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I'd say it's closer than the poll indicates; the poll has Boston taking this in a runaway.
Agree on both counts. Key difference is that Boston benefits from serving as a the hub of a much larger hinterland and distinct region (New England) as compared Philadelphia.
For many years, although it changed for the better in the 2010s, Philadelphia simply just didn't get the national/international media exposure befitting of a Top 10 metro area, whereas Boston has built-in branding with its high-profile higher education sector, specifically.
Those of us who've spent any time living in or near Philadelphia know that its identity, history, character, and culture is insanely strong, however much still unknown (or mischaracterized) by the broader American or global population.
I'd say it's closer than the poll indicates; the poll has Boston taking this in a runaway.
That’s because polls represent a winner not how close they are.
I don’t think most people think Boston has way more identity. Just a small but distinct advantage.
Namely Philly is largely seen as similar to NYC and Baltimore. While cities most similar to Boston are cities in its sphere of influence like Providence.
Dc is generic American urban. It’s the east coast capital of gentrifier non-culture. Like if you had to make a nameless American metropolis for a movie it’d be dc. The most unique quirk is Mumbo sauce which is basically the same as Halal red sauce or Chicago mild sauce. Outside of that..? GoGo music which never caught on outside a 20 mile radius. It’s literally a district meant to represent America. Not an super unique storied city like Philly or Boston.Noet neighborhoods in DC feel and look the same- biggest difference being they’re white or black. 1/3rd of the black people who cultivated the local culture (very similar to black culture at large) from 1945-2005 live in McMansion subdivisions in 2022.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,128 posts, read 7,560,868 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade
Dc is generic American urban. It’s the east coast capital of gentrifier non-culture. Like if you had to make a nameless American metropolis for a movie it’d be dc. The most unique quirk is Mumbo sauce which is basically the same as Halal red sauce or Chicago mild sauce. Outside of that..? GoGo music which never caught on outside a 20 mile radius. It’s literally a district meant to represent America. Not an super unique storied city like Philly or Boston.Noet neighborhoods in DC feel and look the same- biggest difference being they’re white or black. 1/3rd of the black people who cultivated the local culture (very similar to black culture at large) from 1945-2005 live in McMansion subdivisions in 2022.
The DC area is too "different" from anywhere else to be the poster child for a "nameless American metropolis". It's more diverse than the average Sunbelt metro outside of let's say Cali, it's more Black than the Census designated Northeast metros, and it's more cosmopolitan than any metros in middle America or the Midwest. What other parts of the country is DC like? The city has more European layout than any city in this country. The National Mall is more like the Champ de Mars in Paris, than anywhere in this nation is. Movies shot in DC are based around something specific and identifiable. The government institutions with the "power", and often have global aspects to them. I'd expect a movie about a generic city or metropolis to be shot in Seattle before DC honestly, or in the Midwest somewhere.
Regarding the Black culture in DC itself, and it's nearest suburbs are among the most unique Black culture in the nation along with New Orleans, and a couple other places. DC Black culture stands out like a sore thumb by comparison to it's other NE corridor counterparts. None of these cities being compared here have a more identifiable Black culture, so in that category DC's #1.
The region's identity as government hub, means that it also can be clearly identified by comparison to others. Sure the other cities listed here have their own identifiers, but I definitely don't see any gap in how identifiable a Seattle or Boston would be vs DC. Seattle gets most of it's points based on overall physical location and landscape. Otherwise an average person from the East wouldn't know the city's differences of there and Portland or Vancouver, other than the Space Needle.
Last edited by the resident09; 03-18-2022 at 06:44 AM..
The DC area is too "different" from anywhere else to be the poster child for a "nameless American metropolis". It's more diverse than the average Sunbelt metro outside of let's say Cali, it's more Black than the Census designated Northeast metros, and it's more cosmopolitan than any metros in middle America or the Midwest. What other parts of the country is DC like? The city has more European layout than any city in this country. The National Mall is more like the Champ de Mars in Paris, than anywhere in this nation is. Movies shot in DC are based around something specific and identifiable, the government institutions with the "power", and often have global aspects to them. I'd expect a movie about a generic city or metropolis to be shot in Seattle before DC honestly, or in the Midwest somewhere.
Regarding the Black culture in DC itself and it's nearest suburbs are among the most unique Black culture in the nation along with New Orleans, and a few other places. DC Black culture stands out like a sore thumb by comparison to it's other NE corridor counterparts. None of these cities being compared here have a more identifiable Black culture, so in that category DC's #1.
The region's identity as government hub, means that it also can be clearly identified by comparison to others. Sure the other cities listed here have their own identifiers, but I definitely don't see any gap in how identifiable a Seattle or Boston would be vs DC. Seattle gets most of it's points based on overall physical location and landscape. Otherwise an average person from the East wouldn't know the city's differences of there and Portland or Vancouver.
Is it really more diverse than Vegas Houston Atlanta Miami?
Its cosmopolitan, diverse, and primarily black in its urban population. Its weather is middle of the road nd its latitude is middle of the road in Florida. Has some water access but not directly on the water. It is a nice city but DC Black culture does not stick out more than Baltimore Philly or Detroit or Atlanta. DC black culture is not like the other NEC cities which is exactly why its more "representative" (generic has a negative connotation) because its very balanced.
When people think of America internationally they usually think it has a larger black population than it does like DC. And unfortunately, many people do not know how strong or large DCs black culture is. The suburbs of DC that I lived in didn't have a unique black culture- its black people from all over the US there so everything gets kind of negated. GoGo is unique for sure. But I find Baltimore Philly LA Miami NYC Chicago and Detroit to be a bit more distinguishable.
It blends the established northeast urbanity that is known with some sunbelt traits. And let's remember DC is nearly 40% white and they are super duper middle of the road they're a big driver of the current DC culture. Its Big Ten grad culture, SEC grad culture, and private northern schools.
Just my opinion here, I wouldn't say you're flat out wrong- you know DC much better than me. Its not "bland" by any stretch. But I think I and others see Philly and Boston as more distinct for legitimate reasons. It developed much later as a city being one major part of it. I don't know enough about Seattle to say.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,128 posts, read 7,560,868 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade
Is it really more diverse than Vegas Houston Atlanta Miami?
Its cosmopolitan, diverse, and primarily black in its urban population. Its weather is middle of the road nd its latitude is middle of the road in Florida. Has some water access but not directly on the water. It is a nice city but DC Black culture does not stick out more than Baltimore Philly or Detroit or Atlanta. DC black culture is not like the other NEC cities which is exactly why its more "representative" (generic has a negative connotation) because its very balanced.
When people think of America internationally they usually think it has a larger black population than it does like DC. And unfortunately, many people do not know how strong or large DCs black culture is. The suburbs of DC that I lived in didn't have a unique black culture- its black people from all over the US there so everything gets kind of negated. GoGo is unique for sure. But I find Baltimore Philly LA Miami NYC Chicago and Detroit to be a bit more distinguishable.
It blends the established northeast urbanity that is known with some sunbelt traits. And let's remember DC is nearly 40% white and they are super duper middle of the road they're a big driver of the current DC culture. Its Big Ten grad culture, SEC grad culture, and private northern schools.
Just my opinion here, I wouldn't say you're flat out wrong- you know DC much better than me. Its not "bland" by any stretch. But I think I and others see Philly and Boston as more distinct for legitimate reasons. It developed much later as a city being one major part of it. I don't know enough about Seattle to say.
Is it really more diverse than Vegas Houston Atlanta Miami? (***k yeah). Vegas comes the closest racially, but DC's metro area is arguably as diverse as LA it's just smaller.
You're speaking on hypotheticals and subjective stuff. Many many people know about the Black cultural influence in DC's history, and whether or not they know about it makes it no less identifiable than the other cities being compared here.. Detroit and Baltimore, and Chicago aren't in this thread. Seattle, Boston, and Philly are. Saying anything else about those places is going off on a tangent that means little to the thread topic. DC has a stronger and more unique Black culture than the cities in this thread period. None of these cities held the nickname "Chocolate City". That is unique.
Nonetheless, with that said I'm not even holding up the Black culture as the main differentiator here. I'm referring more to the city layout (unique), "identifiable" government based work force and institutions, it may be bland to some, but it's "identifiable".
It also has the most iconic American structures of the 4 cities as well.
Last edited by the resident09; 03-18-2022 at 07:10 AM..
Is it really more diverse than Vegas Houston Atlanta Miami?
Its cosmopolitan, diverse, and primarily black in its urban population. Its weather is middle of the road nd its latitude is middle of the road in Florida. Has some water access but not directly on the water. It is a nice city but DC Black culture does not stick out more than Baltimore Philly or Detroit or Atlanta. DC black culture is not like the other NEC cities which is exactly why its more "representative" (generic has a negative connotation) because its very balanced.
When people think of America internationally they usually think it has a larger black population than it does like DC. And unfortunately, many people do not know how strong or large DCs black culture is. The suburbs of DC that I lived in didn't have a unique black culture- its black people from all over the US there so everything gets kind of negated. GoGo is unique for sure. But I find Baltimore Philly LA Miami NYC Chicago and Detroit to be a bit more distinguishable.
It blends the established northeast urbanity that is known with some sunbelt traits. And let's remember DC is nearly 40% white and they are super duper middle of the road they're a big driver of the current DC culture. Its Big Ten grad culture, SEC grad culture, and private northern schools.
Just my opinion here, I wouldn't say you're flat out wrong- you know DC much better than me. Its not "bland" by any stretch. But I think I and others see Philly and Boston as more distinct for legitimate reasons. It developed much later as a city being one major part of it. I don't know enough about Seattle to say.
I dont think you understand DC's history or the local scene all that much except from the recent gentrification, especially if you aren't from the area or African American. Someone from the DMV area can recognize another person from the DMV anywhere in the world just by the way they dress, talk. Even Baltimore, NY, NJ, Philly all say "yo" and share similar slang. So AA from the DC area arent as distinguishable because they dont wear gold teeth, or say yo wear crazy du rags or have dreads like sideshow Bob? And what sticks out among LA black culture to you? "YG", "Game", "Blueface"?!
I have to back up the folks sticking up for DC as having a distinctive culture here. The dominant one (which isn't Black) drives me up a wall, but it does have one.
The point theresident09 made about the "4 iconic structures" can't be overemphasized. In terms of built environment, many other cities with distinct cultures are more interchangeable: consider how many movies and TV shows are set in one city but shot in another (usually for reasons of cost). Philadelphia has played not only itself but also New York and Boston (the latter tougher to do because Philly's planned on the grid while only some parts of Boston are). Toronto has served as a stand-in for several large US cities, including Philadelphia. You would think that Pittsburgh's unique topography would make it impossible to mimic, and you would be wrong: the American adaptation of the series "Q***r as Folk," which was set in that city, wasn't shot there.
There's no stunt double for the U.S. Capitol. If you're setting a movie in Washington, you're going to shoot at least some of it in Washington.*
And I'm old enough to remember "Chocolate City" — which was the title of one of Parliament's hit albums in the 1970s. (The closing line from the title track: "and God bless Chocolate City — and its vanilla suburbs.") More than any other US city at the time, DC was the Black metropolis, for better or for worse. Those uniquely Black DC institutions (go-go music, half smokes at Ben's Chili Bowl...) may not travel well (save for Howard University), but they are there, and they do distinguish DC from other Black metropolises. Gentrification has turned it into White Chocolate City, but it still has a Black presence on par with (and in its suburbs, more affluent than) its Northeast Corridoe peers.
That presence (and any other in the city and region) IMO gets drowned under Official Washington, which I've gone on about often enough I don't think I have to repeat myself here. But again, Official Washington isn't duplicated elsewhere, either.
*Edited to add: I am, however, going to quibble with theresident09's description of the city as having a "more European layout than any other city in the country". I'd say that honor belongs to the cities of New England in general and Boston in particular. Yes, a Frenchman laid out the city (with a crucial assist from a Black man), and its diagonal avenues (designed to make it difficult for an invading army to advance on the city) prefigured Baron Haussman's Paris makeover (where the broad boulevards were designed to make it harder for the citizens to throw up barricades). But very few, if any, European cities are based on a rectilinear gridded street layout. Remove those avenues and Washington becomes Philadelphia minus the five squares and with a mall added (as also happened here). I do know that many visitors from abroad say that Philadelphia has the most European feel of any American city, but I guarantee you that the layout isn't the reason they make that assessment.
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