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You know what else you see on that street scene that stands out more? Massive throngs of pedestrians.
LA doesnt feel all that city compared to where I live in Baltimore...
If you mean the scene labeled "the good", that's not bad pedestrian activity for a residential neighborhood without a significant destination nearby. Not sure what time of day it was or what day of the week.
That Baltimore neighborhood is very urban by American standards and has many of the desirable qualities that urban LA lacks. But for me the basis for urbanity is only two things - the density of people and the density of amenities. Everything else describes the quality, not the quantity. Most of central LA is both more dense structurally, and more dense with amenities. In large parts of the core of LA it's significantly more dense for both.
Pictures of row homes aren't persuading me here. A big selling point of life in Los Angeles pre-1960 was that you weren't going to be living in a row home, and that's got nothing to do with being suburban, it just means they decided to do their own thing and not copy everyone else. I like row homes, but do not see them as being the official badge of being an urban city.
Obviously your not going to acheive the same density using detached SFH homes as opposed to attached SFH. LA is ahead of Bmore due to abandonment and abandonment alone.
If you mean the scene labeled "the good", that's not bad pedestrian activity for a residential neighborhood without a significant destination nearby. Not sure what time of day it was or what day of the week.
That Baltimore neighborhood is very urban by American standards and has many of the desirable qualities that urban LA lacks. But for me the basis for urbanity is only two things - the density of people and the density of amenities. Everything else describes the quality, not the quantity. Most of central LA is both more dense structurally, and more dense with amenities. In large parts of the core of LA it's significantly more dense for both.
Idk density and density of amenities sound like t could be a large apartment building surrounded by well-manicured spacious greenery and a strip plaza. Which tit often is in the sunbelt.
The organic feel of DC and Bmore is more"authentic" and way more impressive. To have so many people in such small rowhomes is cool, post-modern apartments are not . Maybe im biased because im from the east coast but that other stuff just doesn't impress. It takes all the charm and mystery out of the landscape. I wasn't referring to it But yea there were a lot of people in that "good" photo, it was urban for sure. LA does have underrated architecture in older parts. But Ive seen more people in Chinatown DC and its firmly below what I've seen in Philly, Downtown Crossing Boston or NYC of course
Its not just the rowhomes, its the mixed-use nature of the neighborhoods.
Obviously your not going to acheive the same density using detached SFH homes as opposed to attached SFH. LA is ahead of Bmore due to abandonment and abandonment alone.
The rowhome lends itself to walkability and outdoor activity much more than a standard SFH.
In general Bmore is just a mre intense urban vernacular than LA, even in relatively mundane areas
How do you figure that? The density in LA's core is 50% higher now than Baltimore's peak density.
How do you figure that? The density in LA's core is 50% higher now than Baltimore's peak density.
What does "urban vernacular" mean?
That poster was talking about LA vs Bmore as a whole or at least I thought. and actually Bmore is more dense as a city than LA overall. Despite massive depopulation as opposed to grow like LA. Also you have to shrink Baltimore’s core down to code thing proportionate to 50 square miles in LA -maybe it’s densest 12 square miles. Idk if that would help Bmore though.
Urban vernacular refers to physical asserts of a typical urban style housing, street scape, building materials and layout as had been common in Western nation over the last 250 years. That’s reinforced in our collective consciousness’
Idk density and density of amenities sound like t could be a large apartment building surrounded by well-manicured spacious greenery and a strip plaza. Which tit often is in the sunbelt.
The organic feel of DC and Bmore is more"authentic" and way more impressive. To have so many people in such small rowhomes is cool, post-modern apartments are not . Maybe im biased because im from the east coast but that other stuff just doesn't impress. It takes all the charm and mystery out of the landscape. I wasn't referring to it But yea there were a lot of people in that "good" photo, it was urban for sure. LA does have underrated architecture in older parts. But Ive seen more people in Chinatown DC and its firmly below what I've seen in Philly, Downtown Crossing Boston or NYC of course
I do not know that "organic" feel comes to mind with DC for me. Some of the older sections of the city when you get away from the core have an organic feel, but much of DC (including its suburbs) do not feel "organic" in any way to me. Baltimore may be more organic, although organic does not always equal nice. Although there are definitely some very charming pockets of Baltimore.
Idk density and density of amenities sound like t could be a large apartment building surrounded by well-manicured spacious greenery and a strip plaza. Which tit often is in the sunbelt.
The organic feel of DC and Bmore is more"authentic" and way more impressive. To have so many people in such small rowhomes is cool, post-modern apartments are not . Maybe im biased because im from the east coast but that other stuff just doesn't impress. It takes all the charm and mystery out of the landscape. I wasn't referring to it But yea there were a lot of people in that "good" photo, it was urban for sure. LA does have underrated architecture in older parts. But Ive seen more people in Chinatown DC and its firmly below what I've seen in Philly, Downtown Crossing Boston or NYC of course
Come on now. You aren't arguing that sunbelt cities are more densely populated with people and amenities are you? I'm also from the east coast, but I've been in LA most of my adult life.
I was going to link street views for busy areas in LA, but they are mostly post-covid and sad looking. But generally areas like the fashion district, hollywood blvd, 7th street/flower, and Santa Monica have lots of pedestrians.
To me, it's which style is better for modern life? In your links I see streets with cars parked on every available spot. I noticed that behind the row homes on 1000 Watson that there's actually a parking lot. Is that better than an underground garage? The McDonald's has parking. No that ours don't, but it's no different, plus not all of ours do. In the core of LA, most places come with a parking spot. Not usually 2, but you get a spot. Many, many don't though so parking is tight on the street. But being able to drive gives you choices.
LA is often talked about as being polycentric, but in reality it's more non-centric than anything else. It simply doesn't have much of the regions job in any of its major centers. I think that does alter people's perceptions of it when visiting.
Yes, LA also lacks many of the basic principles of urban design that people tend to associate with urbanity. DTLA has wide roads and narrow sidewalks, major throughfares are often suburban retail format, strip malls, or single story retail in many areas. Transit is more a "poor people public service" than a lifestyle for most LA residents, though this is slowly changing. You don't have the amount of mixed use density in much of LA the same way you do in older cities like DC, SF, Chicago, etc. It is odd, even where there are some denser apartments they almost never have retail in the ground floor; you often have to walk a few blocks to a wide street with single-story retail structures. You just don't get the same neighborhood feel of a truly multi-use place like Adams Morgan, Wicker Park, etc. Apartment buildings are often car focused, with parking and curb cuts taking up much of the public realm, walking on many streets is often unpleasant as it's so organized around moving more cars quickly.
It's tough because there is some nuance, there's places that don't fit the stereotype completely, but there are also legitimate reasons most Americans and people in other countries find LA to be lacking the "city" and "urban" feel. I can't definitely say it's any one thing, it seems to be death by 1000 cuts. Like thousands of little urban design, architecture, transportation, and public realm deficiencies that add up to make it feel suburban.
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boredatwork
I was about to ask the same.
