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I think its safe to conclude that Seattle feels more like a bustling city with a traditional urban core, whereas Houston is not as vibrant but has a far more expansive metro area.
I would not go as far as saying Seattle is bustling. It is laughable to do so.
I think it is safe to say the streets in Seattle are bustling in its Downtown Core. Mostly because of the SHopping and lots of residental restaurants thats Downtown.. Barneys NY NOrdtroms Macys and smaller retailers can be found in that area
you don't think it is laughable to call Seattle Bustling?
No, I don't think it's laughable. I think bustling might not be accurate day and night. I think that downtown Seattle is pretty vibrant at times, and it has it's off-times...I guess my issue is the term "laughable". From the couple of visits I had there, I think downtown felt comfortably vibrant with occasional times of bustle.
i really do not get this poll. diversity is cool but houston's sprawling is way tooo huge to even overlook. once you're in houston you can sense right off the bat that the city is big.
also the debate over the skylines is ridiculous. i like them both but for DIFFERENT reasons. seattles is a gorgeous skyline.... but houston's skyline is also again huge and sprawled out making it just as impressive.
Ok, now I see. Allow me to explain. I think it is common sense to note podunk towns aren't going to have extensive highway systems. Highway systems are designed to move large amounts of commuters quickly. Which would mean a large population is apparent in this area. So an extensive highway system, in essence, has the common goal of public transportation in that one basic aim is to relieve congestion. Now this point will be attack, as I understand. But this is why more public transportation infrastructure is built and highways are created/widened is to relieve congestion. This is not going to ahppen in a small town.
Sprawl enhancing urbanity. Essentially what I'm saying is that going from one development to another, especially like TMC, to Galleria, to Downtown, etc., can seem like the city never ends and that there are multiple foci of attention in the city. Compared to a huge concentration of activity that fizzles as you go from the center. Does that make more sense?
I understand what you're saying, but both Seattle's and Houston's CBD are roughly the same. I think Houston;s is bigger by buildings and office space, but for argument's sake I'll say they're the same. Then you throw in the other skylines/business districs/entertainment disrtricts of Houston and I hope you see what I'm saying.
Nice post, I see what you're saying but one thing I have to comment on is that I think extensive highway systems just add to the congestion. Public transportation is about getting people places without having to use their car. Which therefore relieves congestion depending on how advanced the PT is.
I would not go as far as saying Seattle is bustling. It is laughable to do so.
The only thing laughable is the feeble attempts of some to pretend they are experts regarding a city of which they've clearly never seen a lick. Well that, and the rather pathetic attempts to insult others along the way.
Seattle is indeed bustling. At least if one is to believe Websters' definitions as fact. Feel free to suggest you know otherwise.
I've included a link to Webster's Online Dictionary for those who might be vocabulary or spelling challenged.
Main Entry: 1bus·tle
Pronunciation: \ˈbə-səl\
Function: intransitive verb
Etymology: probably alteration of obsolete buskle to prepare, frequentative of busk, from Old Norse būask to prepare oneself
Inflected Forms: bus·tledbus·tling\ˈbəs-liŋ, ˈbə-sə-\
Date: 1580
1
: to move briskly and often ostentatiously
2
: to be busily astir : teem
— bustling adjective
— bus·tling·ly\-liŋ-lē\ adverb
Every city would have multiple skylines if they were 600+ sq. miles.
Seattle would have bellvue and what not.
Talking about "feeble attempts of some to pretend they are experts regarding a city of which they've clearly never seen a lick", to quote Bill Loney, most of Houston's prominent buisness and commerce clusters are located inside the loop or have boundaries which extend just outside the loop. All in all, an area of slightly above 100 sq miles. This includes Downtown, obviously, the Texas Medical Center, and Uptown. As well as much subtle skylines and highrise clusters like Greenway Plaza, Allen Parkway, Museum District, Upper Kirby/River Oaks etc.
The only notable clusters that actually are located outside of this much more comparable-to-other-cities area is Greenspoint, Westchase, and the Energy Corridor. None of which are considered skylines.
Point being, even if Houston was just over 100 sq miles, it would still have multiple skylines, and no, if every city were Houston's hypothetical 100 sq mile size, they would not have multiple skylines.
And while I don't want to voice an opinion on Seattle's case of being bustling, using dictionary definitions doesn't prove that one could consider Seattle "bustling", because then that would mean, based on the definition of "urban", which if you look back a few pages to the one I posted from your source, would mean that Houston is "urban", that Phoenix is "urban", that San Antonio is "urban", that Jacksonville is "urban", or any other city is "urban". And since you people say that those cities aren't indeed "urban" soley based on FACTUAL dictionary definition, only makes your argument for Seattle being "bustling" voided; you can't choose which definitions to accept and which to dissaprove of.
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