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Despite its massive size, downtown Chicago is no where near the influence and impact of Lower/Midtown Manhattan. In fact, I would argue that no place on the planet can rival the influence and impact of Lower/Midtown Manhattan, not even the likes of London/Tokyo, let alone Chicago.
Lower/Midtown Manhattan is in a league of its own, nothing compares.
Tier 1 Manhattan-God Level Tier
——————Huge Gap——————————
Tier 2 Chicago/SF/LA/DC-Country’s Elite Tier
Tier 3 Seattle/Boston/Philly/Miami/Houston-Country’s Regional Power Tier
Not sure what you're seeing but LA is certainly not a top 5 urban environment and certainly not on par with Chicago. Woah.
IMO (mind the gaps)...
NYC
Chicago
Philadelphia/San Francisco
Boston
DC
LA/Seattle
I will concede that given uban development and commitment to light rail, LA will slowly move up this list. How can it not.
I don't think Atlanta is getting special treatment in this thread. The Mall isn't technically in downtown DC but folks are including it and with good reason. I'm pretty sure folks are including other districts/neighborhoods outside of the technical boundaries of their cities' downtowns also when they feel and function as a part or extension of those downtowns, e.g. University City in Philly. I also think of Midtown Manhattan when it comes to downtown NYC although it technically isn't. Because Minneapolis and St. Paul function as one core city, I find it perfectly reasonable to consider them as a singular entity in this thread, even if their downtowns don't directly border each other.
That said, if you want to give more weight to official boundaries than unofficial ones, then consider the fact that the Connector and Emory Midtown are in downtown Atlanta as North Avenue is the technical border between the two districts. The Bank of America tower is technically in downtown as well. With Midtown having some of the institutions and characteristics of a traditional downtown, directly bordering downtown, and being about the same size as downtown, it's not a stretch to at least functionally consider them as a singular downtown while realizing that technically they may not be.
The truth is that the official boundaries of many downtowns have not kept pace with current reality and are thus outdated.
The problem with DC compared to any other city in America is that what is “considered” the downtown CBD has no distinction in building design or built form from the rest of the urban core. One side of the street is “downtown DC” and somehow the other side of the street which happens to look identical is not downtown. No city is this more evident than DC.
The link below shows construction cam videos with one side of the street in downtown DC and the other side of the street not “considered” downtown DC. Does this make any sense?
The link below shows a street view example of where “downtown DC” ends. The area to the East is downtown and the area to the West is not downtown. Confused...
The link below shows a street view example of where “downtown DC” ends. The area to the South is downtown and the area to the North is not downtown. Doesn’t make sense...
Not sure what you're seeing but LA is certainly not a top 5 urban environment and certainly not on par with Chicago. Woah.
IMO (mind the gaps)...
NYC
Chicago
Philadelphia/San Francisco
Boston
DC
LA/Seattle
I will concede that given uban development and commitment to light rail, LA will slowly move up this list. How can it not.
Light rail is huge, but the trunk of the system is heavy rail. The red and purple lines are both heavy rail and the purple line is currently being extended 7 stations west. There's also going to be a new heavy rail line through the sepulveda pass by 2028 that connects the S.F. valley to the purple line and the expo line. Ultimately to LAX.
The problem with DC compared to any other city in America is that what is “considered” the downtown CBD has no distinction in building design or built form from the rest of the urban core. One side of the street is “downtown DC” and somehow the other side of the street which happens to look identical is not downtown. No city is this more evident than DC.
The link below shows construction cam videos with one side of the street in downtown DC and the other side of the street not “considered” downtown DC. Does this make any sense?
The link below shows a street view example of where “downtown DC” ends. The area to the East is downtown and the area to the West is not downtown. Confused...
The link below shows a street view example of where “downtown DC” ends. The area to the South is downtown and the area to the North is not downtown. Doesn’t make sense...
I agree that the official boundaries of DC seem to have little rhyme or reason. Also very few cities seem to update their official downtown boundaries over time as neighboring areas get absorbed into downtown.
I agree that the official boundaries of DC seem to have little rhyme or reason. Also very few cities seem to update their official downtown boundaries over time as neighboring areas get absorbed into downtown.
Perhaps they haven't staffed the department of official deciding-neighborhood-boundaries department. As if cities had such a thing.
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