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People saying Albany is a perfect example of what I like to call "brick bias"
This is Providence 1 mile from DT https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8185...!7i3328!8i1664
This is Albany about 3 blocks from DT https://www.google.com/maps/@42.6574...7i13312!8i6656
I would say they look rather similar, Providence probably edges Albany out.
However, because the primary housing type is Providence is wooden people say its less urban, despite the fact wood is not inherently less urban than brick/stone buildings.
People saying Albany is a perfect example of what I like to call "brick bias"
This is Providence 1 mile from DT https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8185...!7i3328!8i1664
This is Albany about 3 blocks from DT https://www.google.com/maps/@42.6574...7i13312!8i6656
I would say they look rather similar, Providence probably edges Albany out.
However, because the primary housing type is Providence is wooden people say its less urban, despite the fact wood is not inherently less urban than brick/stone buildings.
I think what it is with Albany is that you can find rowhouse neighborhoods in all directions from Downtown like Center Square, Arbor Hill, the South End, the Pastures, the Mansion District, etc. It is also one of the oldest cities in the county(1664).
People saying Albany is a perfect example of what I like to call "brick bias"
This is Providence 1 mile from DT https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8185...!7i3328!8i1664
This is Albany about 3 blocks from DT https://www.google.com/maps/@42.6574...7i13312!8i6656
I would say they look rather similar, Providence probably edges Albany out.
However, because the primary housing type is Providence is wooden people say its less urban, despite the fact wood is not inherently less urban than brick/stone buildings.
I think it's the attached buildings more than just the type. But I agree there's a good argument for Providence by being bigger. Hartford is clearly the least urban of the three, IMO. Plenty of narrow streets in Providence:
I think it's the attached buildings more than just the type. But I agree there's a good argument for Providence by being bigger. Hartford is clearly the least urban of the three, IMO. Plenty of narrow streets in Providence:
Yeah. I was going to say when you look at a city like San Francisco, it is mostly frame and generally considered to be very urban feeling within its core, because the buildings tend to either be attached or less than four feet apart. This type of building neighborhood (wood frame attached) is also common in Pittsburgh, although usually remuddled past recognition. Here's of the better examples of restored old wood rowhouses in Pittsburgh.
There is no doubt that Albany has lost a lot of its urban fabric due to both blight and urban renewal (particularly Empire State Plaza. Even taking into account the size of the city however, urban renewal was less damaging than Hartford, and possibly Providence, because highways didn't snake through/around Downtown, and there weren't large areas cleared out for industrial and warehousing purposes.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Albany's urban blocks are more unbroken, several blocks of street walls. But its also a smaller city than Providence, and I think Providence has a more complete downtown that edges out Albany a bit more as far as urban feeling. I'm not sure of how I feel urban fits into that hulking monstrosity that is Empire State Plaza. It's sort of a world unto itself that happens to be surrounded by Albany. It also essentially is Albany's skyline.
Albany's urban blocks are more unbroken, several blocks of street walls. But its also a smaller city than Providence, and I think Providence has a more complete downtown that edges out Albany a bit more as far as urban feeling. I'm not sure of how I feel urban fits into that hulking monstrosity that is Empire State Plaza. It's sort of a world unto itself that happens to be surrounded by Albany. It also essentially is Albany's skyline.
There are other buildings in Albany's skyline, but Empire State Plaza does dominate its skyline. Albany actually has a little more in land size than Providence, but a lot of it is either parkland, undeveloped(south of the NYS Thruway) or college campus land.
Providence has the highest density and largest metro, Hartford is second in both regards. Albany is a distant third.
All true, but has nothing to do with the thread topic. The relative population and density of a given U.S. metro area has nothing to do with whether the core city looks or feels urban.
All true, but has nothing to do with the thread topic. The relative population and density of a given U.S. metro area has nothing to do with whether the core city looks or feels urban.
By core population, Providence has the most people living medium-high (12k+ or 20k+) density tracts, and they're more clustered around downtown than Hartford. Albany has much fewer than either for being smaller.
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