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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,107,174 times
Reputation: 11862
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Dallas - 6.5 million
Houston - 6.0 million
Philadelphia - 6.0 million
Washington D.C. - 5.7 million
Miami - 5.7 million
Atlanta - 5.4 million
Rank in terms of:
1. Downtown size
2. Metropolitan area size
3. Subjective feel of size of city from being in the downtown
4. Subjective feel of size of city from driving across the metro
5. Which has the worst traffic
6. Which has the most extensive freeway system
No other comparisons (like prominence, worldliness, skyline, attractiveness, public transport, entertainment, parks) just focus on these criteria.
1. Philadelphia
2. Washington DC
3. Houston
4. Miami
5. Atlanta
6. Dallas
I graded them based on a combination of height, area, population, building density, and ambiance. Philadelphia is the only one with all four qualities. Washington DC has the area, ambiance, population and building density, but no height whatsoever. Houston has the height, area and building density, but no population or ambiance. Miami has the area, population and building density, but lacks height compared to Philadelphia and Houston, and has spotty ambiance. Atlanta has the height, but lacks the population and ambiance, and its area is artificially inflated by extremely low building density. Dallas has height, and nothing else.
MSA
1. Atlanta
2. Washington DC
3. Houston
4. Dallas/Fort Worth
5. Miami
6. Philadelphia
Atlanta spreads out along the Piedmont like kudzu. Washington DC does too, but it hides its development a little bit better. Houston sprawls to the north and south, but dies pretty quickly to the east and west. Dallas/Fort Worth doesn't seem very centered in its highway layout, with most of its development seemingly north of I-30. Miami spreads out far along the Atlantic coast of south Florida, but dies instantly 10 miles inland. Philadelphia hides its MSA the best, with lots of green belts, a thick tree layer, and only peeks of development along the highways.
Traffic
1. Philadelphia
2. Miami
3. Houston
4. Dallas/Fort Worth
5. Atlanta
6. Washington DC
Philadelphia seems to have the least traffic, and Miami's traffic has never been bad when I've been there. Houston's traffic wasn't as bad as its reputation suggests. Traffic in Dallas/Fort Worth was worse. Atlanta and Washington DC have the worst traffic.
Highways
1. Houston
2. Atlanta
3. Dallas/Fort Worth
4. Miami
5. Philadelphia
6. Washington DC
Houston's highways are modern marvels of civil engineering. Atlanta's highways are very wide, but not as extensive as Houston's. Most of the highways in Dallas/Fort Worth seem to be south of the center of population. Miami has a tangle of north/south highways with a few east/west connectors. Philadelphia only has a few highways, and the one with the highest traffic volume is obsolete. Washington DC doesn't have much aside from its beltway.
Last edited by Craziaskowboi; 04-17-2012 at 04:03 AM..
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,107,174 times
Reputation: 11862
For the record, I've only spent time (two nights) in D.C., it felt more vibrant as a city than I was expecting. I was actually pleasantly surprised, it's a pretty hip town. We drove through the Houston but didn't go downtown, didn't really get an impression but did see the spaghetti-like freeway system. Skirted the Philly metro area, and have not seen Atlanta, Miami or Dallas-Forth Worth.
Atlanta feels the smallest in every way. Philly feels like the biggest city and Dallas feels like the biggest metro with Houston next. D.C. is middle pack in every way and Miami feels the most urban as an area
With all things considered equally, I have to go with Dallas
Philly feels the largest by practically every measure. The only cities/metros that feel larger are NYC, Chi, SF, and LA. Philly only has a few major highways, and they are inferior to those in the Sunbelt, there is just no room for them, its just not a highway city like that, but driving around the surface streets, its no contest.
1. Downtown size
A Philly
B DC
C HOuston
D Miami
E Atlanta
F Dallas
2. Metropolitan area size
A Houston
B DFW
C DC
D Miami
E Atlanta
F Philly
3. Subjective feel of size of city from being in the downtown
See number 1.
4. Subjective feel of size of city from driving across the metro
A Houston
B DFW
C DC
D Miami
E Atlanta
F Philly
5. Which has the worst traffic
A DC
B Philly
C Miami
D Houston
E Atlanta
F Dallas
6. Which has the most extensive freeway system
A Houston
B DFW
C Atlanta
D Miami
E DC
F Philly
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