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New London Torrington Willimantic Fitchburg Haverhill Pawtucket etc. aren’t populace enough or don’t anchor an MSA. Although New London might be an exception to that...
New London co-anchors the New London-Norwich MSA. Willimantic and Torrington have their own Micropolitan NECTAs. Fitchburg and Haverhill are the biggest cities in the Leominster-Gardner Metropolitan NECTA and the Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury NECTA division respectively.
And I maintain that downtown Waltham and Salem are more vibrant than downtown Lynn even if the cities are smaller.
Also if we were to include Torrington and Willimantic (though I don’t think we should), then Woonsocket and Pittsfield should get thrown in too.
Last edited by Boston Shudra; 05-06-2020 at 11:08 AM..
Brockton Quincy and Lawrence should have been included for sure. But so souls Waterbury, Danbury.
New London Torrington Willimantic Fitchburg Haverhill Pawtucket etc. aren’t populace enough or don’t anchor an MSA. Although New London might be an exception to that...
Their downtown areas not as vibrant as Stamford or New Haven. New Haven is nightlife capital of CT even outside of Downtown East Rock and Wooster Square are nice urban areas. Even Downtown Middletown CT has college feel to little downtown area.
Their downtown areas not as vibrant as Stamford or New Haven. New Haven is nightlife capital of CT even outside of Downtown East Rock and Wooster Square are nice urban areas. Even Downtown Middletown CT has college feel to little downtown area.
I'm still reeling over the claim that downtown Stamford is vibrant. Could you drop some streetview links of Stamford's major shopping/entertainment areas? Best I could find while bopping around downtown are these:
New London co-anchors the New London-Norwich MSA. Willimantic and Torrington have their own Micropolitan NECTAs. Fitchburg and Haverhill are the biggest cities in the Leominster-Gardner Metropolitan NECTA and the Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury NECTA division respectively.
And I maintain that downtown Waltham and Salem are more vibrant than downtown Lynn even if the cities are smaller.
Necta and micropolitan isnt what we’re talking about tho..can’t compare to a Providence or Hartford at all. Basically..no one really cares about Waltham’s downtown or Torrington’s downtown. Right or wrong people don’t really care because either the downtowns are small , the city is small( Willimantic), there’s better options just a few miles away (Waltham) or people know they’re basically not gonna get an actual urban experience because they’re so remote (Torrington)
Generally this thread is about large, Southern New England cities. Not all New England cities. The larger southern New England cities are more visited or passed through than smaller cities, and face demographic complexities and challenges that their Northern New England counterparts largely don’t (ELL populations , diversity benchmarks, interstate highways construction/bisecting, segregation , gang violence.
Due to the reasons above I’m larger SNE cities might feel more pressure to improve their downtown. But simultaneously it may be a bit more difficult to do so. So success here is a bit more noteworthy than a small city like Waltham for whom a downtown isn’t make or break. Or than for a small homogenous population like Portsmouth who’s generally whiteness and affluence is going to put a lot of people at ease no matter how dull it might really be for POC and younger people. It’ll just come off as ‘pleasant’ kind of automatically. Same with Burlington (although Burlington is more poor). Honestly Burlington and Portsmouth are just pretty towns in a sea of forest.
I'm still reeling over the claim that downtown Stamford is vibrant. Could you drop some streetview links of Stamford's major shopping/entertainment areas? Best I could find while bopping around downtown are these:
Like, I really do admire all the new construction in the city, but I don't know if I'd go out of my way to hang out there.
People on the Gold Coast of CT do hang out in Stamford it’s sterile but fairly vibrant (for a New England city). No one goes out of their way to hang out there. But no one goes out of their way to hang in downtown Fitchburg or Brockton either. Or even Lowell really.
Their downtown areas not as vibrant as Stamford or New Haven. New Haven is nightlife capital of CT even outside of Downtown East Rock and Wooster Square are nice urban areas. Even Downtown Middletown CT has college feel to little downtown area.
Agreed. but their size is important. Downtown Lawrence seems to be full of Latino nightlife(used to be hookah lounges). Downtown Quincy isn’t bad either and revitalizing. Major rebuild. Some cities are bound to lose regardless but more could be given the distinction if inclusion.
People on the Gold Coast of CT do hang out in Stamford it’s sterile but fairly vibrant (for a New England city). No one goes out of their way to hang out there. But no one goes out of their way to hang in downtown Fitchburg or Brockton either. Or even Lowell really.
Downtown Lowell is a social and nightlife center for the Merrimack Valley. Concerts/Events at the Tsongas Center/ Lowell Aud/ LaLanchur Park draw people from across the Merrimack Valley as well as bar hopping attract people from Tewksbury, Dracut, Chelmsford etc. much moreso than Saugus or Merrimac people hand out in Lynn or Lawrence or Wilton residents hang out in Stamford or Waterbury.
Lowell feels more like a small large city (eg Hartford, Worcester, Providence) than the largest of the small ones (New Bedford, Brockton, Lynn)
Agreed. but their size is important. Downtown Lawrence seems to be full of Latino nightlife(used to be hookah lounges). Downtown Quincy isn’t bad either and revitalizing. Major rebuild. Some cities are bound to lose regardless but more could be given the distinction if inclusion.
It shame Bridgeport the state most density populated city doesn't has good downtown area even though it show improvements over the years such as convert old buildings into apartments and retail. Steel point has more foot traffic than Downtown everyone hop back on highway. It will be cheaper option than more expensive Stamford and Norwalk.
Portsmouth are just pretty towns in a sea of forest.
Believe it or not, Portsmouth is a surprisingly big draw for nightlife in the area. Especially with UNH nearby. It's not just a pretty antique-shop-town for the elderly to walk around.
Nashua, NH is also a bigger draw than expected. One of my coworkers lives in Lowell and travels to Nashua for nights out.
And I guess my point was "if Waltham isn't being considered, then Lynn (and Quincy and Brockton) probably shouldn't be considered either". The scope could be better-defined.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade
Generally this thread is about large, Southern New England cities. Not all New England cities. The larger southern New England cities are more visited or passed through than smaller cities, and face demographic complexities and challenges that their Northern New England counterparts largely don’t (ELL populations , diversity benchmarks, interstate highways construction/bisecting, segregation , gang violence.
The OP specifically asked about the Northern New England cities earlier in the thread.
Downtown Lowell is a social and nightlife center for the Merrimack Valley. Concerts/Events at the Tsongas Center/ Lowell Aud/ LaLanchur Park draw people from across the Merrimack Valley as well as bar hopping attract people from Tewksbury, Dracut, Chelmsford etc. much moreso than Saugus or Merrimac people hand out in Lynn or Lawrence or Wilton residents hang out in Stamford or Waterbury.
Lowell feels more like a small large city (eg Hartford, Worcester, Providence) than the largest of the small ones (New Bedford, Brockton, Lynn)
Yea sure I feel that. But that’s the same as Stamford, going from a MV town to Lowell isn’t going “out of your way” any more than going from a GC town to Stamford is. That’s all.
Side note: does New Bedford not serve some of that same purpose as Lowell.? Idk I’m from neither region. I feel like New Bedford has. Slightly bigger sphere of influence than Brockton or Lynn which I view as identical twins in some ways.
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