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I think it was taken out of context but I must add that almost all downtowns in the country have that gridded, wide street, mixture of historic and modern building feel. I think there are way more down towns that are comparable in this regard than just LA and Chicago. Even downtown Miami is like this. Isn't downtown LA though actually one of the largest after Chicago?
You are right that is a description of many downtowns, but how many have historic districts the size of downtown Los Angeles along Main, Broadway and Spring from around 1st to 9th streets? And again I am just saying the difference is not "night and day".
You are right that is a description of many downtowns, but how many have historic districts the size of downtown Los Angeles along Main, Broadway and Spring from around 1st to 9th streets? And again I am just saying the difference is not "night and day".
But it is night and day. DTLA has a few blocks that may resemble a "traditional" East Coast downtown, but Chicago has a monster of a downtown that's filled with urban canyons and narrower streets. I mean, I didn't even think this would be a point of contention. The Loop is more in the league of Midtown Manhattan.
Center City reminds me of the Village.
Downtown Boston bears some resemblance to Lower Manhattan/Financial District imo.
Large sections of West-East streets between Olympic to Sunset/Cesar E Chavez are walkable from DTLA to at least Fairfax district with activity centered mostly on Wilshire Blvd.
If you follow the commercial areas adjacent to Fairfax, ie WeHo, Beverly Hills etc, and you have the stamina, you can easily walk from there to Santa Monica and Venice beaches and more beach towns to the south.
Public transportation is ample in these areas with Union Station and Downtown as hubs.
There are many vibrant, walkable and relatively safe neighborhoods in these areas: Chinatown, Downtown, Victor Heights, Angelino Heights, HiFi, Westlake, Pico-Union; the city of Glendale, Atwater Village, Echo Park, Silverlake, Koreatown, Harvard Heights and Byzantine-Latino Quarter; Los Feliz, East Hollywood, Melrose Hill, Little Armenia, Thai Town, Fairfax, Larchmont Village, Park La Brea, Miracle Mile, MidCity; Hollywood, Sunset Strip, WeHo, BH, Culver and all commercial areas in West LA.
Yes they are night and day. You are comparing the second largest and busiest business district in North America (by a large margin) with one that is not even in the top 10. Your point about "design elements" is meaningless. Almost all downtowns in the country possess some similarities in the basic design elements... Street grid, variety of architectural styles etc. That's like saying that downtown Newark is a "little brother" of DTLA.
Exactly. As far as urban build and walkability is concerned, I'd say that these two cities are fairly similar, which is why Miami is leading in the poll by a healthy margin.
I remember a while back you posted some links of walkable South Florida beach towns that were similar to walkable SoCal beach towns. Do you remember what I'm talking about?
If you follow the commercial areas adjacent to Fairfax, ie WeHo, Beverly Hills etc, and you have the stamina, you can easily walk from there to Santa Monica and Venice beaches and more beach towns to the south.
I could also walk across Atlanta. Yet there's a difference between walking across Atlanta and walking across London. The same goes for walking across any lengthy stretch of San Francisco and Los Angeles.
But it is night and day. DTLA has a few blocks that may resemble a "traditional" East Coast downtown, but Chicago has a monster of a downtown that's filled with urban canyons and narrower streets.
It has a lot more than a "few blocks". The area I mentioned before is just the Historic Core, the "traditional" downtown area is much larger and includes the Financial District, parts of the Civic Center, parts of Skid Row and parts of South Park. Bunker Hill is the big exception, which is auto-centric and sort of feels more like Century City East. I count about 90-100 blocks within the Loop, and about 60 blocks of semi-similar development in DTLA (Fig to Main, 4th to 11th).
Also I don't think the streets in downtown Chicago are narrower than the streets in DTLA, and if they are it is a matter of 5 feet or so.
Either way all I am saying is that DTLA is sort of built in a similar manner to the Loop, just on a much smaller scale with a lot more surface-parking-pocks scattered throughout (in fact I don't think I've ever seen a surface lot the times I was in the Loop). Sure you can say that many other downtowns are like this too, doesn't make my initial statement incorrect does it?
It has a lot more than a "few blocks". The area I mentioned before is just the Historic Core, the "traditional" downtown area is much larger and includes the Financial District, parts of the Civic Center, parts of Skid Row and parts of South Park. Bunker Hill is the big exception, which is auto-centric and sort of feels more like Century City East. I count about 90-100 blocks within the Loop, and about 60 blocks of semi-similar development in DTLA (Fig to Main, 4th to 11th).
Also I don't think the streets in downtown Chicago are narrower than the streets in DTLA, and if they are it is a matter of 5 feet or so.
Either way all I am saying is that DTLA is sort of built in a similar manner to the Loop, just on a much smaller scale with a lot more surface-parking-pocks scattered throughout (in fact I don't think I've ever seen a surface lot the times I was in the Loop). Sure you can say that many other downtowns are like this too, doesn't make my initial statement incorrect does it?
You could say the same thing about Houston though... but they are both so far different I'm not sure why the original comparison was made...
I mean North Ave Beach in Chicago is comparable to Santa Monica, except you know, the mountain back drop plus it has fake palm trees. Otherwise, they both have lots of sand and water and people walking around.
If you think that is silly, you can probably see why people think the whole DTLA is a little brother to Chicago is just as silly.
Lots of downtowns are on a grid and have big buildings, even Midtown Manhattan is like this and streets go wider there with megablocks.
Exactly. As far as urban build and walkability is concerned, I'd say that these two cities are fairly similar, which is why Miami is leading in the poll by a healthy margin.
I remember a while back you posted some links of walkable South Florida beach towns that were similar to walkable SoCal beach towns. Do you remember what I'm talking about?
To me Los Angeles is like a mix between South Florida and Chicago. It looks a lot more like South Florida than any of the other choices on this poll but is much larger and much denser in the manner that Chicago is. There seem to be a great deal less SFH as a percentage in the LA area than in South Florida. You could also say it is a mix between Miami and parts of Queens.
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