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The ideology of eternal progress seems to abdicate in front of the trash
Is there a fatality for wetern cities looking and feeling more and more like third world dumps ?
It has nothing to do with looking like "third world dump". It's just a fact of life of big cities.
Paris is basically the polar opposite of a "third world dump." It isn't even particularly dirty, but it is somewhat lived-in, given the millions of people passing through.
Some people think that Paris is some cute, romantic town like Bruges or Venice or something and then are shocked to see it's a huge, diverse city like NYC or something. It isn't even particularly dirty, and probably has never been cleaner, but people have this stupid stereotype in their head.
I'm not pretending that, where did I write it ? but as civilization progresses, shouldn't we strive to live in cleaner, less polluted cities ? the case of Singapore for instance , proves it's possible! what's the point of human progress if one has to accept the same grit (or a different one, with plastic and diesel fumes) that our ancestors did ?
Singapore is awful. It's hideous, sterile, and everything a city should not try and be. The only good thing about Singapore is the food.
Paris is about 1 billion times more interesting/beautiful for visitors than Singapore.
Some people think that Paris is some cute, romantic town like Bruges or Venice or something and then are shocked to see it's a huge, diverse city like NYC or something. It isn't even particularly dirty, and probably has never been cleaner, but people have this stupid stereotype in their head.
I agree, Paris is not that dirty ... NYC is dirtier and some other European cities such as Rome are much dirtier. Don't know about Madrid though
Nola for please could say of what country is you .-
My opinion is that;
Madrid was the Capital of the World in the ages XVI-XVII .
Paris and Londres was the Capital of the world in the ages XVIII-XIX
New York is the capital of the World in the XX and now.
For that reason these 3 cities have things that there is not in other city in the world.
Currently besides of museums of Palaces of Paris and Madrid the best of these 3 cities today I do think that they are other things.-
For example .-
In New York today, the best theater and music in Broadway of the world and New york is also the capital finance in Wall Stret of the world.- .-
Paris is still the Capital of luxury and fashion .-
.Madrid is the capital of Europe de "Fiestas" of night, and has the best security ,transport, green areas,gastronomy .and friendliness of the people.-
Also Madrid almost as annexed only to 30 minutes has Castles mediovales cities wonderful(Toledo,Segovia,the Escorial,etc etce )that there is not together in other city of World)
Nola for please could say of what country is you .-
I'm a German citizen, living in the U.S.
I agree Madrid is a great city, but I don't think it's quite up to the level of NYC or Paris. This is hardly an insult, as NYC is probably #1 in the world and Paris is probably in the Top 3 or so.
Madrid has a great deal to offer, and is a very important city, but is generally not considered to be at the very top tier of global cities. Outside of the Prado there is no world-renowned landmark, tourists often favor Barcelona, and the city is somewhat smaller/poorer than NYC or Paris.
I don't think I'd go as far to say that NYC is the #1 in urban experience in the world. It's subjective obviously, but don't forget that cities like London, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, etc. exist too. Not saying Sao Paulo is the best because the safety and public transit are lacking (quite) a bit, but not many cities compare to its urbanity.
Barcelona is only more popular for tourists because it has a beach. Madrid's history and presence is not as world-renowned as other cities like Paris and London. London is part of the English-speaking world and therefore appeals to Americans. I'd be curious to see how Latin Americans would think about this poll, though. Madrid:London as Latin America:USA. The fact that Madrid doesn't have the same income levels as NYC or Paris doesn't really detract from the urban experience it offers. As I said, I lived there during the height of the recession in 2013. Youth unemployment was over 60% and general unemployment was pushing close to 30%. Yet you would never know it the way the city was bustling at all hours of the day. There were really no empty storefronts, the public transit was still the best I've ever been on. The city is far cleaner than either NYC or Paris. Even my mom who works in the entertainment industry in LA and has written countless fashion and travel articles was blown away by Madrid. She couldn't believe that nobody speaks so highly about its fashion and city amenities. The mercados and the plazas and the general street life and the underrated fashion scene were things she wrote about in her articles about Madrid.
Barcelona is more well known in the US because of the beaches and pop culture surrounding it and it gained much more notoriety after the Olympics were held there. But even some of the fashion from Spain never makes its way over to the US. We have H&M here, but Bershka and Pull & Bear are completely unknown here. In general, there is a lack of knowledge surrounding the entire country of Spain outside of Barcelona for various reasons. Being a tourist destination doesn't mean the city provides a better urban experience though. LA is a top tourist destination in the world, yet comes nowhere close to the urban experience of most other large cities in the world.
But when it comes to things like walkability, public transit, cleanliness, green space, pedestrian-friendliness, etc. Madrid holds its own very well against some of the elite cities of the world. IMO, it surpasses most.
Barcelona's beach is terrible. It's probably more popular than Madrid because it's generally regarded as a more beautiful city.
I think, if you polled the world, NYC would probably be the most frequent answer to "What city is #1". Paris and London would probably be the next most frequent answers. Obviously it's debatable.
And Sao Paulo is not even in the conversation. It's a third world city that has comparatively little to offer visitors. Tourists definitely favor Rio.
Barcelona's beach is terrible. It's probably more popular than Madrid because it's generally regarded as a more beautiful city.
I think, if you polled the world, NYC would probably be the most frequent answer to "What city is #1". Paris and London would probably be the next most frequent answers. Obviously it's debatable.
And Sao Paulo is not even in the conversation. It's a third world city that has comparatively little to offer visitors. Tourists definitely favor Rio.
This is not a thread of what's the #1 city in the world. This is a thread of what city offers the best urban experience. So yeah, asking people "What city is #1" will most likely lead to a win for NYC, London, and Paris. Asking people what city offers the best urban experience between NYC, Paris, and Madrid would be quite biased, though, since Madrid doesn't attract as many tourists as either. That has no relation to its urban experience. Now if you asked ONLY people who have actually been to all 3, that would be a better comparison. Having a poll on here though is challenging since I'd be willing to bet most people haven't actually been to Madrid. And that is not reflective of its urban experience. LA is nowhere close in the talks urban experience when compared to other tourist capitals of the world.
Sao Paulo doesn't belong in a thread of "What city is #1," but it's one of the most urban cities on earth.
I think you're misunderstanding the purpose of this thread
in Berlin I am still breathing of the tragedy of Second World war .-
I saw very disappointed Heidelberg below compared with Salamanca university and Oxford university 2 European cities secular.
About Madrid,Paris and New York would have to distinguish what you want from a city.
Its economy ,luxury, environment (art ,gastronomy,security etc etc).-
Clearly that these 3 cities whose economic the importance is different , I think that as German citizen of a country economically very important you to it is easy to see for under to Madrid of Paris and New York .- Is my experiencie with German businessmen.
Nevertheless with german artists my experiencie is other those german artists they valued much more Spain .-
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