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I used to live in Capitol Hill, and I know what you mean. Keep in mind that Capitol Hill used to have hundreds of additional storefronts peppered through the neighborhood. Mid-century zoning changes basically made stores distributed through the neighborhood illegal, which meant as the old properties changed hands they were converted into houses.
I've never read that about Capitol Hill. And DC is probably the city I've studied more than any other from a planning/architecture perspective. Other than 8th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, there don't appear to any streets that could have served as commercial corridors.
I posted this in the DC forum many years ago. It gives you before and now shots of various DC locations and they are sortable by neighborhood. Here is a view of Maryland Avenue and G Street, N.E. circa 1920.
The Hill seems to have always been that residential in character.
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Originally Posted by eschaton
I think it's silly to downgrade the "urbanity" of a neighborhood based upon this, given the urban fabric is still there, the use just isn't. It would be like saying an area isn't urban because it's economically depressed and most of the storefronts are vacant.
Lack of mixed-use and pedestrian traffic relative to other parts of DC are only one reason I consider it to be less urban. It's not so much that I'm downgrading its urbanity as it is that I see it being less urban than the more midrise neighborhoods in Northwest DC.
It definitely has its urban areas but it really does have its fair share of not so urban.
I spent quite a lot of time in DC during college. All urban cities have non-urban areas, not just DC. Look at Staten Island and large chunks of queens in NYC, Boston definitely has non-urban areas, Chicago has a lot and Seattle definitely does too.
I used to live around 7 blocks east of Union Station in Capitol Hill NE, and I agree with this assessment wholeheartedly. I just don't agree that doesn't make it highly urban. New York has plenty of quiet, residential areas as well, such as Park Slope. They're still urban however.
I suppose "highly" urban is completely relative. Capitol Hill is obviously highly urban compared to most of the low density urban cores in the Midwest and South. If we are considering only the most urban residential neighborhoods in America outside of NYC (the Tenderloin, Back Bay, Center City/U. City, Hollywood, Adams-Morgan, etc.), then by that standard, I would not call it "highly" urban. I wouldn't call much of Philadelphia highly urban either since most of it is medium-density rowhousing. When I think "highly urban," I think higher streetwalls, a more intense mix of uses, and higher pedestrian traffic.
Park Slope is quiet by NYC standards but would likely be the busiest neighborhood in any other American city as far as mixed-use and foot traffic is concerned. Park Slope has more bars and restaurants than Adams-Morgan and U Street/14th Street combined. Most New Yorkers think of Park Slope (and Brooklyn generally) as tame compared to the happening parts of Manhattan and not so much that it is a"quiet" area.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Originally Posted by BajanYankee
I suppose "highly" urban is completely relative. Capitol Hill is obviously highly urban compared to most of the low density urban cores in the Midwest and South.
Hence, this is what discredits Buckeye614's previous post stating DC is not more urban than "most" cities, when in fact the opposite is true. If we're sitting here discussing whether its the 6th or 7th most urban city in the country, then how in the world are most American cities more urban than DC?
I've never read that about Capitol Hill. And DC is probably the city I've studied more than any other from a planning/architecture perspective. Other than 8th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, there don't appear to any streets that could have served as commercial corridors.
Lack of mixed-use and pedestrian traffic relative to other parts of DC are only one reason I consider it to be less urban. It's not so much that I'm downgrading its urbanity as it is that I see it being less urban than the more midrise neighborhoods in Northwest DC.
It's certainly less urban than some portions of DC. I think it's silly to argue it's one of the less urban portions of DC overall however. Just a quick look at DC on satellite with labels turned off makes it clear it's certainly in the more urban half (or maybe even third) of DC by land area.
When I lived in Capitol Hill, the area around me had a notable lack of walkable amenities (can't remember walking to anything but a liquor store - unless you count getting a quick bite in the food court in Union Station), but I still never had to use my car to get around the city, so it felt plenty urban. I did most of my shopping/socializing along the Red Line, and could bike to Eastern market for produce when the weather was nice. So it felt plenty urban to me.
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Originally Posted by BajanYankee
I suppose "highly" urban is completely relative. Capitol Hill is obviously highly urban compared to most of the low density urban cores in the Midwest and South. If we are considering only the most urban residential neighborhoods in America outside of NYC (the Tenderloin, Back Bay, Center City/U. City, Hollywood, Adams-Morgan, etc.), then by that standard, I would not call it "highly" urban. I wouldn't call much of Philadelphia highly urban either since most of it is medium-density rowhousing. When I think "highly urban," I think higher streetwalls, a more intense mix of uses, and higher pedestrian traffic.
Fair enough. Capitol Hill in DC is still probably more urban than 95% of city neighborhoods in the country - and more than half of the neighborhoods in DC for that matter. I brought this up to begin with because a poster said that DC wasn't as urban as most cities, and used Capitol Hill as an example. That is manifestly false.
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Originally Posted by BajanYankee
Park Slope is quiet by NYC standards but would likely be the busiest neighborhood in any other American city as far as mixed-use and foot traffic is concerned. Park Slope has more bars and restaurants than Adams-Morgan and U Street/14th Street combined. Most New Yorkers think of Park Slope (and Brooklyn generally) as tame compared to the happening parts of Manhattan and not so much that it is a"quiet" area.
Admittedly true. Park Slope does tend to be looked at as a quasi-suburban area by NYC standards though - somewhere you move if you have kids and need a little more space, provided you can afford it.
I could have listed somewhere less known, like Roosevelt Island. Certainly a dense area, but almost no commercial amenities. My point is even in NYC you can find areas without a lot of commercial activity.
Actually it's not cherry picking. I lived there. I know. I was there recently and I'm quite familiar. We know every city isn't all urban.
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