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.
So DC and Paris hold no similarities in layout? Don't go off on a tangent.
Yes, they do have some similarities in layout. So do Detroit and Paris.
What does this have to do with the discussion? Many cities have broad similarities in layout with many other cities. That doesn't mean they "look the same", which was the claim.
Thought it was well know that DC resembles a French city from the air.
No, it's not "well-known", as it isn't true.
I don't even know what "resembles a French city" means. The only major similarity between Paris and DC are height limits. And even this isn't really true, as Paris has plenty of towers within city limits, just not in the core, and the building heights and design aren't similar, at all.
And other French cities have totally different layouts than that of Paris. Hausmann's city redesigns were only done in Paris. You might as well say "looks like a Dutch city" or "looks like a Brazilian city".
I don't even know what "resembles a French city" means. The only major similarity between Paris and DC are height limits. And even this isn't really true, as Paris has plenty of towers within city limits, just not in the core, and the building heights and design aren't similar, at all.
And other French cities have totally different layouts than that of Paris. Hausmann's city redesigns were only done in Paris. You might as well say "looks like a Dutch city" or "looks like a Brazilian city".
DC's layout was designed by Pierre L'Enfant, a frenchman. He based DC's layout on Versailles and Paris, in particular the diagonal avenues (Penn Ave, Mass Ave, Connecticut Ave, New York Ave, etc.) which radiate outward from important landmarks in the city, such as the White House, Capitol Building, Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, etc. Laid on top of the French style radials is an American style cartesian grid, with numbered streets going north/south and lettered streets going east/west.
Washington DC | Google Maps
Versailles, France | Google Maps
If you don't know what you're talking about, its okay to stay quiet.
Last edited by DistrictDirt; 02-22-2014 at 07:00 PM..
Here's an article detailing the connection between Paris and DC.
Quote:
Washington is quite a romantic, cultural hub. Indeed, it is fittingly referred to as America's Paris. In this comparison, the similar urban layouts of D.C. and Paris are often referenced, as the streetscape of D.C. was designed by French-born American architect, Pierre Charles L'Enfant, whose design is very similar to that of Baron Haussmann's restructured City of Lights. Under Napolean III, Haussmann leveled Paris, overlaying her winding streets with expansive boulevards to make it easier for troops to move through the city and harder for rebels to hide in the shadowed alleyways of Old Paris. Like Paris, D.C. was designed so that, if ever attacked, the army could move easily through the city to confront the enemy. Not only are the boulevards reminiscent of Paris, but so too are the bridges of the Potomac and the sidewalks on which charming outdoor cafes can sit without the disturbance of traffic.
There seems to be confusion in the thread whether we're doing about miles of contiguous good urban design or miles of contigous density. If its the former, then I'll throw my hat in the ring for my old home: Washington DC. Its a combination of factors: excellent top-down urban planning from DC's inception, a solid understanding of urban design on the part of DC's office of planning and DDOT, and the fact DC's height limit has forced development into every inch of available space, leaving no gaps. The end result is a city that with solid urban design and walkable streets almost from edge to edge (things get a little weird around SW and SE though.)
If we're just talking about straight up density, then I'll throw my hat in the ring for my new home: Los Angeles. Urban design can be weak outside of LA's walkable urban centers like Downtown, Koreatown, Hollywood, etc, but the density never lets up. LA doesn't have a core as dense and tall as Manhattan, but unlike NYC where the density falls off rapidly when you get to the outer boroughs, LA is literally 400 square miles of this:
That's the reason LA has an average density even higher than NYC. LA's unique defining characteristic is that its density stays almost uniform, edge to edge.
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.
