Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My vote goes to Miami since so many towers have been built in the past 15yrs.
New York may have a case here though. There are too many old buildings to call it modern, but it has the new supertall condos along the south side of Central Park. They look super modern and I don’t think there’s another example of them in the USA so NYC has a case for that reason alone.
My vote goes to Miami since so many towers have been built in the past 15yrs.
New York may have a case here though. There are too many old buildings to call it modern, but it has the new supertall condos along the south side of Central Park. They look super modern and I don’t think there’s another example of them in the USA so NYC has a case for that reason alone.
+1. It's not uniformly modern because there is plenty of old mixed in with the new, but some of those new buildings in NYC are incredible.
Seattle has a high percentage of modern buildings and is definitely up there as well. But Seattle is pretty old by western US standards, and most of its SFH stock was built out in the 1920s-40s, it just looks newer due to good upkeep and lack of cold temperatures.
Phoenix's aesthetic of "let's give a suburban city light rail and bike lanes, and upzone suburban neighborhoods" feels very "new urban". I'd add Salt Lake City to the list for the same reason, and actually Bellevue, WA as well.
Miami wins hands down, it's skyline is the best and most modern looking in the country.
Honorable mentions:
Las Vegas is very modern looking, it's skyline is globally recognized and the city is always looking to modernize and change with the times.
Seattle looks modern nowadays as well thanks to the well established tech scene, lots of modern looking "box" apartments, resembling something out of Asia.
Seattle would be my first choice. Modern buildings up to date public infrastructure. Modern transit system. Next would be San Diego judging from pictures. Atlanta has a Modern look along with Miami, Dallas and Houston. Charlotte is a good example of a young successful modern city.
Nashville has Modern buildings but that is it. Some streets don't even have proper drainage and sidewalks and you can forget about a Modern lightrail system.
Ask me again once lightrail opens in Austin. That city will be pretty decent in the next 10 to 15 years. Now? No. But well on its way.
Atlanta looks a little crusty downtown, though, but I agree with everything else. Nashville's above ground utilities, missing sidewalks, vagrants, uneccessary amount of tobacco/vape shops take away from its modern look.
Are we talking about cities with many modern architecture or cities with modern landscaping?
I would say (in no particular order)
LA (Case Study house and many Walton Becket design such as Capitol Record; The LAX Theme building, Dorothy Chandler pavilion. Frank Gehry Disney Concert Hall….etc.)
West side LA is full of many modern architectures and Sunset Boulevard from Hollywood westward is very modern, sleek looking in my opinion.
Miami (Brickell area and Miami Beach. White, modern and glamorous.)
Houston (many Walton Becket design, POST Houston. Houston Art Museum. Rice University outdoor auditorium, Menil…..etc-it may surprise you but Houston is actually an art lover/design-minded person’s dream city.) (most “ranking” won’t show this.)
Chicago loop area.
Edited: NYC has a lot of high rise and modern buildings, but many of the recent built are very ugly, especially the “Vessel” entity.
Seattle has a high percentage of modern buildings and is definitely up there as well. But Seattle is pretty old by western US standards, and most of its SFH stock was built out in the 1920s-40s, it just looks newer due to good upkeep and lack of cold temperatures.
Even the older 100+ year old neighborhoods of Seattle have lots of brand new modern housing splattered throughout them. It's not like a Boston suburb where you can walk miles and miles and not find a single house built after 1990.
Nashville has Modern buildings but that is it. Some streets don't even have proper drainage and sidewalks and you can forget about a Modern lightrail system.
Let's see what things look like after the walk/bike plan. The city is finally getting serious about infrastructure investment.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
