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The Northeast Corridor. Bowash. The Megalopolis. Whatever you call it, the very apex of urban America by any standard is this string of cities, metro areas, and interconnecting towns that run northeastward, in a row: Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston.
The region has no peers.
But there is a whole lot of country beyond that narrow stretch of the Atlantic Coast. The model for urban America was basically set by these northeastern cities and transported from greater to lesser degrees to the major cities throughout the US.
If we use the Northeast Corridor as a model, which American cities do you think would fit best in this region based on the urban model they present. This is not a better than/worse than or ranking thread by any means; I have no intention of pitting one city against another here. I'm merely trying to find the cities that offer the type of urbanity of the east coast by whatever measures you use (mine would include density, downtown-centric, mass transit, important cultural centers, walkability, ethnic neighborhoods, sense of place, older buildings,etc.)
I voted for Atlanta because I thought it would contrast favorably to the other cities because while still a major metro area it's less dense, has less concrete/asphalt and is somewhat geographically in line in terms of the "corridor".
I live in the Atlanta area, and there is no way that we are anything like the northeast, other than being a large urbanized area.
For one thing, the typical metro Atlantan is conservative. A large percentage of us are evangelical Protestant Christians. We typically vote Republican.
Don't let the blue blob over Atlanta fool you. Most of that area is the predominately black areas of metro Atlanta. There's a relatively small area of liberal white areas found in the "intown" areas of midtown, Decatur, and unincorporated Dekalb County inside I-285. A relatively small area to the large developed are that is metro Atlanta.
I voted for Chicago, St.Louis, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and New Orleans.
New Orleans because of history and density.
Pittsburgh because of density though was reluctant to vote for it.
St. Louis because historically, it reminds me of an Eastern city. Like a cousin of Baltimore. I mean they are the only Midwestern city that says soda instead of pop here lol.
Chicago and San Francisco are obvious.
I think LA and Detroit you could make an argument for.
One city that wasn't in there that I think has a better argument than even Cleveland IMO and even New Orleans is Cincinnati. Cleveland looks and feels like a classic Midwestern city IMO.
I voted for Chicago, St.Louis, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and New Orleans.
New Orleans because of history and density.
Pittsburgh because of density though was reluctant to vote for it.
St. Louis because historically, it reminds me of an Eastern city. Like a cousin of Baltimore. I mean they are the only Midwestern city that says soda instead of pop here lol. Chicago and San Francisco are obvious.
I think LA and Detroit you could make an argument for.
One city that wasn't in there that I think has a better argument than even Cleveland IMO and even New Orleans is Cincinnati. Cleveland looks and feels like a classic Midwestern city IMO.
I'd have to agree with your assessment on that, Spade. Chicago and San Francisco come across to me, too, as the obvious ones. For Chicago, midwestern cities themselves are the ones most shaped by the cities of the northeast. These were areas often settled by north easterners. after the civil war, they also shared with the east coast cities the rise of industry and immigration. Chicago began its assent in the midwest in that post-Civil War era and its connections with the East Coast cities was enormous. It had been since NYC made it its western terminus of the Erie Canal; New York promoted Chicago and the gained advantages that that city had with access to the west that Philly and Boston lacked. Chicago operated in many ways like NY, Philly, and Boston as massive home for immigrants, the labor movement, the city beautiful movement, and the cultural institutions that were set in place between the Civil War and WWI. Certainly it was by far the most white collar city in the middle west (to go along with its incredible industrial might).
San Francisco fascinates because it most resembles an east coast or midwestern city in layout and design and function than any city in the 3 quadrants outside of the northeast quadrant of the nation (basically New England, Middle Atlantic, and Great Lakes states). SF had that density from the start with the confides of the peninsula and also shared in the post-Civil War growth when it was the largest and grandest of West Coast cities. Southern cities struggled with the aftermath of the Civil War and were part of the rise of the Sun Belt cities, along with those in Texas and the southwest.
While I agree with you about Cleveland looking staunchly midwestern, it is important to note that city is further east than any of the other midwestern cities. It has the most direct lineage to the east coast as being part of Connecticut's western reserve. I think based on proximity (which, BTW, I don't consider the main issue in answering the question of which cities feel most like they belong on the northeast corridor), Cleveland and Pittsburgh come across most as the direct products of these cities.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Phoenix
Tucson
Salt Lake City
Oklahoma City
Jacksonville
Fort Worth
Boise
Anchorage
Reno
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