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I agree, those are weird terms especially when you look at how some cities use the terms. Oakland, California has a downtown and an uptown. Uptown is the northern part of its downtown
.
Even more interesting is that the term downtown originated in the urban geography of Manhattan, but that the part of Manhattan that most people in the world would identify as the city's downtown, is actuallly ''Midtown".
San Diego is interesting. Majority of the time, you here downtown. However the Metropolitan Transit System often uses "city centre" mainly on the trolley (light rail). A few of the buses actually use the Spanish "San Diego Centro".
In English-speaking Canada you see both "Downtown" and the more British style ''City Centre'' on highway signs, depending on the region. In bilingual New Brunswick they just use the word "Centre" which works in both languages. So the exit for downtown Moncton says ''Moncton Centre".
But in spoken Canadian English, it's always downtown people say.
For vibrancy in a downtown, San Diego beats Portland by miles and Seattle a bit too.
No, it really doesn't. Downtown San Diego feels pretty dead outside of touristy Gastown. Neither of those three cities have that great of downtowns, but there's nothing that special about San Diego from what I've seen.
North American downtowns outside a few are usually not that great as it is, but they've had a long nadir and only recently are coming back in some ways.
I don't know about Caracas but I can sort of see your point. I love Seattle but it's downtown really isn't that impressive. Only in the actual core does it have that vibrant urban feel to it. A lot of the energy in Seattle is in Capital Hill or the more distant University District.
Don't even get me started on Portland Oregon. Portland feels like a bunch of mountain people that just happen to live in a city and it's downtown is not even worth speaking of.
For vibrancy in a downtown, San Diego beats Portland by miles and Seattle a bit too.
The part of Seattle's downtown that's office only (southern part?) is rather dead, others aren't bad. And looking it from a "center city perspective" does it matter much if a lot of the energy is in adjacent Capitol Hill rather than the very center?
I thought Portland's downtown was nice, though not very big.
No, it really doesn't. Downtown San Diego feels pretty dead outside of touristy Gastown. Neither of those three cities have that great of downtowns, but there's nothing that special about San Diego from what I've seen.
North American downtowns outside a few are usually not that great as it is, but they've had a long nadir and only recently are coming back in some ways.
I'm not one to say San Diego is special but compared to Seattle's, there is more vibrancy. Also, it's Gaslamp, not Gastown and it's where the nighlife is in SD, not so much a tourist attraction. I've spent many a night at the clubs there.
Also, San Diego has a four story mall in it's downtown which blows Seattle's Westlake Village out of the water. Now Seattle's waterfront buries San Diego's.
The part of Seattle's downtown that's office only (southern part?) is rather dead, others aren't bad. And looking it from a "center city perspective" does it matter much if a lot of the energy is in adjacent Capitol Hill rather than the very center?
I thought Portland's downtown was nice, though not very big.
Then what is your criteria? If it's just skylines then yeah, Seattle wins but to me there's more to a downtown than it's skyline. And it does matter because Capitol Hill is not downtown. Belltown is but not Capitol Hill. At this point, you might as well just ask what city is the best and not focus on the city centres.
And yes, the office building areas tend to be rather dead. It's the same in San Francisco. In fact, many don't consider those areas as "downtown" but rather they are called the Financial District, especially in San Francisco. It's often said that the Financial District is adjacent to downtown.
The first picture is Belltown. Some people like Belltown, some don't. The second shows the monorail. That building that it ends up at is the end of the line. That's Westlake Village. Pine is a shopping street. I never did much shopping in Seattle but now I am beginning to perhaps give Seattle more credit than before. CanuckInPortland may have made a good point in his posts as Seattle does have high end shopping than San Diego. Indeed, Nordstrom is headquartered there. I just remember it becoming a ghost town at night where as San Diego's downtown doesn't.
Yes, Seattle is a very clean city. Compared to California cities it is ridiculously clean. Downtown San Diego and especially San Francisco often smell like urine. They are definitely much grittier especially San Francisco.
Then what is your criteria? If it's just skylines then yeah, Seattle wins but to me there's more to a downtown than it's skyline. And it does matter because Capitol Hill is not downtown. Belltown is but not Capitol Hill. At this point, you might as well just ask what city is the best and not focus on the city centres.
Captiol Hill is almost the city center, though. I walked there from where I was staying downtown, it doesn't look like downtown though I remember it being very busy on a Friday night. Overwhelmed by hipsters.
Not gonna lie but a lot of American downtowns look very boring. Not a lot of people walking the streets.
Seattle downtown looks OK
You went to Boston, right? Anywhere else in the US? How'd Boston compare to British city centers?
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