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What is not cohesive about DT Silver Spring? The place is actually as urban if not more than the part of Washington DC it is adjacent to across the city line. Its just smaller than places like Hoboken etc. I already gave you the fact the urban nodes do taper off into suburban style housing, but the urban hub of DT Silver Spring is very cohesive IMO (w/ transit everywhere). All I'm saying is that people are on here misrepresenting facts which is all I ever speak about. And its not that the transit level really changes that drastically in many of these areas, because there are bike lanes and bus routes that even run through some of the more suburban parts as well.
I don't think the Silver Spring vs. Cambridge/Hoboken comparison is entirely fair. While in the case of both Hoboken and Cambridge, there is a major river separating each community from the principal urban center, they're still both much, much more central to the urban core than Silver Spring which is over 6 miles from downtown DC. Even Cambridge tapers off and has some pretty terrible areas for pedestrians (see: Alewife). Silver Spring is an urban node in suburban DC whereas Cambridge and Hoboken are continuations of the urban center. More comparable places in Boston would be Malden- both have urban cores on transit, but they're far more suburban. Alexandria and Arlington are probably a better comparison for Cambridge/Somerville than Silver Spring.
What is not cohesive about DT Silver Spring? The place is actually as urban if not more than the neighborhood of Washington DC it is adjacent to across the city line. Its just smaller than places like Hoboken etc. I already gave you the fact the urban nodes do taper off into suburban style housing, but the urban hub of DT Silver Spring is very cohesive IMO (w/ transit everywhere). All I'm saying is that people are on here misrepresenting facts which is all I ever speak about. And its not that the transit level really changes that drastically in many of these areas, because there are bike lanes and bus routes that even run through some of the more leafy developed areas as well.
Silver Spring is more than just the downtown area (which is walkable). I'll echo what others are saying, which is that it is walkable in a small node, but goes very quickly to auto-centric suburbs. Here are some examples:
Outside of about six square blocks, it drops immediately to non-walkable suburbia. And we're not talking small lots with single use. We're talking large yards, missing sidewalks, etc. And just to be clear, Silver Spring covers a lot more than that small core:
That's not near van dorn. Nobody walks to that that area from the station. Stop the bull already
No, not now. Who said they did? This is apart of the 1 mile buffer zone redevelopment I have been talking about all anchored by metro station's. Are you even paying attention? The area from Beauregard through Landmark Mall to Van Dorn metro station is all being redeveloped as one large urban area. Tyson's , Potomac Yards, Largo, New Carrolton, Suiland, White Flint, etc., etc., etc. are doing the same thing. Why do you keep talking about now when I brought this up as an example of future development in response to you saying these area's will never change.
I think Pittsburgh and even Buffalo does as well. Both, along with Cleveland each have a suburb that is among the top 100 municipalities/census designated places in terms of population density. Dormont PA, Kenmore NY and Lakewood OH are the suburbs that I am referring to. I believe that there are others in those areas as well.
What is not cohesive about DT Silver Spring? The place is actually as urban if not more than the neighborhood of Washington DC it is adjacent to across the city line. Its just smaller than places like Hoboken etc. I already gave you the fact the urban nodes do taper off into suburban style housing, but the urban hub of DT Silver Spring is very cohesive IMO (w/ transit everywhere). All I'm saying is that people are on here misrepresenting facts which is all I ever speak about. And its not that the transit level really changes that drastically in many of these areas, because there are bike lanes and bus routes that even run through some of the more leafy developed areas as well.
The DC area is probably the least cohesive development in the country, if by cohesive you mean a smooth, urban level of development. You can go from high-rise to single-family house within 2-3 blocks. Look at this, for example. Now look at the back side of the same block. Cohesive, to me, means you can walk for a half hour in any direction, and things pretty much look the same. Something like this street in Hoboken, where nearly all the buildings are the height, setback, proportions, style, etc.
The DC area is probably the least cohesive development in the country, if by cohesive you mean a smooth, urban level of development. You can go from high-rise to single-family house within 2-3 blocks. Look at this, for example. Now look at the back side of the same block. Cohesive, to me, means an even level of development. You can walk for a half hour in any direction, and things pretty much look the same. Something like this street in Hoboken, where nearly all the buildings are the height, setback, proportions, style, etc.
Right, it's hard to say that DT Silver Spring isn't cohesive, because it's all of 4 - 6 square blocks. Too small to even judge on cohesiveness; but Silver Spring is larger than just downtown. Walk outside of DT and you end up in SFH neighborhoods that are completely autocentric. No cohesiveness as a whole whatsoever. Certainly not to the next node.
When projects from San Fran, LA, NYC, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, or Philly are posted, they get these kind of responses:
etc.
etc.
etc
etc.
etc.
There are 213 pages and 2080 posts in that thread. It will be very difficult to find praise for D.C. But what you will find is this:
Wake up and open your eyes!! So yes, we have an us against the world mentality because it is us against the world on this forum.
One thing you clearly don't pay attention to is how you and other DC posters come off. Honestly a lot of that anti-DC stuff seems more like a reaction to your constant over-exuberance, boosting "DC is the best in the nation/only one in the nation", etc... crap you constantly say. Maybe if you toned it down a bit DC and yourself wouldn't get such negative feedback. The condescending posts where you try and talk about people's qualifications certainly doesn't help and comes off as really arrogant and douchey. But go ahead keep playing the victim and ignore your own role in these types of discussions...
No, not now. Who said they did? This is apart of the 1 mile buffer zone redevelopment I have been talking about all anchored by metro station's. Are you even paying attention? The area from Beauregard through Landmark Mall to Van Dorn metro station is all being redeveloped as one large urban area. Tyson's , Potomac Yards, Largo, New Carrolton, Suiland, White Flint, etc., etc., etc. are doing the same thing. Why do you keep talking about now when I brought this up as an example of future development in response to you saying these area's will never change.
Because that was the example you used. It's not close to the station. It's not a tod.
It's a mile + away.
Right, it's hard to say that DT Silver Spring isn't cohesive, because it's all of 4 - 6 square blocks. Too small to even judge on cohesiveness; but Silver Spring is larger than just downtown. Walk outside of DT and you end up in SFH neighborhoods that are completely autocentric. No cohesiveness as a whole whatsoever. Certainly not to the next node.
My picture wasn't of Silver Spring, but in Northern Virginia. The point is as true there though.
I would say that the nodes are basically all linking up along the Orange Line from Rosslyn to Ballston. That said, it's more continuity of density than continuity of pedestrian infrastructure.
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