New York versus Mexico City: Which is more urban? More walkable? Higher consistent peak density?
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Mexico City is in a lot of ways the only rival to New York City. These are North America's great metropolises. No other cities compare no matter what biases people in the US have against Mexico. NYC might reach greater densities within city limits, but Mexico City keeps on stretching for a while--while still keeping a lot of greenspace in reserve.
Sad to say this, but I think Mexico City is one of those major world cities I wouldn't shed a tear over not ever visiting...I do know people who have been who don't particularly like it.
Yup, I have no idea why anyone would so quickly dismiss one of the worlds great cities. There is a ton of misinformation out there about Mexico City, especially when it comes to safety.
I love NYC and obviously know it much better than DF because I am a former resident, but I am having a difficult time voting either way. Seriously there are places in Mexico City that made NYC look like a sleepy little town, no lie.
IMO, the people you know are idiots. DF is one of the most architecturally and topographically magnificent cities in the world. It is in a valley ringed by snow-capped extinct volcanoes. In 1521 when the Spaniards get there it is the largest city in the world - they raze most of it but the pyramids at Teotihuacan are alone worth a visit. The colonial architecture of the centro historico is gorgeous. Condesa is arguably the largest and best preserved art deco neighborhood in the world, the museums are fantastic- the street food is the best in the world in my experience. There is spectacular public art throughout. Roma has blocks of beautiful 19th century townhouses. Chapultepec with the Hapsburg castle in the middle of it and the Museo Anthropologica at its edge rivals Central Park as a great urban park.The floating gardens of Xochimilco have been continually cultivated for a millennium. Sure it is grimy in parts - traffic is atrocious, and while the air quality has improved drastically over the last decade, you can get smoggy days. Nightlife is extraordinary, and the energy in the streets is palpable. The weather is close to perfect: rarely gets below 40, rarely gets above 80, so there are always people on the streets. There are hundreds of outdoor markets all over the city. It is one of the world's great cities and has been so for nearly a thousand years.
To get back on topic: New York is more urban. They have similar populations, but DF is quite a bit larger in land area. There is nothing like the avenue canyons of Manhattan, and DF feels shorter but bigger, NYC taller and denser. I lived for a decade in Manhattan, and for the last 4 years have spent 3 weeks in DF each summer running a seminar. I know New York much better than I do DF. Architecturally DF has much greater diversity due to its age than NYC which is mostly a twentieth century city with a few lovely 19th century sections. They are both inexhaustible cities - there is always something new to do, some place you have not been before to discover. Ito urban bang for your buck, DF is the best deal in the western hemisphere.
My only disagreement is, on a metro scale, the sizes are not even close to being equal. The New York metro is over 13,000 square miles, while the Mexico City metro is less than 4,000 square miles (The federal district itself is only about 1,400sq mi). The metro density in Mexico City is much higher, but the actual city of NY is more dense as it is more compact. Mexico City just seems more spread out in part because much of the developed area is not as tall. The reason for that was that there we laws in place for many years that forbid any construction over a certain height due to earthquakes. Those laws only went away in the early 2000s and the city has been building up ever since.
Kind of reminds me of a European city with a Latin/Mexican twist.
Looks like all of those pictures are from Centro Historico, or the historic downtown. That's a pretty small part of the city overall. There are other old neighborhoods that have similar looks, as well as very modern areas like Reforma, Polanco and Santa Fe. You can just about find any type of architecture there.
Yup, I have no idea why anyone would so quickly dismiss one of the worlds great cities. There is a ton of misinformation out there about Mexico City, especially when it comes to safety.
I love NYC and obviously know it much better than DF because I am a former resident, but I am having a difficult time voting either way. Seriously there are places in Mexico City that made NYC look like a sleepy little town, no lie.
Centro on a Saturday/Sunday afternoon is just insanity.
I live in New York and have been to Mexico City. I didn't see too much of Mexico City but spent a few days walking around the centre. New York is definitely more crowded for larger areas. Mc is definitely urban but outside of the zocalo, there aren't very big crowds anywhere (except for the odd museum or particular event). The reforma is not very crowded in most places. 5th, 6th, 7th avenues in ny easily have it beat in terms of pedestrian traffic. Mexico City seems more like LA, with hints of NYC in places.
I live in New York and have been to Mexico City. I didn't see too much of Mexico City but spent a few days walking around the centre. New York is definitely more crowded for larger areas. Mc is definitely urban but outside of the zocalo, there aren't very big crowds anywhere (except for the odd museum or particular event). The reforma is not very crowded in most places. 5th, 6th, 7th avenues in ny easily have it beat in terms of pedestrian traffic. Mexico City seems more like LA, with hints of NYC in places.
That seems to be the consensus, that the city of NY is more dense than Mexico City, but on a metro scale, Mexico City is far more dense. NYC's density is almost all in Manhattan and the immediate surrounding boroughs, while Mexico City's density is consistently high from one end of the metro to the other.
Just as a comparison, here are Mexico City's 16 delegations (similar to boroughs) and NYC's 5 boroughs and their densities in 2010. This is people per square mile.
For Mexico City, the last 3 or 4 delegations are up in the mountains or are heavily agricultural/forested, so far few people live there. They are all towards the southern end of the DF, while the city and metro extends in the opposite direction towards the State of Mexico.
The borough/delegation density average difference is about 9,000 in NYC's favor. On the larger metro scale, Mexico City is 6,634 and in NYC is 1,876 ppsm, so the Mexico City metro is a bit more than 3 1/2x more dense.
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