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In terms of land area and walkable urban space downtown Raleigh is not small. It's pretty reasonable actually for a city its size. The skyline doesn't do much justice to the actual feel of the city. I don't think it's getting 'clobbered', especially not by OKC.
I’m telling you, Raleigh is a larger Greensboro with a healthier economy. It doesn’t have the tourism or the “brand” to compete with the likes of Austin, Nashville, or even Charlotte. Part of this ties back to Raleigh sharing a metro with another city (Durham), similar to the Triad next door. Take the Triad and make it vibrant with a booming economy and you pretty much have the Triangle. Durham is even more similar, it’s basically a more liberal Winston-Salem with better jobs.
I know some people don’t like to compare Raleigh to Richmond for various reasons but that’s probably the best tier comparison. State capital, check. A central location within the state, check. Various museums, check. A healthy economy, check. One large university (NCSU, VCU) and a handful of smaller ones (Shaw, Virginia Union, Meredith, University of Richmond, etc.), check. Fairly large cities but not exactly major cities, check. Whatever tier Richmond is in, that’s where I’d place Raleigh. The biggest difference is that Richmond is more urban with a bigger downtown, while Raleigh is more suburban with a smaller downtown.
Pretty scathing comparing it to a suburban office park of mostly parking lots. But if the two images look the same to the peanut gallery then I can see this discussion is not going to be a mature or productive one.
In terms of land area and walkable urban space downtown Raleigh is not small. It's pretty reasonable actually for a city its size. The skyline doesn't do much justice to the actual feel of the city. I don't think it's getting 'clobbered', especially not by OKC.
Great aerials, thanks for posting. It looks like there is some impressive multifamily development taking place just outside the core. The linear layout reminds me a bit of Midtown Atlanta. While Raleigh isn't as urban as that area, I'm sure it's more urban than Sandy Springs, where I work and which is strictly suburban.
Pretty scathing comparing it to a suburban office park of mostly parking lots. But if the two images look the same to the peanut gallery then I can see this discussion is not going to be a mature or productive one.
Downtown Raleigh is small bro, both geographically and population wise even in relation to a good number of its peers. In the Memphis thread I just pointed out how the Downtown Memphis Commission maps Downtown Memphis as a ~6 mi² area of ~26,000 population. In comparison the Downtown Raleigh Alliance maps Downtown Raleigh as a ~1.6 mi² area with ~12,000 population. And when you're in both downtowns, Downtown Memphis feels larger---->I don't think twice as large but it feels more a little broader. With that though, Downtown Raleigh can match or exceed the hustle and bustle of Downtown Memphis besides the Beale corridor because Downtown Raleigh is more densely populated, and Raleigh in general is more of a tourist draw than Memphis, which may come as a surprise to many (it did to me)...
So yeah, if you match Raleigh with even other cities in its weight class, Downtown Raleigh is comparatively small. I would argue though that because of its small radius it has fewer dead zones than most other downtowns, even if it doesn't quite match peak vibrancy of peers, it maintains a consistent level of vibrancy thru most of downtown. And maybe that is more noticeable because its not a large area...
I also understand people who compare it to suburban locales. That isn't really accurate but it does look more suburban from the air than on the ground---->without question Downtown Raleigh is the most urbanized part of the city. Calling Downtown "suburban" isn't really accurate----->but it is small, doesn't have the peak vibrancy of some of its peers. But it isn't really "suburban"...
Downtown Raleigh is small bro, both geographically and population wise even in relation to a good number of its peers. In the Memphis thread I just pointed out how the Downtown Memphis Commission maps Downtown Memphis as a ~6 mi² area of ~26,000 population. In comparison the Downtown Raleigh Alliance maps Downtown Raleigh as a ~1.6 mi² area with ~12,000 population. And when you're in both downtowns, Downtown Memphis feels larger---->I don't think twice as large but it feels more a little broader. With that though, Downtown Raleigh can match or exceed the hustle and bustle of Downtown Memphis besides the Beale corridor because Downtown Raleigh is more densely populated, and Raleigh in general is more of a tourist draw than Memphis, which may come as a surprise to many (it did to me)...
So yeah, if you match Raleigh with even other cities in its weight class, Downtown Raleigh is comparatively small. I would argue though that because of its small radius it has fewer dead zones than most other downtowns, even if it doesn't quite match peak vibrancy of peers, it maintains a consistent level of vibrancy thru most of downtown. And maybe that is more noticeable because its not a large area...
I also understand people who compare it to suburban locales. That isn't really accurate but it does look more suburban from the air than on the ground---->without question Downtown Raleigh is the most urbanized part of the city. Calling Downtown "suburban" isn't really accurate----->but it is small, doesn't have the peak vibrancy of some of its peers. But it isn't really "suburban"...
Downtown Raleigh is indeed small geographically, but I like that I live on one corner of it and reasonably walk to all of it. Other things that I like about it:
1. The surrounding neighborhoods are historic, well cared for, and each have their own vibe. If you live in one of them, you can walk to a district or two of downtown proper.
2. The development that happens downtown is impactful to all of downtown, not just the specific district or area.
3. It's not overwhelmed with parking lots. Sure there are some, but not like there are in many other cities.
4. The western "tentacle" radiating from the center leads to NC State, the largest university in the state and its mostly compact and walkable main campus along the main drag of Hillsborough St. that leads to the Capitol Building. That 1.5 mile stretch in the city is a really nice connection.
5. It's growing rapidly with residents and watching it transform is just fantastic.
5. Maybe most importantly, there aren't any freeways slicing up the core of the city or separating the core from its adjacent historic neighborhoods. Citizens fought that 50+ years ago and I am most grateful to them.
In general, the tier for downtown Raleigh is different than the tier for the greater region. That's what happens when your boom was postwar rather than prewar. Doubly so when multi-nodal. Certainly the downtown is spreading out and up by the billion$, but it's historical footprint is much smaller than legacy cities.
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