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Last link is in an area called "central LA". I forgot LA is more urban and walkable than DC is though.
You're too much. We know all of LA is not going to be urban. It is 464 square miles filled with all types of terrain. Nearly 8 times bigger than DC. But again DC being so small it surprisingly has many areas that are not urban at all. To say it's 6th is ridiculous imo.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pwright1
You're too much. We know all of LA is not going to be urban. It is 464 square miles filled with all types of terrain. Nearly 8 times bigger than DC. But again DC being so small it surprisingly has many areas that are not urban at all. To say it's 6th is ridiculous imo.
This is the part I have problems with understanding because there is no direct example of what people call "urban" therefore I cannot agree with this. I've heard people refer to Kansas City or parts of Oklahoma City as "urban America" in comparison to the rest of their states. In other words any "city" with some level of street grid and consistent buildings on both sides of the road classifies as urban? Orlando, FL is considered an "urban area" with a urban street grid by Florida standards. Would you match up Orlando with Washington DC and say that DC is not urban at all in comparison?
What is the standard of urbanity in this nation? Are you saying that there is a cut off point? How do you define that cut off point? Do we define urbanity as every city that is NY, SF, Bos, Chicago, Philadelphia and say urbanity ceases there and every other city is simply not urban trying to be it?
DC is easily the 6th most urban city in the US and can increase its urbanity more as it continues to infill the 61 sq miles. Even if you cared to put LA ahead of DC, it still would be ahead of the MAJORITY of American cities in urbanity.
I understand that, but this thread is not about noise level in a neighborhood. Your prior post was saying that DC is not more urban than most American cities. Which is one of the most factually incorrect things I've heard about DC. Then you referenced Capitol Hill, and urban/walkable neighborhood with wall to wall row homes as your example. That just didn't add up for me. There are quiet neighborhoods in many major urban cities.
"A portion of D.C. does not feel urban in the same sense that a lot of other American cities do. Part of this is due to the height restriction.
Places in D.C. that don't give off "big city" feels
Capitol Hill/Eastern Market
Hill East
Far Northwest D.C is essentially suburban (Tenleytown, Friendship Heights etc).
Parts of Kenilworth."
Show me where I said "DC is not more urban than most American cities." I'm well aware of the urbanity of D.C. having lived there. My point was that the urbanity of D.C. feels extremely different than other larger American cities' versions of urbanity. I wasn't saying that D.C. overall is not urban, I was saying PORTIONS of it really lack a big city feel, which is significant when you take into consideration how small its city limits are. If you disagree that's fine, I don't care that much.
Thanks for the links. A lot of those former businesses were what I suspected: isolated corner stores/shops rather than an extended corridor of storefronts. The Ledroit Market on 4th Street near Howard is a good example of this (as are most DC liquor stores).
Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaton
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.
But that's not what I argued.
I didn't say Capitol Hill isn't urban. I didn't even say it was one of the less urban parts of DC. I did say that it was less urban than some other parts of DC that I *would* consider "highly" urban by U.S. standards. The 14th Street corridor is "highly" urban with its string of 5-7 story residential buildings, heavy pedestrian traffic, and storefronts. That area is more urban than anything in Philadelphia outside of Center City. I'm not arguing that rowhouse neighborhoods aren't urban, but rather that they don't possess the degree of urbanity mid-rise neighborhoods do (fully understanding that highrise neighborhoods like Brickell don't necessarily feel more "urban" than some rowhouse neighborhoods). This is obviously more urban than anything on the Hill.
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.
That's fine. But my point is that I (and apparently some others) don't consider rowhouse neighborhoods "highly" urban based on the built/structural environment alone. Pedestrian volume and commercial activity are factors, but those aren't the only factors imo. Unless you're dealing with auto-centric, tower in the park neighborhoods like you have in Israel, a highrise neighborhood is going to be more urban than a rowhouse neighborhood assuming the street scale is the same.
You're too much. We know all of LA is not going to be urban. It is 464 square miles filled with all types of terrain. Nearly 8 times bigger than DC. But again DC being so small it surprisingly has many areas that are not urban at all. To say it's 6th is ridiculous imo.
DC's core is large for the way it is built. There are only a handful of cities that have a truly walkable core that's more than 10 sq. miles or so.
Outside of NYC, SF and DC have the most consistent pedestrian traffic, imo. Not necessarily in its downtown core, but throughout a contiguous area of 10-12 sq. miles. There's also no other urban core, aside from maybe San Francisco, where car ownership is so low.
Outside of NYC, SF and DC have the most consistent pedestrian traffic, imo. Not necessarily in its downtown core, but throughout a contiguous area of 10-12 sq. miles. There's also no other urban core, aside from maybe San Francisco, where car ownership is so low.
Pretty much, yeah. This is mainly why I think it's reasonable to group DC with Boston, Philly, Chicago and SF in terms of urbanity. It's in the same general weight class.
It might not have the best density peaks, but it has strong, consistent urbanity over a quite large geography, alongside very good transit share for U.S. standards.
Pretty much, yeah. This is mainly why I think it's reasonable to group DC with Boston, Philly, Chicago and SF in terms of urbanity. It's in the same general weight class.
It might not have the best density peaks, but it has strong, consistent urbanity over a quite large geography, alongside very good transit share for U.S. standards.
14th Street in DC has changed a lot. In terms of pedestrian volume, it is definitely one of the busiest areas of any U.S. city outside of a CBD/downtown area. It used to be that you couldn't walk very long stretches of it due to construction, but now it's like walking the Embarcadero. Very heavy traffic for about 1.5 miles or so.
14th Street in DC has changed a lot. In terms of pedestrian volume, it is definitely one of the busiest areas of any U.S. city outside of a CBD/downtown area. It used to be that you couldn't walk very long stretches of it due to construction, but now it's like walking the Embarcadero. Very heavy traffic for about 1.5 miles or so.
I'm not really sure what 14th Street used to be like but it's quite the bustling corridor these days, especially from N Street to Florida Avenue.
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