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Compare these two relatively vibrant university areas on walkability, transit, total size of commercial areas, amount and variety of restaurants and bars, and connectivity to Downtown Boston and Center City Philadelphia, respectively.
Walkability: Tie. University City's two biggest higher-ed institutions are next-door neighbors and even share some restaurants and residential buildings now, but both Central and Harvard squares are long-established commercial hubs (and if you look at Cambridge on a map, Harvard Square is the knot in the bow tie). Transit: University City. There's good subway service to Cambridge, but one of the rail transit hubs of the entire Northeast sits on University City's front doorstep. Not to mention that many residents of western Center City walk to their jobs on the opposite bank of the Schuylkill. Commercial districts: If by this you're speaking only of retail and restaurants, Cambridge. If by this you include office space, tie if you throw in Kendall Square - at least for now. When John Fry and Jerry Sweeney finish their joint venture, however, University City will take the category. Amount and variety of restaurants and bars: Since this is a subcategory of retail, I will leave my statement above intact. Cambridge wins this category, but University City has been making some huge strides here. Some of this is also John Fry's and Jerry Sweeney's doing in their roles as landlords. Connectivity to Downtown Boston and Center City Philadelphia: Yes, it's STILL only "8 Minutes to Park Street" from Harvard Square. But as I noted above, Rittenhouse Square denizens can and do walk to work, or classes, or stuff like that, on the other side of the Schuylkill. University City seems to be slowly morphing into Philadelphia's "second downtown," a role I don't think Kendall Square quite fills yet, and the proximity of the two districts has a lot to do with that. University City by a nose.
Overall, I'd say the two are comparable these days. I wouldn't have said that ten years ago, however. Cambridge would have taken all the categories save transit.
Walkability: Tie. University City's two biggest higher-ed institutions are next-door neighbors and even share some restaurants and residential buildings now, but both Central and Harvard squares are long-established commercial hubs (and if you look at Cambridge on a map, Harvard Square is the knot in the bow tie). Transit: University City. There's good subway service to Cambridge, but one of the rail transit hubs of the entire Northeast sits on University City's front doorstep. Not to mention that many residents of western Center City walk to their jobs on the opposite bank of the Schuylkill. Commercial districts: If by this you're speaking only of retail and restaurants, Cambridge. If by this you include office space, tie if you throw in Kendall Square - at least for now. When John Fry and Jerry Sweeney finish their joint venture, however, University City will take the category. Amount and variety of restaurants and bars: Since this is a subcategory of retail, I will leave my statement above intact. Cambridge wins this category, but University City has been making some huge strides here. Some of this is also John Fry's and Jerry Sweeney's doing in their roles as landlords. Connectivity to Downtown Boston and Center City Philadelphia: Yes, it's STILL only "8 Minutes to Park Street" from Harvard Square. But as I noted above, Rittenhouse Square denizens can and do walk to work, or classes, or stuff like that, on the other side of the Schuylkill. University City seems to be slowly morphing into Philadelphia's "second downtown," a role I don't think Kendall Square quite fills yet, and the proximity of the two districts has a lot to do with that. University City by a nose.
Overall, I'd say the two are comparable these days. I wouldn't have said that ten years ago, however. Cambridge would have taken all the categories save transit.
Cambridge, and I'm not sure this one's close for me. 2x the population, several different acting downtown areas, beautiful waterfront, good breweries, awesome food scene, and Kendall continues to blossom. In fact, I think Kendall/East Cambridge vs. University City would be more apt comparison..
Cambridge, and I'm not sure this one's close for me. 2x the population, several different acting downtown areas, beautiful waterfront, good breweries, awesome food scene, and Kendall continues to blossom. In fact, I think Kendall/East Cambridge vs. University City would be more apt comparison..
that's fair, U City is significantly smaller than Cambridge area and population wise
Probably a better comparison to what you describe
Kendall reminds me the most of U City
U City does have a very good and diverse eating scene
to compare all of Cambridge you would almost have to include a large portion of West Philly
Well it seems I’m late to the party, but by city-data’s definitions, University City is only 1.35 square miles, making it about 5x smaller than Cambridge. Not exactly apples to oranges?
Maybe it should be Kendall Square vs University City? Or Cambridge vs West Philadelphia?
Well it seems I’m late to the party, but by city-data’s definitions, University City is only 1.35 square miles, making it about 5x smaller than Cambridge. Not exactly apples to oranges?
Maybe it should be Kendall Square vs University City? Or Cambridge vs West Philadelphia?
If you define "University City" in the broadest sense - basically all of the gentrified and semi-gentrified areas nearby (Powelton Village, Spruce Hill, Woodland Terrace, Cedar Park, SW Cedar Park, etc) it works out to maybe 50,000 or so people - slightly less than half of Cambridge's population.
Just as the case with the two schools in each, Cambridge tops University City.
Harvard and MIT of course has historically had more of a powerhouse profile compared to Penn and Drexel, but think that matters less and less in an ever globalized economy. It certainly hasn't stopped the latter two in their impressive ambitions.
I think the interesting aspect of this comparison is that Cambridge has already "arrived." It's considered the "gold standard" for the research and development/innovation hub model of urban revitalization.
By comparison, University City, and West Philly more broadly, has very similar capacity and potential and nowhere to go but up. Particularly as Cambridge is far more built-out and has actually reached a point where it is pricing out the next wave of start-up companies.
Due in no small part to projects like Schuylkill Yards, and the growth charted by Drexel and Amtrak (30th Street Station TOD), University City is extremely well-positioned to capture future cycles of R&D/innovation growth.
Harvard and MIT of course has historically had more of a powerhouse profile compared to Penn and Drexel, but think that matters less and less in an ever globalized economy. It certainly hasn't stopped the latter two in their impressive ambitions.
I think the interesting aspect of this comparison is that Cambridge has already "arrived." It's considered the "gold standard" for the research and development/innovation hub model of urban revitalization.
By comparison, University City, and West Philly more broadly, has very similar capacity and potential and nowhere to go but up. Particularly as Cambridge is far more built-out and has actually reached a point where it is pricing out the next wave of start-up companies.
Due in no small part to projects like Schuylkill Yards, and the growth charted by Drexel and Amtrak (30th Street Station TOD), University City is extremely well-positioned to capture future cycles of R&D/innovation growth.
(emphasis added)
This.
It's why the answers I gave below I wouldn't have given as recently as five years ago.
I was remarking about the explosion of good dining choices around 30th Street Station to a friend who was in town on a reporting assignment there yesterday.
The main thing University City lacks that Cambridge has is a "center." Cambridge actually has three of them: Kendall Square, the R&D/office hub and the newest of the three; Central Square, where you will find City Hall; and Harvard Square, the geographic city center (look on a map - Harvard Square is right at the knot in bowtie-shaped Cambridge) and its biggest commercial district (it's the reason why Cambridge outclasses University City on shopping).
But about a decade from now, Jerry Sweeney and John Fry will have given University City one of these too, at the most logical place for it: right next to 30th Street Station.
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