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you people are hilarious, now I get why they call it La La land
Yawns. Please dont prop up glaring exceptions to the norm.
The vast majority of suburban DC would be considered darn near rural by LA standards. And guess what? That's the point of suburbia. It's just that California homes even in outer ring suburbia tend to be on much smaller lots by comparison. I think its because of water being more scarce.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
Yawns. Please dont prop up glaring exceptions to the norm.
The vast majority of suburban DC would be considered darn near rural by LA standards. And guess what? That's the point of suburbia. It's just that California homes even in outer ring suburbia tend to be on much smaller lots by comparison. I think its because of water being more scarce.
You were the one pointing to Wilshire Blvd as the epicenter of (NY/SF/Chi like urbanity) in LA. This is just West of downtown in the core of the city.
Glaring exceptions?? Lets not act like it's some surprise here. DC probably collectively has the most developed urban nodes for suburbs in the U.S., many with CBD's larger than other major cities. Oh those leafy rural DC suburbs!
going about a half mile the other direction takes you to the most suburban part of Wilshire (Hancock Park) but in comparison to DC it's still more urban a half mile out. Pick any other spot away from Hancock Park and it will pretty much look like the first link in most cases. https://www.google.com/maps?ll=34.06...=12,99.09,,0,0
Yes DC has some very nice, urban nodes in the suburbs but it drops off very quickly to leafy, low density suburbia quite quick as those nodes aren't that big. That's the big difference there. LA sustains it's density over vast areas.
going about a half mile the other direction takes you to the most suburban part of Wilshire (Hancock Park) but in comparison to DC it's still more urban a half mile out. Pick any other spot away from Hancock Park and it will pretty much look like the first link in most cases. https://www.google.com/maps?ll=34.06...=12,99.09,,0,0
Yes DC has some very nice, urban nodes in the suburbs but it drops off very quickly to leafy, low density suburbia quite quick as those nodes aren't that big. That's the big difference there. LA sustains it's density over vast areas.
Your making my point! We're comparing essentially the largest city (when considering LA county) in the country to the tiny little MD and VA suburbs. Yet their "cores" are even more "urbanish" than many parts of LA when compared side by side. It's a simple as this, the urbanity in and around the DC area radiates along metro lines, yes you will find areas that are not along those lines where there are more SFH's etc but along much of the metro lines you will find much of the "urbanity." LA has a more spread out form of urbanity, as I said before not an apples to apples comparison.
Your making my point! We're comparing essentially the largest city (when considering LA county) in the country to the tiny little MD and VA suburbs. Yet their "cores" are even more "urbanish" than many parts of LA when compared side by side. It's a simple as this, the urbanity in and around the DC area radiates along metro lines, yes you will find areas that are not along those lines where there are more SFH's etc but along much of the metro lines you will find much of the "urbanity." LA has a more spread out form of urbanity, as I said before not an apples to apples comparison.
Silver Spring, MD is actually closer to the downtown area than the LA streetview is to DTLA. Don't let the Hancock Park/Windsor Square fool you either--the residential areas along Wilshire Boulevard/Miracle Mile look more like this:
Your making my point! We're comparing essentially the largest city (when considering LA county) in the country to the tiny little MD and VA suburbs. Yet their "cores" are even more "urbanish" than many parts of LA when compared side by side. It's a simple as this, the urbanity in and around the DC area radiates along metro lines, yes you will find areas that are not along those lines where there are more SFH's etc but along much of the metro lines you will find much of the "urbanity." LA has a more spread out form of urbanity, as I said before not an apples to apples comparison.
When you compare them side by side the "urbanity" of those "cores" drops off very quickly back to leafy suburbia, that doesn't happen in LA. So I don't get how you're saying the suburbs of DC are more urban, they aren't at all. You find araes along those metro lines that are full of SFH homes and low density within walking distance of the stations, including some of those examples you linked to. They're not any more intense and they're tiny and drop off into leafy suburbia rather quickly.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sav858
When you compare them side by side the "urbanity" of those "cores" drops off very quickly back to leafy suburbia, that doesn't happen in LA. So I don't get how you're saying the suburbs of DC are more urban, they aren't at all. You find araes along those metro lines that are full of SFH homes and low density within walking distance of the stations, including some of those examples you linked to. They're not any more intense and they're tiny and drop off into leafy suburbia rather quickly.
That depends on the direction your going in. DT Silver Spring is connected to the urban fabric of DC along GA Ave and the metro line also. It's called DT Silver Spring for a reason because Silver Spring is a large suburban city with a DT CBD that has a very urban fabric, but yes DT is only a piece of that. If you go south on GA Ave into the district you're not in a leafy suburb. It's all connected and walkable.
You guys are cherry picking the spots you want to, but I was just in LA on one of the most "urban" strips in the city. A street that people on CD are claiming is so urban and there were strip malls up and down with less foot traffic (plenty of vehicle traffic) than some suburbs of DC.
I will say and admit that I did feel very much so that I was still in the city in LA, like you said no drop off. But the structural urbanity is reflective of some suburban areas rather than inner city IMO.
Last edited by the resident09; 04-10-2014 at 09:26 PM..
That depends on the direction your going in. DT Silver Spring is connected to the urban fabric of DC along GA Ave and the metro line also. It's called DT Silver Spring for a reason because Silver Spring is a large suburban city with a DT CBD that has a very urban fabric, but yes DT is only a piece of that. If you go south on GA Ave into the district you're not in a leafy suburb. It's all connected and walkable.
You guys are cherry picking the spots you want to, but I was just in LA on one of the most "urban" strips in the city. A street that people on CD are claiming is so urban and there were strip malls up and down with less foot traffic (plenty of vehicle traffic) than some suburbs of DC.
I will say and admit that I did feel very much so that I was still in the city in LA, like you said no drop off. But the structural urbanity is reflective of some suburban areas rather than inner city IMO.
Well Silver Spring is in the border of DC right? So yeah if u go towards DC I'm sure it becomes more urban eventually. But go north on GA Ave and it's the same thing. You're the one that picked the spots, I didn't cherry pick anything. Those urban nodes are small and not comparable in scale at all when it comes to urbanity.
The DC suburbs are pretty good at making these little self-contained new-urbanist housing developments and town centers that can feel somewhat urban at street level. They usually have minimal setbacks, garage entrances through alleyways instead of driveways, and are often composed of attached rowhomes instead of detached single family homes. They are sometimes mixed-use with some retail at ground level. They're cute.
But once you get outside these town centers, its very apparent that you are in the suburbs. Usually there are just a few ways in an out, rather than a surrounding street grid that fully woven into the development. And the streets they connect to tend to be wide arterials with cars travelling at near-highway speed...especially the developments out in Fairfax and Loudon counties in VA. And if you want to walk between one of these town centers and another, good luck finding a sidewalk. Its very clear that the inside of these developments are meant for people but outside is meant for cars.
Those areas are just not comparable to LA. LA may have some individual structures that appear suburban- detached homes, strip malls, etc, but the overall character of the streets is 100% urban. The entire thing is a grid. You could walk on sidewalks from Hollywood to Long Beach. It might take you all day and all night but you could do it.
DC people: Imagine for a moment that there was a grid of boulevards, streets, alleys, and sidewalks that stretched from Dulles Airport to the Chesapeake Bay. Not curving country roads from town to town along the way...I'm talking city blocks for 50 miles.That's LA in a nutshell.
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