Chicago vs New York from street level (state, compared, population)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Your right, my mistake about Time Square. That said, the loop(when in rush hour only) feels no different to me than all parts of Manhattan minus Times Square. Just going by my experience.
I was in the Loop yesterday at 5PM. The streets were bustling, mostly with people leaving work it seemed. Everyone was dressed in business casual slacks and shirt, a few suits here and there. It was about as busy on Jackson Blvd, Lake, and Wacker, as is Michigan Ave. on its busiest shopping days.
Still have not been to New York, but am curious what visually looks different and feels different from the ground level. You don't get a sense of how big a city is just from the ground level, you're very limited in what you can see.
In a nutshell...
Imagine peak pedestrian traffic on North Michigan Ave; that is about the average pedestrian traffic level on essentially every avenue (N-S Street) in Manhattan from Central Park to 14th Street. Then mix in pockets of pedestrian activity not seen anywhere in Chicago such as Times Square or Herald Square (which actually has higher pedestrian counts than Times Square).
Additionally, imagine a street wall in Chicago such as Michigan Ave between Lake and say, Balbo, where there is no space between any building; that is essentially every block in Midtown.
Then after you finally wrap your head around how large Midtown Manhattan is (~3-4x as large as downtown Chicago), don't forget there is a second business district a few miles south (lower Manhattan), that is almost as large as all of downtown Chicago.
In addition to the above, all of Manhattan is much older than Chicago, and is almost like a time capsule that has been untouched for 100+ years.
Imagine peak pedestrian traffic on North Michigan Ave; that is about the average pedestrian traffic level on essentially every avenue (N-S Street) in Manhattan from Central Park to 14th Street. Then mix in pockets of pedestrian activity not seen anywhere in Chicago such as Times Square or Herald Square (which actually has higher pedestrian counts than Times Square).
Additionally, imagine a street wall in Chicago such as Michigan Ave between Lake and say, Balbo, where there is no space between any building; that is essentially every block in Midtown.
Then after you finally wrap your head around how large Midtown Manhattan is (~3-4x as large as downtown Chicago), don't forget there is a second business district a few miles south (lower Manhattan), that is almost as big as all of downtown Chicago.
In addition to the above, all of Manhattan is much older than Chicago, and is almost like a time capsule that has been untouched for 100+ years.
Thank you, this is what I was looking for.
So pedestrian traffic over most of NYC is equal to Michigan Ave at its peak. Wall to wall density with almost no breaks in buildings for block after block after block.
Chicago's buildings, at least in the Loop and most of the downtown area do feel and look newer/more modern, NYC looks more historic and much older in many areas. Great distinction.
Would you say NYC is louder as well? More odors or smells?
Would you say NYC is louder as well? More odors or smells?
Definitely all of the above. Also, I'd add there are no parking garages on the first few stories of buildings like there are in some Chicago highrises, in NYC its either retail or hotel lobbies/office entrances. As others have mentioned, NYC even at street level feels much denser, the skyscrapers are wall-to-wall. Thats why to some the Chicago skyline looks better, since skyscrapers are not lost in the sea, but they individually stand out.
About the architecture, while the old stuff definitely predominates, there are A LOT of new towers in NYC. Probably more than all other cities in the US combined if we are talking absolute number counts. In NYC they also build some new towers in old art-deco style, as far as I am aware, no other city builds art deco anymore.
LOLOLOL, all of Manhattan streets are not like Mich Ave on its peak. And thank God it is not like that. I would not go back! I spend most of my time in Soho where my satellite office is, right by Lombardi's(great pizza!). There is extremely light foot traffic around there, but NYC does change by street which to me makes it so incredible. Mulberry(which I call tourist, bad food little Italy, best is in the Bronx) is not that crowded anymore, unless on fests, etc. Yet if you turn the corner and head North you are in Chinatown which is packed and feels like your in, well, China!
That is what makes NYC so incredible in my mind. That said not a fanboy(or boy, I'm a girl) of Chicago. I find shopping on Mich Ave much more desirable than 5th ave with its wide boulevards, flowers, architecture, the river and Trump Tower(the NY one on 5th is simply ugly, yuck!, one in Chicago much more beautiful) and its location is unmatched right no the river, on Mich Ave, close to Lake.
LOLOLOL, all of Manhattan streets are not like Mich Ave on its peak. And thank God it is not like that. I would not go back! I spend most of my time in Soho where my satellite office is, right by Lombardi's(great pizza!). There is extremely light foot traffic around there, but NYC does change by street which to me makes it so incredible. Mulberry(which I call tourist, bad food little Italy, best is in the Bronx) is not that crowded anymore, unless on fests, etc. Yet if you turn the corner and head North you are in Chinatown which is packed and feels like your in, well, China!
That is what makes NYC so incredible in my mind. That said not a fanboy(or boy, I'm a girl) of Chicago. I find shopping on Mich Ave much more desirable than 5th ave with its wide boulevards, flowers, architecture, the river and Trump Tower(the NY one on 5th is simply ugly, yuck!, one in Chicago much more beautiful) and its location is unmatched right no the river, on Mich Ave, close to Lake.
I didn't say all Manhattan streets were as busy as North Michigan, I said all Avenues between The Park and 14th (SoHo is south of there) are, and if you look at the pedestrian counts, that is about spot on. Stevie Wonder could see that.
Definitely all of the above. Also, I'd add there are no parking garages on the first few stories of buildings like there are in some Chicago highrises, in NYC its either retail or hotel lobbies/office entrances. As others have mentioned, NYC even at street level feels much denser, the skyscrapers are wall-to-wall. Thats why to some the Chicago skyline looks better, since skyscrapers are not lost in the sea, but they individually stand out.
About the architecture, while the old stuff definitely predominates, there are A LOT of new towers in NYC. Probably more than all other cities in the US combined if we are talking absolute number counts. In NYC they also build some new towers in old art-deco style, as far as I am aware, no other city builds art deco anymore.
That is very cool. Art-Deco is one of the most coveted styles of architecture for highrises. Thank you for sharing on this thread, it's been most helpful.
They look/feel far different from street level. Anyone who has been to both cities immediately notices the significant differences.
NYC- enormous, super-crowded, messier, no alleys, fancier/more cosmopolitan feel, transit-dominated, narrower streets, wider sidewalks, more multilevel retail, no gaps between buildings, few plazas, more really old and new stuff, far denser, few curb cuts, more rich and poor, more fashion victims
Chicago- more "All-American" look, alleys, more spacious feel, more organized, higher proportion of chain stores/restaurants, tower on parking garage base design, more boxy buildings, bigger blocks, lawns and setbacks, a higher proportion buildings from the 1950's-1980's, more single use zoning, more white Midwest-looking dudes in khakis
I didn't say all Manhattan streets were as busy as North Michigan, I said all Avenues between The Park and 14th (SoHo is south of there) are, and if you look at the pedestrian counts, that is about spot on. Stevie Wonder could see that.
I found the average counts, for Michigan Ave and for the avenues between 36th and 40th Streets.
I didn't say all Manhattan streets were as busy as North Michigan, I said all Avenues between The Park and 14th (SoHo is south of there) are, and if you look at the pedestrian counts, that is about spot on. Stevie Wonder could see that.
All the major avenues are as busy as Michigan Ave. or busier. Certainly Broadway, 8th, 7th, 6th, 5th, Madison, Park, Lex (N-S), 3rd, and 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd and 57th (E-W) are about as busy or busier, at least in parts.
But that isn't the main difference. The main difference is that there are people everywhere. Every street has people. All the side streets have people. There's little break unless you go to residential areas on the far edges of Manhattan near the river. You can walk from Columbia University to the Battery, and there will be no point at any time of the day where you won't be around people.
Another major difference is transit. Want to see the highest volumes of people? In NYC, go to major transit hubs. In Chicago, the busiest volumes of people are on Michigan Ave., largely due to the shopping. Transit plays almost no role in the pedestrian counts, as the nearest transit stations are a ways west, and the biggest transit hubs are miles away.
For example- what is the busiest pedestrian hub on the UES? Defintely 86th/Lex. Reason? Busy subway hub. Same rules apply to the boroughs. Busiest hubs in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens (and even Jersey) are all around transit hubs.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
