Manhattan vs Hong Kong: which feels more vibrant and urban

[Cptn]

Lets just say from observation, "Hypothetically Speaking" You have 2 giant ant mounds, 1 being (In retrospect) Larger more active, densely populated, then the other. If you took a square cube of sugar and dropped it, in both locations, with the same square footage, in either location, to feed the indigenous residents, expect to have nourished 100% of the inhabitance! In HK you would need a hand full of cubes per square mile, as to NY's 2 or 3 cubes per square mile, to have the similar or same affect on the population in those areas. Fact remains IMO, HK stands at the all time high for population density per square mile. Same would apply for human activity and in commerce 24/7. Night life, street dwellers, residence, both, the indigenous and the Taurus coming and going way out weigh New York's on it's best day! Kowloon would be a fine example of what maybe to come, in either location, considering migration standards in both areas! Thought maybe a little humor to lighten the load, would be a good thing here!

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[Cptn]

Originally Posted by Joakim3

Just to run some numbers..

Hong Kong
Central and Western 244,600 12.44 sq.km
Eastern 574,500 18.56 sq.km
Wan Chai 150,900 9.83 sq.km
Kowloon City 405,400 10.02 sq.km
Yau Tsim Mong 318,100 6.99 sq.km

Total 1,693,500 57.84 sq/km

Manhattan 1,628,701 59.1 sq/km


Manhattan is the more vibrant & busier place. In terms of which one feels more overbearing... They're both so massive, any difference a first timer would experience would be negligible.

Where Manhattan beats HK at is its substantially more urban. Its geographically one place and feels substantially bigger (because it is) and it's geography doesn't inhibit development. What Manhattan lacks in raw skyscrapers (first time saying that one).. it makes up for in its structural density/urban form that to this day is still unmatched by any city on the planet.

Where HK gaps Manhattan is the picturesque of its core. To this day, "wether" whether you are looking at Central from Kowloon or gazing the city from Victoria Peak... it's the most visually stunning city I've every been to.

I've been to both (have immediate family in Manhattan). They are both incredible cities but in the context of the criteria for this thread, NYC would take it imho

IMHO For one centralized per square footage or size of a Urban location, I concur!