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I would hate to live in that Philly neighborhood. Your "front yard" is the sidewalk, and it's virtually without trees and grass, of any kind. The triple-deckers in Boston look absolutely woodsy by comparison. Not an attractive neighborhood, to put it mildly..
I honestly don't know why anyone would find that area appealing.
Those philly rowhomes were pretty bad. There tons of other better rowhome streets -why highlight that one. The grey stones look excellent. I wish Boston had those.
I would hate to live in that Philly neighborhood. Your "front yard" is the sidewalk, and it's virtually without trees and grass, of any kind. The triple-deckers in Boston look absolutely woodsy by comparison. Not an attractive neighborhood, to put it mildly..
To each their own.
I personally don't care much for the triple-decker or bungalow-style urban neighborhoods in terms of look/function. To me, they feel too disjointed to be purely urban in feel and too dense to enjoy what one benefits from in terms of suburban spaciousness--like a very awkward in-between. I think part of it comes down to the vernacular that you're used to seeing/grew up accustomed to, so I'd expect some general rowhome distaste from New Englanders, Great Lakes-dwellers, or anyone from outside of the Mid-Atlantic.
The prior Philly example is tighter than the average street (and certainly too barren of greenery) and the remuddled architecture doesn't help, either, but these types of neighborhoods are far more conducive to walkability and general pedestrian-friendliness.
This is a much better example of essentially the same type of street/architecture, but with an actually tree canopy: https://goo.gl/maps/ow4aPuVGCNQBnjhz6. What a massive difference in feel!
I personally don't care much for the triple-decker or bungalow-style urban neighborhoods in terms of look/function. To me, they feel too disjointed to be purely urban in feel and too dense to enjoy what one benefits from in terms of suburban spaciousness--like a very awkward in-between. I think part of it comes down to the vernacular that you're used to seeing/grew up accustomed to, so I'd expect some general rowhome distaste from New Englanders, Great Lakes-dwellers, or anyone from outside of the Mid-Atlantic.
The prior Philly example is tighter than the average street (and certainly too barren of greenery) and the remuddled architecture doesn't help, either, but these types of neighborhoods are far more conducive to walkability and general pedestrian-friendliness.
This is a much better example of essentially the same type of street/architecture, but with an actually tree canopy: https://goo.gl/maps/ow4aPuVGCNQBnjhz6. What a massive difference in feel!
That one does look considerably better. The trees play a big part, but it's more than that.
The homes appear to be of better quality and better maintained. The sidewalks are wider and there is more interaction between the homes and the street - lots more furniture, plants, grills, a basketball hoop whereas in the first picture its more barren
I personally don't care much for the triple-decker or bungalow-style urban neighborhoods in terms of look/function. To me, they feel too disjointed to be purely urban in feel and too dense to enjoy what one benefits from in terms of suburban spaciousness--like a very awkward in-between. I think part of it comes down to the vernacular that you're used to seeing/grew up accustomed to, so I'd expect some general rowhome distaste from New Englanders, Great Lakes-dwellers, or anyone from outside of the Mid-Atlantic.
The prior Philly example is tighter than the average street (and certainly too barren of greenery) and the remuddled architecture doesn't help, either, but these types of neighborhoods are far more conducive to walkability and general pedestrian-friendliness.
This is a much better example of essentially the same type of street/architecture, but with an actually tree canopy: https://goo.gl/maps/ow4aPuVGCNQBnjhz6. What a massive difference in feel!
You think Philly is far more pedestrian friendly than Boston?
I personally don't care much for the triple-decker or bungalow-style urban neighborhoods in terms of look/function. To me, they feel too disjointed to be purely urban in feel and too dense to enjoy what one benefits from in terms of suburban spaciousness--like a very awkward in-between. I think part of it comes down to the vernacular that you're used to seeing/grew up accustomed to, so I'd expect some general rowhome distaste from New Englanders, Great Lakes-dwellers, or anyone from outside of the Mid-Atlantic.
The prior Philly example is tighter than the average street (and certainly too barren of greenery) and the remuddled architecture doesn't help, either, but these types of neighborhoods are far more conducive to walkability and general pedestrian-friendliness.
This is a much better example of essentially the same type of street/architecture, but with an actually tree canopy: https://goo.gl/maps/ow4aPuVGCNQBnjhz6. What a massive difference in feel!
100 percent correct about that. Rowhomes create lots of neighborhood friendliness and walkability
this is my friends street in Point Breeze Philladelphia. You can kind of see the neighborhood vibe going on, and its within walking distance of broad street. Its seen some renovations since this point and the rowhome she lives in is very comfortable . I thoroughly enjoy my visits up there (from Baltimore)
I imagine you don’t get as much natural light inside a rowhome as you do in a triple decker.
No, you dont. But most of them have little cut on the side in between your neighbor so you get light from at least 3 side of the rowhome. Most-not all. Also both the rowhome i live in in Baltimore has skylight on the second floor. The one prior to that was a corner house.
They also hold in heat in much better so your heating bill is much lower,. You dont get the sounds and smells of your neighbors like you do in a triple decker. They're pretty soundproof. In my uncle second floor apartment on Nightingale Street in Dorchester i remember walking up to the second floor and smelling all the ethnic food cooking on the first floor-wasnt very pleasant. And then I got the sound of the third floor...I also deeply prefer having my living room and kitchen are being separate from the bedrooms on the second floor.
You think Philly is far more pedestrian friendly than Boston?
I was spending 3 nights per week a block from Rittenhouse Square a couple of years ago. I could walk from Amtrak at 30th street station to the apartment. I could walk to the office tower. There were a bunch of Penn students in the apartment tower who had an easy walk to campus. I'd walk to Chinatown pretty often which is about like walking from Tower Records @ Mass Ave to the Boston Chinatown. Center City is comparable to Boston for pedestrian friendly. If you're looking for somewhere urban like that, housing costs are way cheaper in Philly Center City and there are gentrified neighborhoods on the subway that are even more cost effective. Think Central Square affordability 30 or 40 years ago.
I'd say Boston is a smidge more pedestrian friendly than Center City but it loses due to the affordability problem.
Honestly, if we're talking Boston alone which has 2 out of those three, I doubt there are a ton of people who like urban housing who would take a triple decker in Roslindale, Cambridge, or Somerville over a rowhouse in the South End or Beacon Hill if the prices were equal. I get that some people prefer front/back yards, driveways, and setbacks from neighbors, but there's plenty of that in the suburbs. Rowhouses are clearly the better form of urban housing.
I'm also not sure how Philly came into the conversation, but I would say that rowhouses make for an unequivocally more enjoyable pedestrian experience as well. Again, just in Boston, would you rather walk through the rowhouse areas of the South End & Beacon Hill, or the triple decker neighborhoods of Somerville, Cambridge, Roslindale, etc.?
Last edited by lrfox; 11-08-2019 at 08:21 AM..
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