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Which of these two West Coast cities do you think is more urban/offers the better urban experience? Both are consistently urban throughout a large area and are the two most densely populated cities in the West.
Walkability:
Pedestrian Traffic:
Urban Amenities:
Public Transportation:
Urban Neighborhoods:
More Cosmopolitan:
Architecture:
Larger Feel:
Better Urban Experience Overall:
SF wins everything except public transportation and cosmopolitanism. Skytrain is more useful than BART; also the bus system in Vancouver is far more useful (and faster) than the one in SF. As cosmopolitan as SF is, Vancouver is moreso.
San Francisco easily on every category except public transit and cosmopolitanism. Those two categories are generally comparable - public transit I’d give the edge to Vancouver and cosmopolitanism is a tie. I’d actually love to compare Vancouver and SF with Facts Kills Rhetorics country counts. Although SF is notably bigger so I’d want to see it in % as well as absolute number.
But yeah, San Francisco is way more urban, walkable, crowded, has better architecture, a much bigger feel, and is a better overall urban experience. SF and Chicago are the only two cities outside the Northeast whose urbanity can stand up to the major urban cities in the Northeast. Vancouver is not there.
Last edited by Vincent_Adultman; 09-29-2018 at 01:42 AM..
San Francisco clearly beats Vancouver for overall purposes of this thread, considering the categories provided by the OP.
However, considering public safety, cleanliness, cosmopolitanism, and general sociability, Vancouver annihilates San Francisco. Therefore, I like Vancouver better.
Last edited by AmericaBravoCharles; 09-29-2018 at 03:22 AM..
For San Francisco transit, you need to throw Muni into the mix with BART. I think that equals things out. I love Skytrain, but it doesn't cover all areas, just like San Fran.
Both are very urban environments - I’d argue the two most urban West of Chicago in the US and Canada*. However, SF is significantly moreso.
*Yes, LA is also very urban and obviously much bigger overall but if we’re talking urban in the urban planning sense (which many of these categories are referring to), especially pound for pound, I’d pick Vancouver.
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