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it accounts for Baltimore's impressive volume of abandoned buildings
...because urbanity is not about people, it's about boarded-up rowhouses, a downtown with fewer office workers than Reston, Virginia, and most importantly, a mall with a Cheesecake Factory that attracts more tourists than the Smithsonian
Interesting! Thanks for explaining that structural density phenomenon.
Last edited by revitalizer; 06-24-2015 at 01:33 AM..
a downtown with fewer office workers than Reston, Virginia, and most importantly, a mall with a Cheesecake Factory that attracts more tourists than the Smithsonian
Baltimore is bigger in size than DC. I could care less about the population there basically the same. And Baltimores street vibes seem more urban and grit than DC
If L.A. is to be docked points for structural/walkability issuses, then I see no reason not to dock Baltimore points for abandonment and lower population density.
If there's one word I'd use to describe Baltimore, it would be idleness. In too many neighborhoods it's people--Black or White--just sitting around with apparently nowhere to go and nothing to do. And while you can say that any city has bums sitting around, it's not even close to being the same in these other places. Baltimore has a lethargic feeling unlike the cities to its immediate north and south. There seems to be no sense of urgency, ever.
Baltimore has a Philadelphia type layout, yes, but it does not have Philadelphia type densities (or DC densities for that matter), and consequently feels much less active than that city. I could see how people would rank it behind L.A. or Seattle notwithstanding the fact it has a better "urban skeleton."
If there's one word I'd use to describe Baltimore, it would be idleness. In too many neighborhoods it's people--Black or White--just sitting around with apparently nowhere to go and nothing to do. And while you can say that any city has bums sitting around, it's not even close to being the same in these other places. Baltimore has a lethargic feeling unlike the cities to its immediate north and south. There seems to be no sense of urgency, ever.
Some poorer (and sometimes not-so poor) areas of NYC have people hanging out on the streets doing nothing, I wouldn't say they make the city feel less urban, it's still more people out. Middle-aged latino men out (playing cards?), young people on stoops, etc. Though obviously idleness isn't the main vibe one gets out of NYC...
I wouldn't have expect Baltimore to be that different from Philly, just smaller. But I've barely seen it.
Some poorer (and sometimes not-so poor) areas of NYC have people hanging out on the streets doing nothing, I wouldn't say they make the city feel less urban, it's still more people out. Middle-aged latino men out (playing cards?), young people on stoops, etc. Though obviously idleness isn't the main vibe one gets out of NYC...
I wouldn't have expect Baltimore to be that different from Philly, just smaller. But I've barely seen it.
No. I knew someone would say this. They're not the same. Utica Avenue and Broadway (Bed-Stuy, not Manhattan), for example, see a lot of pedestrian traffic and have an overall busy feeling. West Baltimore isn't like that. There are rows of abandoned houses and desolate streets with a sense of hopelesness that isn't evident in almost in NYC neighborhood.
Philadelphia, while obviously slower than NYC, would never be described as having a feeling of idleness.
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To give you some background on Baltimore: it is a southern city below the Mason-Dixon line. Although there may be traffic flitting in from the interstates, it now finds a city armed and dangerous, drugged out with hopelessness and mindlessness, backs against the wall, a pace still of the south—of heat and the bead of sweat making its molasses-like way down the brow. It has a sweetness to it like the saddest and “baddest” of blues. There is a mix of African- and Euro-American that feed off each other. It is not New York or Philly or Washingon, D.C. There is some modern glitz and a tremendous—nay, unbelievable—mix of architecture.
Philly, Baltimore, and NY all have primarily residential streets where people just hang around, all cities do. I do know what you mean about Baltimore seeming slow and hopeless though, but I'd say the Philly Badlands feel pretty similar (not just in "hopelessness" but also in slowness).
And while it's certainly nothing like New York or even Philly, Baltimore does have a few busy-ish streets in the neighborhoods (Charles St. in MV and Fed Hill, St. Paul St. in Charles Village, Light St. in Federal Hill, Monument St. on the Eastside, Broadway in Fell Point and Washington Hill, Eastern Av. in Highlandtown, Penn Ave. in Upton)
No. I knew someone would say this. They're not the same. Utica Avenue and Broadway (Bed-Stuy, not Manhattan), for example, see a lot of pedestrian traffic and have an overall busy feeling. West Baltimore isn't like that. There are rows of abandoned houses and desolate streets with a sense of hopelesness that isn't evident in almost in NYC neighborhood.
Philadelphia, while obviously slower than NYC, would never be described as having a feeling of idleness.
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I agree with some of what you said. In a high crime, low employment neighborhood, you'll see people out doing nothing all day, but thats in any neighborhood. Just like anywhere else, you'll see people out getting things done in neighborhoods that aren't as crime ridden and has low unemployment rates. I will say that Baltimore has a level of ignorance that I haven't found in any other city that I've been to.
The area of Baltimore that seems busiest is around the Inner Harbor. Even then, it's not that busy. I searched quickly for pedestrian counts in Downtown Baltimore but didn't come up with anything. I would imagine that the counts there are significantly lower than they are around Gallery Place/Verizon Center in DC, and the counts for Gallery Place are significantly lower than the counts in Center City and Downtown Boston.
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