Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm not completely sure, but it's quite dense if you're traveling in a slightly northwesterly route from Boston-Cambridge-Somereville-Watertown-Waltham . That's a VERY dense area of the Boston metro region...
I tend to look at density as not just people per square mile, but also as buildings per square mile. Thus, in my mind, NYC, Philly and Baltimore are the most dense metro areaa, because much of the housing is attached; Chicago, being younger and having been reconstructed ( 1871 fire), tends to be a little more "spacious"...
but in philly and baltmore there is much less vertical housing than in boston.
Did some quick calcs and found that in 226.34 sq mi, Boston combined with its neighboring towns and cities have a population of 1,861,284: 68.7% of the population of Chicago.
Here's a map showing the towns/cities included. The yellow star shows downtown Boston:
The points about Boston are kinda both true and false. Take Cambridge for example, yes you have Central Square, Inman Square, Kendall Square, Harvard Square. But quite a lot of Cambridge is also quite leafy and sleepy (not necessarily bad, but certainly not anything like Central). Large swaths of Brookline are also pretty sparsely populated, and yet are about 7 miles from downtown Boston (think Tom Brady's estate). Quite a lot of territory inside 95 is very small-townish or suburban.
Sleepy, yes, but also very dense. Cambridge's density is 18,503.42/sq mi; considerably more than Boston, itself.
Sleepy, yes, but also very dense. Cambridge's density is 18,503.42/sq mi; considerably more than Boston, itself.
Right but that doesn't mean it's 18k/sq mi all over Cambridge. A few areas bring that figure up. Boston covers considerably more territory. The 6.5 square miles (land area of the entire city of Cambridge) of the center of Boston will be a lot more dense than Cambridge.
Right but that doesn't mean it's 18k/sq mi all over Cambridge. A few areas bring that figure up. Boston covers considerably more territory. The 6.5 square miles (land area of the entire city of Cambridge) of the center of Boston will be a lot more dense than Cambridge.
A good amount of the housing is multifamily and close together which also contributes to the densities. Your second picture is not a great representation of this.
As Kendall square and Cambridge crossing (northpoint) continue to develop including more housing units these densities will increase
A good amount of the housing is multifamily and close together which also contributes to the densities. Your second picture is not a great representation of this.
Yeah but this is a lot of Cambridge. That's my point. It's not a knock, it's just reality. For the record, I am not on the density-worshipping side of this website.
Yeah but this is a lot of Cambridge. That's my point. It's not a knock, it's just reality. For the record, I am not on the density-worshipping side of this website.
Chicago is physically a superior city to Boston. The streets and sidewalks in Boston are a minefield of trip hazards and potholes due to old infrastructure. It seems like Chicago learned from all the mistakes of the eastern cities on how to build a livable city.
That being said I feel a lot safer in Boston than I do in Chicago, I was there for Fourth of July and there was a melee on the Navy Pier. Stabbings, a shooting and a stampede is not my idea of fun on the Fourth. The bad element from the west and south of the city invade the safer areas regularly and destroy the sense of safety. Boob tattoos everywhere!
Boston, as has been said, is surrounded by a far superior region than Chicago.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
