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Toronto's central-most 5 square miles have seen population growth of more than 50% in the last decade as you can see from this graphic I created. None of those other cities are seeing this rate of growth in their cores:
Toronto's central-most 5 square miles have seen population growth of more than 50% in the last decade as you can see from this graphic I created. None of those other cities are seeing this rate of growth in their cores:
No one can deny this at all. The growth that Toronto has seen over the past decade has been phenomenal. With that said the "best" or your personal favorite city core does not always have to be the largest or the most populated.
Toronto for example has seen all this growth but on my visits back I never feel overwhelmed by the vibrancy and still think it's kind of sleepy at night. I could also say that about the other cities in this thread as well. Which means none of them stand out above the others and it comes down to preference.
No one can deny this at all. The growth that Toronto has seen over the past decade has been phenomenal. With that said the "best" or your personal favorite city core does not always have to be the largest or the most populated.
Toronto for example has seen all this growth but on my visits back I never feel overwhelmed by the vibrancy and still think it's kind of sleepy at night. I could also say that about the other cities in this thread as well. Which means none of them stand out above the others and it comes down to preference.
OP did include nightlife as part of the criteria, so on that note I think I have to agree with you that none really stand out too much over the other here. All of these cities have a pathetic 2am last call except for D.C. Which is 3am.
I've never gone out in DC, but I never thought of it as much of a nightlife city. Anyone here familiar with the DC nightlife scene?
OP did include nightlife as part of the criteria, so on that note I think I have to agree with you that none really stand out too much over the other here. All of these cities have a pathetic 2am last call except for D.C. Which is 3am.
I've never gone out in DC, but I never thought of it as much of a nightlife city. Anyone here familiar with the DC nightlife scene?
There is plenty of nightlife in DC with about a dozen major and minor nightlife hubs in the city, including (in no particular order):
U Street NW
H Street NE
Chinatown
Adams Morgan
Dupont Circle
Logan Circle
Capitol Hill
Georgetown
Shaw
Columbia Heights
Downtown/K Street
Here's a recent article about how liquor licenses for bars, clubs, and restaurants have increased substantially (by over 50%) since 2008, which helps show the tremendous growth in DC's nighttime economy: https://www.dcpolicycenter.org/publi...tlife-booming/
Last edited by revitalizer; 07-03-2017 at 06:31 AM..
I've been undecided until now, but I think I've gotta give my vote to DC. People focus too much on skylines sometimes, but I think Street-level urban-ness is more important. DC being just as dense as Chicago and Toronto without having any high rises really kind of says a lot about how tightly packed and urban it really is. Plus it has by far the best rapid transit system out of all these cities. Now add in the fact that it stays open later than all the others and I think that makes DC a winner.
Now going back to the OP:
Quote:
Originally Posted by joey joe-joe
Which city has the best urban core in terms of vibrancy, walk-ability, nightlife, jobs, and amenities?
Nightlife I have to give to DC since it's the only one that doesn't shut down at 2am. No city that shuts down at 2am can argue it has a good nightlife scene IMO.
Jobs I also think DC wins easily. Some might say SF but really a lot of the Bay Area jobs are located outside the actual urban core.
Amenities I also have to give to DC. I dont think any of these other cities have anything that can compete with DC's numerous free museums or world famous landmarks and parks (maybe SF can match with parks tho).
Vibrancy is something I would give to SF.
Walkabity I'm not sure has a clear winner when talking about walking alone, but in terms of just getting around without a car DC's urban core once again has the best transit system.
DC also has the most famous, recognizable, and iconic urban core out of all these with nothing else that can really compete except maybe SF. When you're in DC and you see all these world famous landmarks you get this feeling that you know you're somewhere really important. I'm not sure if this feeling is matched anywhere else in NA outside of NYC. I'm surprised it doesn't have more votes. I think DC is often underrated on here for whatever reason.
And before someone says "yeah D.C. is dense because it has small city limits"
It's true that DC city limits are small, but DC's urban core extends outside the city limits. DC could annex various surrounding areas in Virginia and Maryland while still retaining its high density and sufficient transit. For example, all of Arlington county and Alexandria in Virginia could give DC over 100 sq miles of land area with a similar density. Not to mention some parts of Maryland could be added as well.
Also, many places associated with DC are actually located outside the city limits in MD and VA. Some examples would be The Pentagon, The NSA, and even the CIA. I bet most people believe those places are located within D.C. city limits.
Nightlife I have to give to DC since it's the only one that doesn't shut down at 2am. No city that shuts down at 2am can argue it has a good nightlife scene IMO.
in terms of just getting around without a car DC's urban core once again has the best transit system
Keep in mind that the DC metro stops running at 11:30 pm Monday to Thursday and 1:00 am on Friday and Saturday and 11:00pm on Sunday! Kinda puts a damper on that 3:00 am last call, if you ask me. Besides, just because some of these other cities have a last call of 2:00 am doesn't mean the nightlife stops, in Toronto it keeps on going for at least a couple of more hours in the popular nightlife areas and the Subways run until 1:30 am, 7 days a week -- but technically some of the trains don't actually reach their last stop on the line until 2:30am. Many of the popular nightlife areas are also on 24 hour streetcar lines.
Keep in mind that the DC metro stops running at 11:30 pm Monday to Thursday and 1:00 am on Friday and Saturday and 11:00pm on Sunday! Kinda puts a damper on that 3:00 am last call, if you ask me. Besides, just because some of these other cities have a last call of 2:00 am doesn't mean the nightlife stops, in Toronto it keeps on going for at least a couple of more hours in the popular nightlife areas and the Subways run until 1:30 am, 7 days a week -- but technically some of the trains don't actually reach their last stop on the line until 2:30am. Many of the popular nightlife areas are also on 24 hour streetcar lines.
I agree having the subway stop running before the bars close is a problem. But it's not unique to DC. Actually Toronto has this same problem, as well as every other city on this list. The only cities that don't have this problem in the US and Canada are NYC (full 24/7 subway), Chicago (some 24/7 service) and Philly (24 hour subways on weekends).
Actually when I was in Toronto I ran into this same problem! I didn't consider the fact that the subways actually have a closing time there, and I forgot that 2am is considered late for some places. You can say that they reach their last stop around 2 (same could be said for DC and others), but you have to be actually on the subway before that, and you have to leave yourself enough time to get to the station and be on the platform before the train arrives. So you really have to leave the bar around 1 anyway.
To go out "late" in any of these cities you have to plan another way home regardless. I still think I have to give DC the edge, for a 2am last call really hinders a nightlife scene and it's the only one that stays open later than 2 and that's a huge factor IMO.
You can say that they reach their last stop around 2 (same could be said for DC and others)
The subways reach their last stops in Toronto around 2:30am. So depending on what station you're getting on, you might be able to get on at 2:15am.
After the subways stop running, there is very frequent bus service (every 3-4 minutes on Yonge Street, every 5 minutes on Bloor/Danforth) replacing the subway. And after 2:30am traffic is light enough so that the buses are nearly as fast as the subway.
Quote:
Also, many places associated with DC are actually located outside the city limits in MD and VA. Some examples would be The Pentagon, The NSA, and even the CIA. I bet most people believe those places are located within D.C. city limits.
A friend of mine was travelling to DC about once a month (I think) for business, having meetings at The Pentagon (the U.S. military was their biggest client), and he didn't even know The Pentagon was in Virginia. I told him it was, but he didn't believe me until he googled it. lol.
A friend of mine was travelling to DC about once a month (I think) for business, having meetings at The Pentagon (the U.S. military was their biggest client), and he didn't even know The Pentagon was in Virginia. I told him it was, but he didn't believe me until he googled it. lol.
Haha, that's kinda funny but also completely understandable too. You can cross over the border into Virginia or Maryland and not even realize it. I think DC used to be part of those Virginia cities before it was DC so the urban fabric feels pretty continuous. Parts of Virginia are very old and colonial too which is an urban bonus.
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