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City proper statistics mean nothing, it is just dependent on how much the city has annexed. This is the reason Columbus's city population is the 14th largest in the U.S. In no way is Columbus the 14th biggest city.
Urbanized area is another good way to measure a population. Using this, Columbus is still denser than Buffalo at 2680 per square mile vs Buffalo's 2463.
You're right that city limits are arbitrary, but if you're looking at urban amenities I'd say maybe a certain square mile radius from the city center would make the most sense. Within a 5 mile radius, Buffalo looks to be 331k vs Columbus's 305k.
Still not seeing any Chicago similarities (Cleveland would be the Ohio city best for that comparison), though. Columbus's construction, layout, etc. is very sunbelt.
You're right that city limits are arbitrary, but if you're looking at urban amenities I'd say maybe a certain square mile radius from the city center would make the most sense. Within a 5 mile radius, Buffalo looks to be 331k vs Columbus's 305k.
Still not seeing any Chicago similarities (Cleveland would be the Ohio city best for that comparison), though. Columbus's construction, layout, etc. is very sunbelt.
And even that 331k for Buffalo is low because it is measured from downtown, and almost half of the 5 mile radius area is over Lake Erie or Canada. Moving the center a couple of miles NE gives about 390k.
Here is a look at the most dense zip codes in each city. Only one Columbus zip code shows a population density over 10k per square mile, while Buffalo has 4. Even one of Buffalo's suburbs (Kenmore, zip 14217) has a higher density than all but 1 Columbus zip code.
Columbus density by zip code
1. 43201 Columbus, Ohio pop 33,089 dens 10,632.74
2. 43206 Columbus, Ohio pop 24,471 dens 8,265.19
3. 43210 Columbus, Ohio pop 9,728 dens 7,580.86
4. 43202 Columbus, Ohio pop 20,052 dens 7,196.76
5. 43203 Columbus, Ohio pop 10,338 dens 7,103.27
Buffalo density by zip code
1. 14201 Buffalo, New York pop 13,609 dens 12,470.26
2. 14222 Buffalo, New York pop 14,365 dens 11,664.08
3. 14213 Buffalo, New York pop 26,080 dens 11,537.77
4. 14208 Buffalo, New York pop 13,207 dens 11,397.61
5. 14215 Buffalo, New York pop 44,484 dens 9,690.50
Of course, building and business density don't always match population density. Many areas have higher concentrations of visitors than residents.
I agree with a previous poster that OSU provides a big boost to Columbus, much greater than the colleges and universities in Buffalo as UB isn't as large and the main campus is separated from the city core out in the suburbs.
Last edited by RocketSci; 11-19-2020 at 07:49 AM..
From my limited experience in both cities I’d go with Buffalo in all categories besides downtown, and even that’s close because Buffalo’s downtown looks like it going through some revitalization.
I've spent time downtown in both city and much prefer Buffalo to Columbus. Not saying Columbus is bad by any means, its actually a really nice city, just prefer Buffalo more.
I have been to both and greatly prefer Buffalo and think it wins pretty easily if you are after "urban" amenities. Columbus is certainly cleaner and the development newer and has a better economy but Buffalo has much better urban bones and has some great walkable neighborhoods. I particularly like Elmwood Village, Allentown, and Hertel (not sure what neighborhood that is in). Neither have great downtowns but I would give that to Columbus. Downtown Buffalo is pretty terrible with only Chippewa being the only vibrant street. Otherwise there area way to many parking lots and standalone buildings.
Sorry but you are completely ignorant to the topographical and density makeup of KC's "urban core" which is the original city boundaries prior to annexation of land to build the airport. The original city limits are from the river to 75th St and State line to I-435 on the east. This population is as dense as any other Midwest city and clearly demonstrated in the the photo links. Obviously using pp sq mile is a novice mistake you and many others use, being completely oblivious to urban KC's core. And the urban building density of KC from the River to the Plaza completely blows Cbus away.
Sorry but photos are not used to determine data of a city.
It’s probably more correct to say the site is biased towards density and people dismiss most expansive, spread out cities with newer construction, which includes Columbus along with larger cities like LA, Phoenix & Houston.
Urban amenities is the subject of the thread, though. Despite its growth, Columbus is still lacking quite a bit where the arts are concerned. The art museum is getting better but in no way world-class yet. The Ohio Theater is a wonderful venue but has no regular symphony or theater companies performing in it regularly. The Arena District is vibrant during Blue Jackets games and High Street still has a lot of night life, but the city still lags behind Cleveland for stuff to do at night. But I’ve not been to Buffalo to compare the two cities so it could well be a better option there.
A bit of a tangent here - but LA should not be lumped in with Phoenix or Houston. Yes, if you're painting with a very broad brush, they all have a similar-ish sunbelt template, but LA is far more dense, urban, and vibrant than Phoenix or Houston.
And downtown KC has twice as many residents as downtown Cbus.
KC = 30K+ https://www.downtownkc.org/research-reports/
Cbus = 14,900
You sound like you've never been outside of Ohio.
Downtown is only a small part. The Columbus metro and urban area is denser than KC. Columbus's urban neighborhoods are denser than KC as well as the rest of the metro. KC really can't compete with Columbus's urban stretch from OSU all the way to German Village. The neighborhood directly north of downtown KC is the only one that can really compete with Columbus's neighborhoods.
So from Columbus you have Short north and OSU to the north which is a long stretch of urban area, also extends into old north Columbus. Very dense and very walkable
West from Columbus you have Franklinton which I will admit has a long way to go. Not too dense
South from downtown is German village which is arguably the best urban neighborhood in Ohio behind Cincinnati's over the rhine. Very dense
East is Old Towne East which has gentrified in recent years and has become a good neighborhood. somewhat dense and walkable
KC:
North of downtown KC there is the river market which is a nice urban neighborhood but small. fairly dense but small. It is very walkable
West there is really nothing until you cross bridge to kansas side which is definitely not walkable from downtown. not dense and
South of downtown KC is the best neighborhood KC has to offer, it's good but not as vibrant and bustling as the short north. pretty dense.
East of KC downtown there is nothing really.
Urban Columbus is just more dense than KC urbanized area. The data supports this fact. The central business district is a horrible measure of determining density of the rest of the city. Using 5% of the city to judge the other 95% makes no sense. Not to mention that CBD data is easily skewed by different things because of the very small sample size of land.
It's the same deal with Buffalo. Look at all the neighborhoods I posted above for Columbus, Buffalo really cant compete. Columbus has denser and more walkable neighborhoods than both KC and Buffalo.
And yes, I have been to KC. I love the BBQ! I've been to Buffalo too.
Here is a walkability heat map comparison of Columbus and Buffalo core areas, with Buffalo image extending into the northern suburbs as city proper is geographically smaller than Columbus. Roughly to the same scale.
Among the "urban amenities" that Buffalo has that Columbus doesn't are light rail through the downtown corridor that converts to subway further north, Amtrak station downtown (and in suburbs) with multiple daily runs, small boat harbors downtown and all along the river and lake front, condos with private boat docks within walking distance of downtown, riverfront residential and entertainment districts, harbor and lakefront water taxis and boat tours, downtown outdoor skating (including frozen canals at Canalside), downtown casino, a state park and nature conservatory within sight of downtown, a walkable/bikeable bridge across an international border (when restrictions are lifted), and an NFL team (although a suburban stadium).
"Non-urban" amenities include natural wonders like Niagara Falls minutes away, and others like Letchworth and the tip of the Finger Lakes within an hour, WNY ski country (which is also considered an Ohio attraction!), hills, forests, gorges, and waterfalls plentiful in all directions, two Great Lakes, the Niagara area of Canada, Hamilton and Toronto within 1 to 2 hour drive.
Last edited by RocketSci; 11-20-2020 at 10:22 AM..
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