Rank these urban cores: Chicago, Philly, Boston, DC, San Francisco, & Toronto (map, compare)

[the resident09]

3 things I like most about DC's "urban core" than none of these cities can match:

1. National Mall and parks in the center of town, although Chicago comes close here followed by Philly.

2. Best heavy rail transit in the core of each city mentioned

3. The walk-ability factor and street design with traffic circles in an almost Euro like setting.

Skylines are great, but not everything to me.

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by rainrock

Its a formidable group for sure. Phila,Bos,SF, DC are all great and its matter of subjectivity to which one you prefer.

Center City Philadlephia fares pretty well in most categories except jobs and that may be due to the fact that its always been a neighborhood first. The commerce and modern skyscrapers came late to the game albeit at the expense of some great historic neighborhoods.

Center City Philly is really improving but its still just scratching the surface. As has been mentioned in this thread the vast majority of the regions wealth and shopping is out in the suburbs.


Looking west from Society Hill.

I like that pic of Philly.

[jjv007]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

I like that pic of Philly.

Why am I not seeing a pic?

[Fitzrovian]

Good thread idea, but it would have been better if the OP attempted to define these urban cores (at least roughly) so we are comparing apples to apples.

My personal favorite is probably Boston. I like that the downtown core is ringed by great neighborhoods on all sides that all flow into each other seamlessly. Beautiful architecture, lots of history, few surface lots, very cohesive and walkable. I also like Philly for many of the same reasons.

For vibrancy, Chicago unquestionably has the best peak vibrancy (around Magnificent Mile and in the Loop during peak hours), but loses steam quickly. If we are comparing the inner 5-10 sq miles I'd say they are all in the same ballpark.

Overall, objectively speaking, Chicago should come out on top in this comparison but the gap is not as huge as some make it sound. They all have their pros and cons and you can make reasonable arguments for any of these cities.

[Mr Ambitious]

Originally Posted by Fitzrovian

Good thread idea, but it would have been better if the OP attempted to define these urban cores (at least roughly) so we are comparing apples to apples.

My personal favorite is probably Boston. I like that the downtown core is ringed by great neighborhoods on all sides that all flow into each other seamlessly. Beautiful architecture, lots of history, few surface lots, very cohesive and walkable. I also like Philly for many of the same reasons.

For vibrancy, Chicago unquestionably has the best peak vibrancy (around Magnificent Mile and in the Loop during peak hours), but loses steam quickly. If we are comparing the inner 5-10 sq miles I'd say they are all in the same ballpark.

Overall, objectively speaking, Chicago should come out on top in this comparison but the gap is not as huge as some make it sound. They all have their pros and cons and you can make reasonable arguments for any of these cities.

I would define them dowtown plus surrounding urban/vibrant nabes. For example Chicago would be the central area plus areas like Wicker Park, Lincoln park etc. DC would be downtown, plus penns quarter and areas like Dupont and U St. Philly would be Center City plus Queen Village, NoLibs etc. So, downtown area plus connected, vibrant neighborhoods

[fusion2]

Toronto's DT core population is now 250K in 6.5 sq miles and is growing between 35 to 40 thousand residents per census period (every 5 years in Canada). By 2041 Toronto's DT core is anticipated to have almost a half million residents.

Downtown population will nearly double by 2041 amid building and baby boom: Keesmaat | CP24.com

Would this make Toronto the second most populous DT core if it were in the U.S after NYC?

[TalentedDrinker]

Originally Posted by odurandina

New York

Chicago/Los Angeles
DC
San Francisco
Toronto

Boston

Philadelphia

Philadelphia is not below Boston. What the **** are you smoking?

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by That_One_Guy

I've been to all of these except Boston. My personal favorite is San Francisco.

But as far as this thread goes the clear winner is Chicago.

Wait, how do you live in NYC and have never been to Boston????

[Atticman]

I actually think Toronto stacks up pretty well against Chicago as far as urban cores go.
Simone Gramegna on Flickr

[odurandina]

Originally Posted by TalentedDrinker

Philadelphia is not below Boston. What the **** are you smoking?

Boston is a lot like DC. in fact, it's more like DC than DC.

Philly has a slight edge on skyscrapers permitted. Philly has a few very BIG TOWERS up ....but Boston is building quite a few skyscrapers as well. Not quite as tall as Philly's, but take away your 2, 3 supertalls, and we're about equal on tall highrises and skyscrapers permitted, under-construction or topped. You all know why it isn't possible for Boston to build supertalls. But Philly continues to build well-below Boston on total sq ft. Boston is actually pulling away on office space and luxury residential.

Let that sink in: Boston is pulling away. ...and it's really not even close.

But, Boston is absolutely running out of land ...and Philly may someday return and pass Boston (someday). ...Except that Rt128/495 can come in and pick up the slack (adjusting to the demands of the market). We also have quite a lot of heavy rail capacity still in reserve for moving larger numbers of people.

in 2017, Boston has become a juggernaut. But, our office construction is definitely heading for a cool-down in the next 3-4 years.

Boston ranks 3rd nationally behind New York and Los Angeles in foreign capital investment, beating out San Francisco and Seattle the past 2 years. We also ranked near the top in venture capital in 2016....





Here's our construction report. Your up to the minute, and adding more projects daily. Feel free to research them 1 by 1.

Development Map and Chart - Page 7 - archBOSTON.org

Go through the list in the link directly above. Boston's construction gets less respect on this forum from some of the regional homers, possibly because it's mostly low-mid highrises as opposed to all skyscrapers.


Add these numbers from Collier's *(from 11 months ago).... Boston/Cambridge/Rt128/495 has widened the gap since last June....

start ups, and multiple X 1,000,000s of sq ft of new office space coming on line in Boston Seaport + Cambridge.
office space Millions of sq ft
updated Q2 2016
combined NYC metro - 523.4
Manhattan - 359.3
combined Washington D.C. metro 288
Washington D.C. - 144.4
combined Los Angeles + Downtown/Century City/Hollywood/Burbank/Glendale - n/a
Los Angeles Downtown (4 neighborhoods) - 33.2
combined Cook County - n/a
Chicago - 159.0
combined Bay Area metro (S.F./Oak/San Jose + Silicon Valley) - n/a (est 280.0)
San Francisco - 90.5, East Bay/Oakland - 29.5, San Jose - 10.1
combined Boston/Cambridge/Rt 128/495 Technology Belt - 221.6 (87.8 + 134.8)] Q2 2016 updated
Rt 128/495 Boston Technology Belt - 134.8
Boston/Cambridge - 87.2 (65.4 + 22.44) Q2 2016 updated
combined South Florida metro - 79.8
Miami - 30.9, Ft Lauderdale - 27.0, West Palm Bch - 21.8
combined Houston metro - n/a
Houston - 43.0
*Seattle - 52.5 *updated only to 2011
Atlanta - 56.9
Pittsburg metro - 51.1
Minneapolis-St Paul metro - 45.9
combined Baltimore Metro - 45.2
Baltimore - 22.4
Dallas/Ft Worth metro - 42.7
Dallas - 32.0, Ft Worth 10.7
Philadelphia - 42.0
Denver - 35.0
Detroit - 33.9
Kansas City MO/KS metro - 33.5
Portland, OR - 24.8
Charlotte - 22.3
Milwaukee - 21.5
Phoenix - 20.2
Columbus - 19.8
Cleveland - 19.6
Cincinnati - 17.8
Jacksonville - 16.1
Raleigh/Durham metro - 12.28
Orlando - 12.27
Sacramento - 12.2
Nashville - 12.2
St Louis - 11.5
Indianapolis - 11.5
Richmond - 11.0
Hartford, CT - 10.7
Stamford, CT - 10.5
San Diego - 10.4
Tampa metro - 10.0
Austin - 9.6

[/URL]


We're not as sexy as Philly but we sure do kick ass on 200~300' towers, and of course, DUNKIN DONUTS.

Got one on every block to keep the construction teams going.