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Philly won't develop like DC, and it shouldn't with its layout. DC is seeing more construction, but Philly has the advantage of already having one of the largest areas of walkable infrastructure and urbanity present. If it ever booms, as I hear its doing slowly, there's less red tape to cut through and less from the ground up construction and NIMBY concerns to worry about, its just a matter of time and investment.
Tough to say. While the DC area probably has more vibrancy in it's downtown areas, there are still plenty of major urban downtowns outside of the Philly city proper.
DC's "downtowns" don't have more vibrancy. Ballston, Rockville, SS and DTDC collectively do not measure up to Center City. These places he's talking about are more hyped up than Jay-Z's latest album. It wouldn't surprise me if Samsung has made commercials for them too.
Why'd you include a link to Reading, btw? That's more than an hour away from Philly.
Same with me, none of those areas do anything for me b/c they are so removed. I have no interest in TOD development in the suburbs, b/c well, it's the suburbs, and what you end up with is a bunch of dense insular satellite cities. Definitely something like White Plains. It's basically like they are bringing back a modern version of better organized suburban development with central downtowns. While I applaud that style of development for those who wish to live out there, it simply won't ever place living in or near a massive urban center. That's one thing I don't like about DC at the metro level, when I looked for jobs there in the past, so many of the non gov related jobs seemed to be out in Silver Spring, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, etc. My experience is a large portion of people in the DC area are actually suburban oriented, definitely more so than at least Chicago or New York. DC itself is cool though, it would be nice to have a lot more people move in to the actual city. There is great housing stock esp on the East Side that could use touching up.
I agree on this. In many ways, these areas feel like they've blown the roof off of shopping malls and added housing. Sometimes a little office space. For the most part, though, they still function the same way a mall does. You drive to it, park in a garage, and walk around a 0.1 sq. mile area that's like an isolated urban island in a sea of suburbia.
Looks like both of these are growing - DC at a faster %
Looks like estimates are Philly at about 1.56 Million today with some estimates at 2.1 Million by 2050. Time will tell as that would a gowth of about 10K per year over that time and back to the 1950 numbers 100 years later and about 16K PPSM.
Glad to see both these cities getting better as both fell on hard times especially in the 70's and 80's (even 90's for Philly)
Thats all good many people enjoy Midtown. Thing is no place else in the US - even larger DTS (maybe with the exception of Chicago) have anything but cute little re creations. And I am hopeful you are trying to say SS, Bethesda, Ballston, Tysons are like Midtown... but maybe you are - Maybe if you like White Plains NY that is the better comparator
You're kidding right? You are being pretty offensive by saying that. Are you insinuating that I am retarded by even implying that?
As for your links, Wilmington really? Obviously it looks like a downtown to me. I just like the scale of large buildings that come up to the street. Now you're trying to be funny.
Last edited by MDAllstar; 10-19-2013 at 10:55 AM..
Tough to say. While the DC area probably has more vibrancy in it's downtown areas, there are still plenty of major urban downtowns outside of the Philly city proper.
No, Philly doesn't have anything like D.C. does that merges with Center City. You are posting things that are no where near Center City. Rosslyn-Ballston, Crystal City, Potomac Yards, Pentagon City, Bethesda, and Silver Spring are basically apart of D.C. proper. In fact, they would be in city limits in most other cities.
The places you just posted don't even connect to the urban fabric of the city of Philadelphia much less, Center City. You posting Wilmington DE is like me posting Baltimore.
DC's "downtowns" don't have more vibrancy. Ballston, Rockville, SS and DTDC collectively do not measure up to Center City. These places he's talking about are more hyped up than Jay-Z's latest album. It wouldn't surprise me if Samsung has made commercials for them too.
Why'd you include a link to Reading, btw? That's more than an hour away from Philly.
Who said they did have more vibrancy than Center City? Why should they have to compete with Center City anyway? They aren't in the city. D.C.'s urban core from Columbia Heights to Atlas District, to Foggy Bottom, to Capital Riverfront/SW Waterfront is what needs to measured against Philly's core. That area will be expanded again when Poplar Point, Anacostia, Barry Farm's, and St. Elizabeth begins taking shape. I would put that core up against any in the country except NYC obviously.
Our suburban downtown's go against Philly urban downtown's outside of Center City and well, they don't exist on the scale of D.C.'s suburban downtown's to begin with. They definitely don't have subway station's. Commuter rail doesn't run every 3-5 minutes or even every 15 minutes off peak so you basically have to take the bus. The density being built in these area's is up there with the best downtown's in the nation. There are thousands of units being added in each of these area's. Some of these area's already have tracts with density at or above 40,000 people per square mile and that's without the thousands of apartments/condo's being built right now and into the future. I will post a few for you to see.....
DC's "downtowns" don't have more vibrancy. Ballston, Rockville, SS and DTDC collectively do not measure up to Center City. These places he's talking about are more hyped up than Jay-Z's latest album. It wouldn't surprise me if Samsung has made commercials for them too.
I comparing DC satellite cities vs. Philly's satellite cities. More specifically the downtown areas.
I agree on this. In many ways, these areas feel like they've blown the roof off of shopping malls and added housing. Sometimes a little office space. For the most part, though, they still function the same way a mall does. You drive to it, park in a garage, and walk around a 0.1 sq. mile area that's like an isolated urban island in a sea of suburbia.
How can an area this big be a redeveloped shopping mall? You're trying too hard right now. Downtown Silver Spring has more units moving right now than all of Center City in Philly.
Last edited by MDAllstar; 10-19-2013 at 12:48 PM..
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