Physical Size - Boston vs Philadelphia vs DC (living, largest, comparison)
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.
But it’s not in Bostons “urban footprint” it’s an adjacent region that has cultural/economic affinity.
Yes it is though. You all really cannot be picking and choosing this blatantly. Maybe it’s not for you where you’re located but in this context we’re talking about *metros* in regards to Providence.
if you’re talking just highly urban city portion Boston feels larger than DCs urban footprint for sure…and slightly smaller than Philly.
In metros it’s DC then Boston and Philly are tied. But Providence is a significant part of urban life for people in the southern portion of Boston and its metro. In that context you really have to include it.
Yes it is though. You all really cannot be picking and choosing this blatantly. Maybe it’s not for you where you’re located but in this context we’re talking about *metros* in regards to Providence.
if you’re talking just highly urban city portion Boston feels larger than DCs urban footprint for sure…and slightly smaller than Philly.
In metros it’s DC then Boston and Philly are tied. But Providence is a significant part of urban life for people in the southern portion of Boston and its metro. In that context you really have to include it.
Hmm, I think it’s closer than that. Philadelphia’s urban footprint extends throughout the entire state and even in Northern MD. Boston’s extends throughout MA, RI and CT.
DC is in a firm third place unless our definition of urban footprint are different.
Yes it is though. You all really cannot be picking and choosing this blatantly. Maybe it’s not for you where you’re located but in this context we’re talking about *metros* in regards to Providence.
if you’re talking just highly urban city portion Boston feels larger than DCs urban footprint for sure…and slightly smaller than Philly.
In metros it’s DC then Boston and Philly are tied. But Providence is a significant part of urban life for people in the southern portion of Boston and its metro. In that context you really have to include it.
Yes it’s the highly urban city portions which for Boston are basically entirely contained within the 95 belt. (And even then I wouldn’t call Lexington urban).
Providence is a whole seperate city people like to go to but that’s different than being within the urban footprint. Just like Worcester or Lowell there is a really distinct break in urban build between the cities. Live everything between Attleboro and Norwood is just like the woods.
You’re talking 2ish million people or there about.
100 miles separate Philadelphia and Harrisburg, and there's loads of non-urban territory, not to mention Reading, between them.
Pittsburgh is on the other end of the state, 300 miles away.
Hagerstown, MD, is closer to Baltimore than Philadelphia, and even then I'm not sure it's in the urbanized atea of either Baltimore or Washington.
Or is this one of those cases where you have planted your tongue firmly in your cheek?
I'm guessing that by "urban footprint" the others are referring to a zone of continuously high density construction, like those pockmarked rowhouse blocks in Harrisburg and Pittsburgh once were.
The area to Boston's north and northeast, including Medford, Malden, Revere, Lynn, Swampscott, and on up to Beverly, fits this description after substituting triple-deckers for rowhouses in many cases.
I'd say that the part of the Philadelphia region that looks most like this belt consists of the townships and cities along the Delaware River to the southwest of the city, just about all the way to the Delaware state line. This zone also follows the city line up to Upper Darby.
Or are we just talking about what the Census Bureau calls the "urban area" — that is, the portion of the MSA built at a high density of structures?
100 miles separate Philadelphia and Harrisburg, and there's loads of non-urban territory, not to mention Reading, between them.
Pittsburgh is on the other end of the state, 300 miles away.
Hagerstown, MD, is closer to Baltimore than Philadelphia, and even then I'm not sure it's in the urbanized atea of either Baltimore or Washington.
Or is this one of those cases where you have planted your tongue firmly in your cheek?
I'm guessing that by "urban footprint" the others are referring to a zone of continuously high density construction, like those pockmarked rowhouse blocks in Harrisburg and Pittsburgh once were.
The area to Boston's north and northeast, including Medford, Malden, Revere, Lynn, Swampscott, and on up to Beverly, fits this description after substituting triple-deckers for rowhouses in many cases.
I'd say that the part of the Philadelphia region that looks most like this belt consists of the townships and cities along the Delaware River to the southwest of the city, just about all the way to the Delaware state line. This zone also follows the city line up to Upper Darby.
Or are we just talking about what the Census Bureau calls the "urban area" — that is, the portion of the MSA built at a high density of structures?
I was more or less talking about Philly's "print" on cities throughout PA. Even the few exceptions (Pittsburgh, Poconos, and Erie) still have visible Philly influences in its architecture (Victorian, Colonial Federal) as well as the organized street grids, public squares, and urban parks.
you and others were referring to the actual urban footprints within UA, while I was referring to which whvihv city had the greatest urban influence within its region. FWIW, PA's urban area shrank in 2020 with the updated definitions.
Yes it is though. You all really cannot be picking and choosing this blatantly. Maybe it’s not for you where you’re located but in this context we’re talking about *metros* in regards to Providence.
if you’re talking just highly urban city portion Boston feels larger than DCs urban footprint for sure…and slightly smaller than Philly.
In metros it’s DC then Boston and Philly are tied. But Providence is a significant part of urban life for people in the southern portion of Boston and its metro. In that context you really have to include it.
100% there are number of people in southern half of metro Boston (95 corridor) that go out in providence for dinner/nightlife etc as much or more than they go to Boston. Providence has a significant presence for metro south especially 95 corridor. A weird argument could be made that metro south may feel the largest (compared to west/north) even though the actual area is low density overall because of the presence of new englands two largest urban areas within 20 - 30 minutes or so.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,128 posts, read 7,550,614 times
Reputation: 5785
Quote:
Originally Posted by AshbyQuin
Hmm, I think it’s closer than that. Philadelphia’s urban footprint extends throughout the entire state and even in Northern MD. Boston’s extends throughout MA, RI and CT.
DC is in a firm third place unless our definition of urban footprint are different.
It's in a firm 1st place actually, and by very good margin. DC is the 3rd most dense urban area in the Eastern US after NYC and Miami.
2020 Urban Area density per square mile:
DC> 4000 ppsm
Philly> 3000 ppsm
Boston> 2,646 ppsm
I’m not saying I agree with it just could see an argument. Not in the sense of your immediate surroundings but what you have access to. especially if using the commuter rail since it eliminates traffic and assuming you are on the 95 corridor. Depending where you are you are 15-30 min from Boston and 15 to 30 min from prov. In metro north you’d rarely go to providence a metro larger than Milwaukee. In metro south people go to providence and boston
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.