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^^^ The Philly metro is fairly unbroken between Newark, DE and Trenton, NJ - about 75 miles.
Unless you consider Wilmington but an area of Chicago's metro has more development and population to over lap it though. Western New Jersey looks too spread out with trees and towns in between. It's not constant. I could drive along the Kennedy all the way out towards Schaumburg past O'Hare not run out of continuous development or along I-290 then I-88. Philly doesn't go that far out without running into wilderness and small towns spread a part. NYC is the only metro area that can do this. I been in both cities hundreds of times over the years I know.
Unless you consider Wilmington but an area of Chicago's metro has more development and population to over lap it though. Western New Jersey looks too spread out with trees and towns in between. It's not constant. I could drive along the Kennedy all the way out towards Schaumburg past O'Hare not run out of continuous development or along I-290 then I-88. Philly doesn't go that far out without running into wilderness and small towns spread a part. NYC is the only metro area that can do this. I been in both cities hundreds of times over the years I know.
I don't know what you mean by "Unless you consider Wilmington but an area of Chicago's metro has more development and population to over lap it though. "
You may have been here hundreds of times (really?) but you must not have driven 95 between Newark, DE and Trenton. If you did, you'd observe the 75 miles of contiguous development my post is referring to.
My point being that Philly is more structurally dense than Chicago outside of the DT areas. Plus Philly has that old east coast street layout which caters to urbanity. Chicapo is urban as ever but large swaths of the city outside of the Loop look surburban in nature with wide streets, strip malls galore and parking lots, etc....
I live 7 miles northwest of the Loop. There's a 4-lane thoroughfare and even a 10-lane expressway cutting through my neighborhood. There are shopping plazas (though not exactly "strip malls") with parking. Homes are set back 10 or so feet from the sidewalk, and then there's a median between the sidewalk and the street where trees are planted, so homes are set back about 20-25 feet from the street. Most residential streets are wide enough that two cars can pass with cars parked on both sides of the street. And my neighborhood is still 18,000 people per square mile, with all of the conveniences and amenities implied therein.
Moral of the story: just because it doesn't conform to your visual expectation of urbanity doesn't mean it isn't urban. To someone accustomed to East Coast-style urban aesthetics/built environment, my neighborhood probably looks positively suburban compared to, say, Kensington. But ignoring everything southeast of I-95, you'll find the population densities are nearly identical.
I don't know what you mean by "Unless you consider Wilmington but an area of Chicago's metro has more development and population to over lap it though. "
You may have been here hundreds of times (really?) but you must not have driven 95 between Newark, DE and Trenton. If you did, you'd observe the 75 miles of contiguous development my post is referring to.
I-95 actually splits so the one on the PA side that runs between downtown Philly and Trenton yes is developed but once I-95 crosses the Delaware River into Trenton it becomes I-295 then go east via I-195 to rejoin with the NJ Turnpike's I-95. The 2nd I-95 which is the NJ Turnpike corridor is no where as dense as Chicago's I-290/294/90 (Kennedy) corridors. The Pigeon Swamp Forest area and natural habitat runs just south of Milltown,NJ. You have lots of open areas and trees with scattered towns further apart in Middlesex County. It's a whole lot more rural than anything you have inside Chicago's I-294 beltway. You go east of I-295-I-95 in NJ it's countryside with much smaller towns scattered far apart with a large Fort Dix army military base heading east towards Toms River with Pinelands National Reserve which actually covers a huge chunk of the state between Garden State Parkway and NJ T.PK. This whole area is no where near what you see in Northern New Jersey. Some people on the outside tend to think this area east Philly is developed like Jersey City going all the way up to Newark....not even close. That would be misleading the people on the outside. I travel it enough to know it is not. I can take some pictures of signs with the areas in the back drop if you like. Cranbury?? Twin Rivers?? compared to Cicero, Oak Park, Evanston on the way to Newark. Come on... lol
Chicago blows philly out of the water CBD wises if that's what you talking about , but Chicago doesn't have " walk up's all over the city " ( San Francisco Cali ) is the second most urban area in the United States 800,000 to 900,000 people in a 46.9 square miles area and on top of that it's architecturally dense and urban to. Los Angeles will be more architecturally urban and dense as compared to Philly and Chi Town in 30 to 40 more years " hit me up in 40 years' LOL.
I-95 actually splits so the one on the PA side that runs between downtown Philly and Trenton yes is developed but once I-95 crosses the Delaware River into Trenton it becomes I-295 then go east via I-195 to rejoin with the NJ Turnpike's I-95. The 2nd I-95 which is the NJ Turnpike corridor is no where as dense as Chicago's I-290/294/90 (Kennedy) corridors. The Pigeon Swamp Forest area and natural habitat runs just south of Milltown,NJ. You have lots of open areas and trees with scattered towns further apart in Middlesex County. It's a whole lot more rural than anything you have inside Chicago's I-294 beltway. You go east of I-295-I-95 in NJ it's countryside with much smaller towns scattered far apart with a large Fort Dix army military base heading east towards Toms River with Pinelands National Reserve which actually covers a huge chunk of the state between Garden State Parkway and NJ T.PK. This whole area is no where near what you see in Northern New Jersey. Some people on the outside tend to think this area east Philly is developed like Jersey City going all the way up to Newark....not even close. That would be misleading the people on the outside. I travel it enough to know it is not. I can take some pictures of signs with the areas in the back drop if you like. Cranbury?? Twin Rivers?? compared to Cicero, Oak Park, Evanston on the way to Newark. Come on... lol
I find your route interesting for soemone who calims to travel these roads often. The only reason you would be traveling the NJ Turnpike to Milltown, Twin Rivers, and Middlesex County (sorry, never heard of Cranberry, NJ) is if you were severely lost and overshot Trenton by 26 miles.
Clearly you either do not know what you are talking about or else you are confused. The only thing I can think of is you are making the trip from Newark, New Jersey, not Newark Delaware. Do a mapquest bewteen Newark, DE and Trenton next time you make the trip: http://mapq.st/qvPJDS Oh, and take some pictures on that trip.
Last edited by Pine to Vine; 08-28-2011 at 06:32 PM..
I find your route interesting for soemone who calims to travel these roads often. The only reason you would be traveling the NJ Turnpike to Milltown, Twin Rivers, and Middlesex County (sorry, never heard of Cranberry, NJ) is if you were severely lost and overshot Trenton by 26 miles.
Clearly you either do not know what you are talking about or else you are confused. The only thing I can think of is you are making the trip from Newark, New Jersey, not Newark Delaware. Do a mapquest bewteen Newark, DE and Trenton next time you make the trip: MapQuest Maps - Driving Directions - Map Oh, and take some pictures on that trip.
There isn't much in Delaware...oh, wow Wilmington. It's small
There isn't much in Delaware...oh, wow Wilmington. It's small
If you consider a growing metro area of 629,000 folks small: FAIR:
So, I was right about the urbanity and distance between Newark, Delaware and Trenton (see Post 620). If you haven't made the drive, you should do it as it appears you are unfamiliar with the southern reaches of Philly's metro area.
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Chicago In The CBD Philly Overall City Wide
