coast has its charm, but really cannot compete with L.A. beach culture. Also, not a big fan of the Olympic infrastructure in Barcelona. On the other hand, I like Barcelona's coastal neighborhoods better. Nothing like popping out of Barceloneta right onto the beach.
Natural beauty -Tie. Montjuic right in the city looming over the sea. Then the distant but not unimpressive San Gabriels in L.A.. In all, I am not impressed with the lower hills in either city. In fact they look remarkably alike.
History -Barcelona.
Architecture -Barcelona by a mile.
Which city would you rather visit? Live? -Barcelona
Culture
Food
Diversity
Urbanity
Transit
Beaches
Natural beauty
History
Architecture
Of the listed criteria, LA only wins diversity. Barcelona destroys LA in the other categories.
Funny you left out economy, a category LA pulverizes Barca in. 20% unemployment?! There's a ringing endorsement for the super-dense, walkable metropolis, eh?
Funny you left out economy, a category LA pulverizes Barca in. 20% unemployment?! There's a ringing endorsement for the super-dense, walkable metropolis, eh?
Are you trying to propose a theory that health of the economy is inversely correlated to walkability/density of a city? It would be a funny one given that NY County has (by far) the highest per capita income in the US, eh?
Whoa, whoa now let's hold up here trimac. I would not automatically give urbanity to Barcelona. LA is one of the densest places on the planet. LA has an an amazing bus system, lots of walkable neighborhoods and of course all of the beaches are walkable. It's too close too call
And for history.... LA has Hollywood, history with Mexico and their reason for booming is to supply u.s troops with weaponry during the Cold War. Also, the growth boom is because everyone wanted to strike it rich looking for gold. Ever seen the movie City Slickers? LA is filled with history, it's another close one.
Did you eat at a lot of restaurants on your LA visit? Was it high quality?
Have you ever been to Barcelona? Much more urban and infinitely better public transport. Barcelona was also a major medieval city. How can LA compete with it when it comes to history?
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