Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The Northeast quadrant of San Francisco has more bustle, grit and vibrancy than anywhere in Boston or Philly. The density of businesses is like double - have you ever walked around Union Square and the Tenderloin and all the neighborhoods around there and noticed how many businesses are crammed in? In creates this almost chaotic vibe that gives the city a certain spark. The Mission District and parts of SOMA are also very impressive when it comes to big city vibes.
The Northeast quadrant of San Francisco has more bustle, grit and vibrancy than anywhere in Boston or Philly. The density of businesses is like double - have you ever walked around Union Square and the Tenderloin and all the neighborhoods around there and noticed how many businesses are crammed in? In creates this almost chaotic vibe that gives the city a certain spark. The Mission District and parts of SOMA are also very impressive when it comes to big city vibes.
Are you sure about that? First of all, don't come for Philly in the grit department. Second of all, that photo was taken in 2022. I have not seen Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia with that little pedestrian activity in the daytime in 2022. Even if your claim were true, that street view does not prove your point.
The Northeast quadrant of San Francisco has more bustle, grit and vibrancy than anywhere in Boston or Philly. The density of businesses is like double - have you ever walked around Union Square and the Tenderloin and all the neighborhoods around there and noticed how many businesses are crammed in? In creates this almost chaotic vibe that gives the city a certain spark. The Mission District and parts of SOMA are also very impressive when it comes to big city vibes.
Nothing about that streetview feels particularly impressive in terms of density of businesses.
True, not every block of Post Street is lined with storefronts, but that streetscape looks more like one you'd find in parts of Manhattan or downtown Brooklyn than one you'd find in either Philadelphia or Boston.
Are you sure about that? First of all, don't come for Philly in the grit department. Second of all, that photo was taken in 2022. I have not seen Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia with that little pedestrian activity in the daytime in 2022. Even if your claim were true, that street view does not prove your point.
I think they are correct, at least pre-Covid. I have not been back to San Francisco in a few years.
Those central neighborhoods in NE San Francisco are about as saturated with business, mid rise residential, and people as you'll get in the US, outside of Manhattan.
Something about walking around Little Saigon/Tenderloin/Union that makes me feel like I'm no longer in the US at all. It almost puts me in Mexico City or Mumbai... It's a certain level of "chaos" and action on the streets. Bikes everywhere, warm weather, trash and litter, architecture is not as uniform, lack of any greenery, homelessness, mom and pop businesses, and layers upon layers of buildings that can easily make you feel claustrophobic.
Union Sq. is the crown jewel of that particular neighborhood... Most other blocks are pretty rough and raggedy.
You'll notice the streetviews don't make it look particularly busy. But I assure you, they are/were. But with Tenderloin, these street views just scream urbanity to me.
I guess the comparison is from a visual perspective? The Tenderloin is in the downtown area. Allston is an inner ring suburb. Allston is more akin to Philly's Upper Darby and 69th street imo. The Tenderloin is Philly's version of Market East/Chinatown. They're gritty, about a mile out from the historic waterfront. IMO, the way to compare SF and Philly is basically from each city's front and market streets. SF's grid was laid out pretty similarly to Philly's. Market runs like a spine with dense roads running off of it perpendicular (philadelphia had a pretty similar ferry building in the same exact spot: https://tomshakely.com/wp-content/up...y_4a22468a.jpg). Now, I have no doubts that pedestrian counts are highest in SF's downtown.
I always wished that WaPo had published the underlying totals for their percentage breakdown from a few years ago. The different city total populations makes the percentages not a direct apples to apples comparison as a whole.
The Northeast quadrant of San Francisco has more bustle, grit and vibrancy than anywhere in Boston or Philly. The density of businesses is like double - have you ever walked around Union Square and the Tenderloin and all the neighborhoods around there and noticed how many businesses are crammed in? In creates this almost chaotic vibe that gives the city a certain spark. The Mission District and parts of SOMA are also very impressive when it comes to big city vibes.
Based off this streetview? This is not busier than "anywhere" in Boston of Philly. Downtown San Francisco, Tenderloin, and Chinatown there are a beast though, no doubt. That area trumps Boston and Philly's downtown areas.
No I've always said it's not part of Boston because it isn't. Its layout is different, it history is VEYR different, its social issues are not the same, it's wealthier, it's more progressive, it's in a different county and has a totally different form of government and even has different laws imposed on it by he Commonwealth....
But it obviously contributes to the PHYSICAL feel of Boston's core, especially for a visitor- that's not very debatable.
There are just many ways downtown Boston flows right into abutting areas and Cambridge is one of them, Fenway is one of them, but so is the South End and Seaport.
Notice I don't include Charlestown because even though its in the core- it definitely doesn't feel like its downtown. I don't want folks to say I'm just snatching up any old neighborhood.
Fenway is alright I was just there on Saturday. It's just another generic new downtown-esque neighborhood and they building more high rises as we speak. Its just wasn't very interesting to me. Overall Boston has gotten way more multinodal over my short 28-year lifetime. Granted the nodes are physically close but tis still a pretty balkanized city in term of layout. Like we never discuss the Longwood Medical Area. A plac that retty built up veritcally that lies jsut south of Fneway yet when im actually in bsoton - I pass through there all the time..
How many non-Bostonians have gone here? I really dont know. Have you?
Many Bosotnians even forget about it. My mother and grandmother worked here and I picked them up as kids so I cant forget about it.
This is just another reason why downtown Philly doesn't feel that big to me. A lot ofBoston midrise and high-rise buildings aret immediately in Downtown..they slowly trickle out
While Cambridge isn’t Boston walking down the Charles on the Esplanade would be a very different experience if Cambridge was virgin Forest. Getting on the Red line at Charles/MGH would be very different if the Red Line terminated there. Etc. Even transferring at Park Street or DTX is as crowded as it is because Cambridge exists. That’s what people mean. I don’t think anyone is arguing Cambridge is Boston but from a purely urban fabric standpoint ignoring it is silly.
While Cambridge isn’t Boston walking down the Charles on the Esplanade would be a very different experience if Cambridge was virgin Forest. Getting on the Red line at Charles/MGH would be very different if the Red Line terminated there. Etc. Even transferring at Park Street or DTX is as crowded as it is because Cambridge exists. That’s what people mean. I don’t think anyone is arguing Cambridge is Boston but from a purely urban fabric standpoint ignoring it is silly.
agreed, thats what i said bro.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Second of all, that photo was taken in 2022. I have not seen Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia with that little pedestrian activity in the daytime in 2022. Even if your claim were true, that street view does not prove your point.
