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This may sound odd, but to me, Denver as it is today has started to feel like more of a dense, classic urban big-city. The Denver of my youth and memory was classic cowtown.
Can't speak of Dallas, don't know it at all.
It's not odd at all, I've been saying that this whole thread. Dallas feels urban in a "driving on one of 45 freeways passing skyscrapers" type of way.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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To answer the OP's original question, Denver's downtown core has a more classically urban feel. It has more of a critical mass of people walking around the downtown blocks. Its sports facilities are located in town rather than out in the burbs which helps in that aspect. Denver's downtown is not divided up by a loop of freeways and has better downtown transit infrastructure (take a walk around around Union Station in Denver vs Dallas to see the difference). Dallas does not have a comparable older and preserved historic urban section such as Denver's LoDo (Dallas West End felt pretty bare bones), and the adjacent neighborhoods to Denver's downtown are more stitched together. The new residential development near Denver's Union station is pretty impressive and kicks up the urban feel.
Beyond the downtowns, that's where Denver's advantages fall off as the layers of development become more similar where you have the pre WWII streetcar neighborhoods (Capital Hill/So. Broadway/5 points Denver and Uptown/Bishop Arts/Lower Greenville Dallas). I think Dallas may have a bit more of these kind of neighborhoods.
You don't need to get far from the core of Denver for it to start feeling very auto orientated and sunbelt'sh. The southern end of Colorado Blvd, the Denver Tech Center, and the corridor of midrise suburban office parks and corporate centers along I-25 are designed this way. Dallas has these types of developments in spades scattered all over the metro area. This along with its gigantic freeway network and infrastructure is what makes Dallas feel like a substantially larger city and metro, well... because it is.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 12-13-2022 at 07:10 AM..
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dallaz
Are we talking about older areas or urban areas as a whole? That’s why I only mentioned mostly the older areas in the city…
Both cities are layered very similarly. Denver has a more urban feeling downtown core with more intact historic bones. Dallas has more of the early 20th century streetcar neighborhoods. Both cities get very auto orientated with modern sunbelt suburban development beyond those areas.
To answer the OP's original question, Denver's downtown core has a more classically urban feel. It has more of a critical mass of people walking around the downtown blocks. Its sports facilities are located in town rather than out in the burbs which helps in that aspect. Denver's downtown is not divided up by a loop of freeways and has better downtown transit infrastructure (take a walk around around Union Station in Denver vs Dallas to see the difference). Dallas does not have a comparable older and preserved historic urban section such as Denver's LoDo (Dallas West End felt pretty bare bones), and the adjacent neighborhoods to Denver's downtown are more stitched together. The new residential development near Denver's Union station is pretty impressive and kicks up the urban feel.
Beyond the downtowns, that's where Denver's advantages fall off as the layers of development become more similar where you have the pre WWII streetcar neighborhoods (Capital Hill/So. Broadway/5 points Denver and Uptown/Bishop Arts/Lower Greenville Dallas). I think Dallas may have a bit more of these kind of neighborhoods.
You don't need to get far from the core of Denver for it to start feeling very auto orientated and sunbelt'sh. The southern end of Colorado Blvd, the Denver Tech Center, and the corridor of midrise suburban office parks and corporate centers along I-25 are designed this way. Dallas has these types of developments in spades scattered all over the metro area. This along with its gigantic freeway network and infrastructure is what makes Dallas feel like a substantially larger city and metro, well... because it is.
Dallas doesn't have an equivalent to Capitol Hill though. That neighborhood alone gives Denver an edge on Dallas as far as classic urbanism goes.
You don't need to get far from Dallas to get some pretty car dependent infrastructure either. This is only a mile from downtown Dallas. https://maps.app.goo.gl/7PZubXbUD8eJXHLs5
Dallas doesn't have an equivalent to Capitol Hill though. That neighborhood alone gives Denver an edge on Dallas as far as classic urbanism goes.
You don't need to get far from Dallas to get some pretty car dependent infrastructure either. This is only a mile from downtown Dallas. https://maps.app.goo.gl/7PZubXbUD8eJXHLs5
Dallas doesn't have an equivalent to Capitol Hill though. That neighborhood alone gives Denver an edge on Dallas as far as classic urbanism goes.
You don't need to get far from Dallas to get some pretty car dependent infrastructure either. This is only a mile from downtown Dallas. https://maps.app.goo.gl/7PZubXbUD8eJXHLs5
That’s Old East Dallas which is currently gentrifying. Development that is occurring along that street is urban development. It wasn’t a really desirable area until recent growth started gentrifying inner city neighborhoods. On that same street, a new urban grocery store with apts on top was recently built.
It's not like we have a choice though. It's have a planned flood plain or flood every time it rains like Houston.
I understand. But the contrast is so jarring.
Its not something seen a lot in urban landscapes. The 360 views is just astonishing. It's like a giant broke the city in half.
To answer the OP's original question, Denver's downtown core has a more classically urban feel. It has more of a critical mass of people walking around the downtown blocks. Its sports facilities are located in town rather than out in the burbs which helps in that aspect. Denver's downtown is not divided up by a loop of freeways and has better downtown transit infrastructure (take a walk around around Union Station in Denver vs Dallas to see the difference). Dallas does not have a comparable older and preserved historic urban section such as Denver's LoDo (Dallas West End felt pretty bare bones), and the adjacent neighborhoods to Denver's downtown are more stitched together. The new residential development near Denver's Union station is pretty impressive and kicks up the urban feel.
Beyond the downtowns, that's where Denver's advantages fall off as the layers of development become more similar where you have the pre WWII streetcar neighborhoods (Capital Hill/So. Broadway/5 points Denver and Uptown/Bishop Arts/Lower Greenville Dallas). I think Dallas may have a bit more of these kind of neighborhoods.
You don't need to get far from the core of Denver for it to start feeling very auto orientated and sunbelt'sh. The southern end of Colorado Blvd, the Denver Tech Center, and the corridor of midrise suburban office parks and corporate centers along I-25 are designed this way. Dallas has these types of developments in spades scattered all over the metro area. This along with its gigantic freeway network and infrastructure is what makes Dallas feel like a substantially larger city and metro, well... because it is.
I don’t think places like AT&T Discovery District and Klyde Warren Park were mentioned. Both have added to the vibrancy/urbanity of Downtown. Klyde Warren Park sparked 5,300 units in the last 10 years. I believe the AT&T Discovery District will do the same thing. Both attract over 1 million people a year.
The McKinney Avenue Trolley stops in front of Klyde Warren Park and connects to the West Village. Eventually, it’ll connect to the AT&T Discovery District with the central streetcar link. The central link will connect The McKinney Ave Trolley and the Dallas Streetcar. The Dallas Streetcar stops to the south at Bishop Arts. The McKinney Ave Trolley has a ridership of 682,000 (2021).
Dallas has the AAC in Victory Park which is nearing full build out. The new Goldman Sachs campus should help further connect the area with Uptown.
The West End use to be an entertainment district in the 90s, it has switch more to an office/residential type neighborhood with improvements like the new West End Square park.
Also, the Dallas Farmers Market area which is growing fast. A 21 story highrises was announced for the neighborhood yesterday.
This is before the completion of the improvements - Children’s Park expansion and New Fountain at Pearl St. In this video they’re fenced off for construction.
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