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Satellite cities have been known in Europe for several decades with mostly negative experiences. Theres nothing remotely attractive or interesting to living in a 1 bedroom apartment in Rockville or Reston. These are consolation prizes and once the shine is off the fake marble counter they ll be rented to folks who cant afford good and once you have 10-15% lower income folks in a high rise that place is going to slide in a big way.
Do you know what satellite cities are? And do you have any evidence to support that claim? It seems like you're making sweeping generalizations about everyone based on your own preferences. Rockville is not a satellite city. It's a suburb of DC with significant transit oriented development around the Metro. Annapolis is closer to a satellite city than Rockville - a smaller, partially independent urban area on the periphery of a larger urban area. Most people wouldn't describe their experience with Annapolis as "negative."
Furthermore, TOD like what you have in Rockville is hardly a consolation prize. It fills a niche. It allows people to have direct transit access in an area with amenities within walking distance at a lower cost compared to downtown living. It's not about counter tops, it's about lifestyle preferences and the ability to be able to afford to have good transit access and access to amenities without needing to depend on a car and without having to spend in-town money. Low density suburbs have their benefits (generally more space for the money) but it also comes with a cost (time spent in traffic/distance to the city center which it sounds like you understand) and a growing portion of the population is placing higher value on convenience and time. You may value the suburban/rural space enough to justify the time spent commuting. Many people do. But places like Rockville offer an alternative for those who don't feel the same way and also can't afford to live comfortably in-town. As long as housing costs continue to increase and traffic continues to worsen, there's going to be an increasing demand for places like Rockville.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lrfox
Do you know what satellite cities are? And do you have any evidence to support that claim? It seems like you're making sweeping generalizations about everyone based on your own preferences. Rockville is not a satellite city. It's a suburb of DC with significant transit oriented development around the Metro. Annapolis is closer to a satellite city than Rockville - a smaller, partially independent urban area on the periphery of a larger urban area. Most people wouldn't describe their experience with Annapolis as "negative."
Furthermore, TOD like what you have in Rockville is hardly a consolation prize. It fills a niche. It allows people to have direct transit access in an area with amenities within walking distance at a lower cost compared to downtown living. It's not about counter tops, it's about lifestyle preferences and the ability to be able to afford to have good transit access and access to amenities without needing to depend on a car and without having to spend in-town money. Low density suburbs have their benefits (generally more space for the money) but it also comes with a cost (time spent in traffic/distance to the city center which it sounds like you understand) and a growing portion of the population is placing higher value on convenience and time. You may value the suburban/rural space enough to justify the time spent commuting. Many people do. But places like Rockville offer an alternative for those who don't feel the same way and also can't afford to live comfortably in-town. As long as housing costs continue to increase and traffic continues to worsen, there's going to be an increasing demand for places like Rockville.
1000% Spot on. The VAST majority of Americans still to this day don’t live or prefer to live in their respective major city’s downtown or immediate core. This is the same case in major cities across the country. There are just as many people move TO a satellite city or quasi-urban suburb like an Rockville etc., to escape the hustle and bustle of the downtown core intentionally. Metro areas like DC have an immediate core, inner ring, and outer ring set of suburbs. There’s options for those who want to deal with being close and having more amenities vs sacrificing some of that for better schools etc. while still having transit options available.
Do you know what satellite cities are? And do you have any evidence to support that claim? It seems like you're making sweeping generalizations about everyone based on your own preferences. Rockville is not a satellite city. It's a suburb of DC with significant transit oriented development around the Metro. Annapolis is closer to a satellite city than Rockville - a smaller, partially independent urban area on the periphery of a larger urban area. Most people wouldn't describe their experience with Annapolis as "negative."
Furthermore, TOD like what you have in Rockville is hardly a consolation prize. It fills a niche. It allows people to have direct transit access in an area with amenities within walking distance at a lower cost compared to downtown living. It's not about counter tops, it's about lifestyle preferences and the ability to be able to afford to have good transit access and access to amenities without needing to depend on a car and without having to spend in-town money. Low density suburbs have their benefits (generally more space for the money) but it also comes with a cost (time spent in traffic/distance to the city center which it sounds like you understand) and a growing portion of the population is placing higher value on convenience and time. You may value the suburban/rural space enough to justify the time spent commuting. Many people do. But places like Rockville offer an alternative for those who don't feel the same way and also can't afford to live comfortably in-town. As long as housing costs continue to increase and traffic continues to worsen, there's going to be an increasing demand for places like Rockville.
If there's one U.S. city with a modern, efficient, comprehensive transit system to rival Toronto or Vancouver, it's D.C. and its metro. We're talking about a comprehensive, far reaching rail system that connects most of the suburbs to Downtown, and allows for convenient, suburb-to-suburb travel and convenient travel within the core city itself.
I use the DC metro a lot - mostly on the red, yellow and orange lines. I think it is a pretty good system, even though there are some crowding issues and problems with delays.
I haven't used the transit in Canadian cities. So, I can't compare. The other transit system I'm most familiar with is the New York subway. It is faster and much more comprehensive than the DC metro. However, the DC metro is cleaner and more modern.
I use the DC metro a lot - mostly on the red, yellow and orange lines. I think it is a pretty good system, even though there are some crowding issues and problems with delays.
I haven't used the transit in Canadian cities. So, I can't compare. The other transit system I'm most familiar with is the New York subway. It is faster and much more comprehensive than the DC metro. However, the DC metro is cleaner and more modern.
Wait, DC metro averages 29.5 mph vs. NYC Subways's 17.4 mph.
I know this is from a decade ago, but NYC subway hasn't expanded much, and from what I can tell, the DC Metro's new silver line is just as fast as the old lines.
I calculated on Google Maps that on the approximately 7.75 mile segment from Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station to 125th street station, it's a 19 minute ride on the Lexington Avenue Express, making for an average speed of 24 mph or so.
Edge cities (secondary downtowns distant from the city center?) have other draws -- some people like that they often don't have many homeless, they have more parking, they're generally newish, etc.
I'm an real-downtown person myself, but clearly some people prefer places like that.
Further, many people who work in these places like in them for that reason.
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