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There is nothing similar in urban form between Miami and NYC.
It's just not big enough, and its urban core is tiny.
LA shouldn't be either, but definitely should be above Miami, times 5.
LA feels as big a city/metro as NYC, but the functionality and layout of the cities are completely different. Chicago functions like a smaller NYC, kinda, but doesn't feel quite the Mega City that NYC and LA feels. Of the cities I've been to, I'd say Boston, DC, Chicago, then Philly.
I used to think this before I lived in Chicago. Chicago’s donwtown area is probably the closest when it comes to big buildings and built expanse but I think Philly is a little closer to New York. Chicago’s built environment seems a little more spacious and there seems to be more “breathing room†(which is something I like about the city) in relation to places like New York and Philly. There doesn’t seem to be as many of those super narrow streets with row homes smashed together in Chicago in relation to the other two.
Streets in Chicago usually aren’t this condensed:
I used to think this before I lived in Chicago. Chicago’s donwtown area is probably the closest when it comes to big buildings and built expanse but I think Philly is a little closer to New York. Chicago’s built environment seems a little more spacious and there seems to be more “breathing room†(which is something I like about the city) in relation to places like New York and Philly. There doesn’t seem to be as many of those super narrow streets with row homes smashed together in Chicago in relation to the other two.
Streets in Chicago usually aren’t this condensed:
I think that one reason many place Chicago above Philadelphia despite the common thread you just identified is because the latter has streetscapes like this one outside of the Loop.
Philadelphia concentrates all of the Manahattan stuff between the rivers from Vine to Pine (as the local lingo puts it, but the southern border of the 1682 town / 1701 city of Philadelphia is actually South Street) while Chicago has more of it spreading across an area that spills beyond the downtown.
Because Chicago has a larger area of high-rise development, people tend to miss the similarities between Philadelphia's Center City residential districts and Manhattan neighborhoods like Greenwich Village or Murray Hill (minus Tudor City and the high-rises along the East River; wait — there is Society Hill Towers as an analogue there, too). Much of the rest of Chicago looks like parts of Queens while most of the rest of Philadelphia looks like Brooklyn minus Brooklyn Heights and one or two stories.
I think that one reason many place Chicago above Philadelphia despite the common thread you just identified is because the latter has streetscapes like this one outside of the Loop.
Philadelphia concentrates all of the Manahattan stuff between the rivers from Vine to Pine (as the local lingo puts it, but the southern border of the 1682 town / 1701 city of Philadelphia is actually South Street) while Chicago has more of it spreading across an area that spills beyond the downtown.
Because Chicago has a larger area of high-rise development, people tend to miss the similarities between Philadelphia's Center City residential districts and Manhattan neighborhoods like Greenwich Village or Murray Hill (minus Tudor City and the high-rises along the East River; wait — there is Society Hill Towers as an analogue there, too). Much of the rest of Chicago looks like parts of Queens while most of the rest of Philadelphia looks like Brooklyn minus Brooklyn Heights and one or two stories.
Definitely true and I agree with everything you said. Chicago has that canyon of skyscrapers feel that the other cities on this thread can’t really match. But imo just because it has lots of skyscrapers doesn’t really make it like more like New York than Philly does to me. Idk how to describe it but it seems like Chicago has its own feel where as while New York and Philadelphia have their own identities, them being in the same region and starting to grow at a similar time along with a more compressed street grid and similar older architecture make them feel more similar to me.
I used to think this before I lived in Chicago. Chicago’s donwtown area is probably the closest when it comes to big buildings and built expanse but I think Philly is a little closer to New York. Chicago’s built environment seems a little more spacious and there seems to be more “breathing room†(which is something I like about the city) in relation to places like New York and Philly. There doesn’t seem to be as many of those super narrow streets with row homes smashed together in Chicago in relation to the other two.
Streets in Chicago usually aren’t this condensed:
Completely agree. I think in the heart of the loop when you are under the "canyon" of big buildings, you do get somewhat of a NYC feel in Chicago. But when you factor in the residential aspects and structural infrastructure across the city, I think Philly becomes more similar. I have lived in both Philly in Chicago.
On Chicago's North Side, you do get more residential areas that are more structurally "east-coast," but it doesn't have quite the same degree of "narrow" feel that you get in NYC/Philly/Boston:
Chicago has a slightly higher population density, than does Philadelphia. Also, many, many taller buildings. I still think the answer is Chicago, but we all have opinions, that likely won't change.
Chicago has a slightly higher population density, than does Philadelphia. Also, many, many taller buildings. I still think the answer is Chicago, but we all have opinions, that likely won't change.
This has been discussed and alluded to multiple times, but it's a matter of looking at high-rise density versus street-level density.
Chicago is much more comparable to NYC for the former; Philadelphia for the latter. That will always be the objective distinction.
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