If Vancouver, BC and Seattle, WA were in the same country, which one do you think would be the major city of the area? (America, populations)
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Why are we discussing the current cities as they stand? This thread is about which city based purely on geography would host the largest city given equal circumstances. I feel like this the history forum anyway since it deals with alternate timeline. Geographically Vancouver seems to have the superior port, as they have 57 berths, compared to Seattle and Tacoma together only having 23 berths. However I think Seattle would be better positioned as the terminus of a northern transcontinental railroad since Seattle is further south making it closer to the rest of the Eastern US. For instance Anacortes and Bellingham tried to be come the terminus but they ultimately lost out to Tacoma and Seattle.
Also another interesting thing to consider, is would Vancouver even be the major city in BC if it wasn’t for the merger of BC and Vancouver Island. Because otherwise it seems like New Westminster which was the capital at the time would’ve become the major city in BC?
This thread really got away from what I was trying to discuss... But yes this was essentially what I was trying to discuss. Purely geographic and economic reasons. I can't imagine the region sharing the two cities of equal importance or population, I'd imagine it is one over the other.
The Latino thing is just stooopid. Vancouver is Asian. It has the Asian set of ethics for education.
Lack of diversity there is not stupid, although your spelling is. Like much of Canada, Vancouver is only White-Asian diverse, without the Black-Latin diversity it would have more of if it were part of the US.
It's an interesting concept to think about. I'd have to research more of why Seattle and Vancouver are the size they are now. Is it simply because the US has a larger population in general that Seattle is larger? If Vancouver was in the US, I'm guessing it wouldn't have had the influx of immigrants from HK/Asia that it has now, so the skyline might be less condo focused and maybe more commercial like a US skyline. I used to want to live in Vancouver personally, so if the border shifted to where I could without having to deal with residency I probably would have. BUT, again - Canadian cities seem more focused on public transportation and the public good. It would probably be an entirely different city. If Seattle were part of Canada and was able to keep its major corporate players, it might be a strong contender for second city in Canada (or maybe third after Montreal?). I do think size-wise the region could still support both in either case. The NE corridor of the US has multiple cities larger than either in close proximity to each other.
It's an interesting concept to think about. I'd have to research more of why Seattle and Vancouver are the size they are now. Is it simply because the US has a larger population in general that Seattle is larger? If Vancouver was in the US, I'm guessing it wouldn't have had the influx of immigrants from HK/Asia that it has now, so the skyline might be less condo focused and maybe more commercial like a US skyline. I used to want to live in Vancouver personally, so if the border shifted to where I could without having to deal with residency I probably would have. BUT, again - Canadian cities seem more focused on public transportation and the public good. It would probably be an entirely different city. If Seattle were part of Canada and was able to keep its major corporate players, it might be a strong contender for second city in Canada (or maybe third after Montreal?). I do think size-wise the region could still support both in either case. The NE corridor of the US has multiple cities larger than either in close proximity to each other.
You make an excellent point, but the difference between us Westerners and the East Coast is that the East Coast was colonized first. That's why they have so many cities in close proximity with legacy companies who due to cost-benefit analysis see no reason in moving their HQ. I guarantee if it was reversed (West Coast colonized first before the East Coast) we would see the reversal. Those cities became big because back then by horse they were huge distances apart. What we are seeing now closer to modern times is the population shifting more towards an equilibrium between the western, southern, and midwestern portions in relation to the northeast. Many Northeast cities are only stable or losing population, while parts of the South and West for example are experiencing obscene levels of growth.
If the West Coast was colonized first, just for fun, I'd imagine Astoria, OR to be one of the biggest cities in the country. I do believe we'd still have Portland (named differently of course if you look up why it was named Portland to begin with). San Francisco would probably be the NYC.
Vancouver would not be as big as it is if it was in the US. It definitely would not look like how it does. Vancouver has been getting an extreme amount of Asian-led investment. It would not be getting near as much attention in the US, for obvious reasons. Vancouver is an Air Canada hub. What US airport would have Vancouver as a hub. Vancouver clearly benefits from being in Canada, and being Canada's westernmost city. Much pie it'd have to share if it was in the US.
It's an interesting concept to think about. I'd have to research more of why Seattle and Vancouver are the size they are now. Is it simply because the US has a larger population in general that Seattle is larger? If Vancouver was in the US, I'm guessing it wouldn't have had the influx of immigrants from HK/Asia that it has now, so the skyline might be less condo focused and maybe more commercial like a US skyline. I used to want to live in Vancouver personally, so if the border shifted to where I could without having to deal with residency I probably would have. BUT, again - Canadian cities seem more focused on public transportation and the public good. It would probably be an entirely different city. If Seattle were part of Canada and was able to keep its major corporate players, it might be a strong contender for second city in Canada (or maybe third after Montreal?). I do think size-wise the region could still support both in either case. The NE corridor of the US has multiple cities larger than either in close proximity to each other.
The condo abundance is a bit more complicated than just new immigrants from Hong Kong in the 1990's.
First of all, Vancouver has the west end, that since the 1960's started to build high-rise apartment blocks, and by the 1970's buildings of 25 stories were common. The west end was a popular place to live for all types of people, but especially young people getting their first apartment. It was walkable to downtown, next to Stanley Park and had several beaches within it's boundaries. So you get a couple of generations who really enjoy and get apartment living.
Also in the late 1970's, there was massive development of townhouses, and condo's on the south side of False Creek. These were some of the first apartments one could buy in Vancouver. They weren't towers, but around three stories. They are still they today, and again, very desirable.
What this did, I believe, is lay the ground for the next generation of locals easily accept the idea of purchasing apartments. It wasn't an influence from Hong Kong.
Where Hong Kong comes in, is with the purchase of the old Expo Lands. The whole site was sold to Li Ka-Shing, a Hong Kong billionaire. His company Concord Pacific started building condo towers on that land over the next decades. This overlapped with the Hong Kong handover, and Vancouver was promoted not only by him, but others as a good place to purchase and protect your money for an unknown future.
The irony is, that many of the newcomers from Hong Kong, may have owned some condo's, but they chose to build monster houses at the time. Probably because they were much cheaper here than in Hong Kong and the space was just too tempting. Monster houses caused some controversy. Also, the majority made a community in Richmond, but these people are more of your middle-class immigrant.
So condo towers were accepted by the locals as viable housing.
Another reason condo towers are plentiful, is the urban planning around Skytrain Stations. People in the area could see that condo living could be great. Everything close by etc. So that is why you see clusters of towers around many Skytrain stations. Not 25 storey ones, but 60 stories.
I think it's fair to say that if Seattle was part of Canada then it would look more like Vancouver.
The answer that may be impossible to answer is what both cities would look like if they were in the same country....would Vancouver geography just cry out for a seawall anyway? ( which I believe really influence the city urban planning )
Vancouver would not be as big as it is if it was in the US. It definitely would not look like how it does. Vancouver has been getting an extreme amount of Asian-led investment. It would not be getting near as much attention in the US, for obvious reasons. Vancouver is an Air Canada hub. What US airport would have Vancouver as a hub. Vancouver clearly benefits from being in Canada, and being Canada's westernmost city. Much pie it'd have to share if it was in the US.
So Seattle.
Alaska Airlines would, if Vancouver was marketed as the Gateway to Alaska instead of Seattle. Or Vancouver became the major port of the region. Et cetera...
If Vancouver was in the US, it would have built inner-city freeways. That would have cut things apart, and also taken away a key reason for residential towers in past decades -- the need for proximity since driving was hard and rail didn't exist yet.
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