what bordering cities are not suburbs; what cities should be suburbs (fit in, 2015)

[stanley-88888888]

my response here got me thinking how to categorize cities within a metro.
//www.city-data.com/forum/city-...l#post47776852

my other example would be: i never been to statan island which is technically part of new york city; but do people consider it suburbia ?

[That_One_Guy]

Originally Posted by stanley-88888888

my response here got me thinking how to categorize cities within a metro.
//www.city-data.com/forum/city-...l#post47776852

my other example would be: i never been to statan island which is technically part of new york city; but do people consider it suburbia ?

A NYer from any of the other 4 boroughs will tell you that Staten Island is basically like a suburb in the city limits, but it's more urban than typical suburbia, and probably most other cities in the US.

The North shore of the island is urban enough to still feel like part of (outer borough) NYC.
Other parts of the island are very industrial too, which is not a suburban quality IMO. But the farther South you go in the Island, the more suburban it gets. There definitely are large parts of the Island which are very suburban and don't look or feel like NYC at all. It is also by far the least walkable borough, and also has the lowest density and the least transit.

Overall, it's suburban for NYC and other Northeastern cities. But if you were to take Staten Island and put it in the sunbelt or out West it would probably be considered very "urban" by their standards.
Staten Island has around the same population density as LA. It also has a 24-hour subway/elevated rapid transit line and an extensive 24/7 bus system as well which goes around the island and across the bridge into Brooklyn and Manhattan. As well as free 24/7 ferry service into and out of Manhattan.

Staten Island bus map:

http://nycmap360.com/carte/image/en/...nd-bus-map.jpg

Staten Island Rail map (24/7 rapid transit):

http://newyorksubway.org/wp-content/...en-islandb.jpg

Just the fact that it has a single rapid transit line puts it way above most cities in The US.

NYC population density (2015):
Manhattan: 72,033.2/sq mi
Brooklyn: 37,137.1/sq mi
The Bronx: 34,653.4/sq mi
Queens: 21,460.1/sq mi
.....
Staten Island: 8,112.1/sq mi
It's density is much lower than the others, but it's still on par with LA (8,282/sq mi), which is noteworthy.

So it depends who you ask. It's suburban for people in NYC and other northeastern cities, but by general American standards it is not. I'm aware that most of the US sets the bar really low for this type of stuff though.

[clearlevel]

As the other person mentioned, Staten Island is definitely not suburban in terms of urban sprawl and big parking lots and malls. Just do a Google Image of any street in Staten Island and you will see that it is urban and people park along the street and the houses are close together and there are many tall apartment complexes. It's mostly homes, compared to the other parts of New York City.

I would say this urbanness (people parking on the streets) is common throughout all of New Jersey that borders Manhattan (that's a very urban area, feels like you're in New York City) and even parts of Westchester county. As you start moving away from the area close to Manhattan, it starts to become suburban, so that would include the outer parts of New Jersey, Westchester county, Connecticut, and all of Nassau and Suffolk county of Long Island, or what they call "Long Island." Long Island is a huge suburb, and basically invented the concept of the suburb after World War 2 with Levittown being the first mass-produced housing development. Long Island has huge suburbs, huge malls, expressway connecting everywhere and cars culture.

[That_One_Guy]

^^^^ clearlevel said it very well. Staten Island definitely does not fit in with the rest of NYC but it's still distinct from typical strip mall cookie cutter suburbia. People still walk and take transit, but car ownership and use is much higher in SI than other boroughs. But like I said earlier: compare Staten Island to any sunbelt city and suddenly it looks very urban.

Another reason Staten Island is often ignored by the other 4 is because it's very far away and kind of inaccessible from the other boroughs, which makes it feel kind of isolated.
There's only the ferry to Manhattan (which takes about 30 mins), or a bridge to Brooklyn.
But this bridge to Brooklyn is very long and expensive, and also doesn't allow pedestrians or bikes. It's the longest bridge in NYC and charges a $17 toll. Plus most people in the other 4 boroughs don't drive anyway. Usually people don't go to Staten Island unless they have family or friends to visit or something.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Boston's adjacent cities of Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Malden, Chelsea, Revere, and Quincy are essentially an unbroken continuation of the urban fabric of Boston and are not really suburbs.

[The_General]

Originally Posted by Desert_SW_77

Boston's adjacent cities of Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Malden, Chelsea, Revere, and Quincy are essentially an unbroken continuation of the urban fabric of Boston and are not really suburbs.

Agreed with this statement.

As far as the thread title Cambridge and Somerville seem more "part of the urban fabric" than Hyde Park and West Roxbury. Boston's downtown is on the Northeast corner of the city in terms of geography, so Cambridge and Somerville are closer to downtown than Hyde Park and West Roxbury. Cambridge and Somerville have T access, while West Roxbury and Hyde Park have Commuter Rail Access.

The Northeastern part of Brookline would also fit a similar description of Cambridge and Somerville. Southern Brookline is the opposite.

[stanley-88888888]

was watching a documentary on tv and heard something weird:

not satisfied with her suburb roots, she sold her restaurant in queens and set her sights on the big city...

[Jandrew5]

Originally Posted by That_One_Guy

It's the longest bridge in NYC and charges a $17 toll.

WOW. And here I thought the Lincoln Tunnel toll was the zenith. $17?? At least buy me dinner first.

[That_One_Guy]

Originally Posted by stanley-88888888

was watching a documentary on tv and heard something weird:

Queens is a weird place, I grew up there...
SOME parts of Queens are suburban, and some parts are very urban. It varies greatly by neighborhood.

Some parts of Queens look like this:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/21...069b22fd1e7ec2
https://www.google.com/maps/place/1-...856e7d4c6268bf


And then some parts of Queens look like this:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/21...0abab6468e412f
https://www.google.com/maps/place/39...647146cc29743d
https://www.google.com/maps/place/59...94ed6ea546928f
https://www.google.com/maps/place/35...d7ec66b8253e95

Before Queens was part of NYC it was a county on Long Island made up of many different suburbs, cities, and small towns/villages and it still kind of feels that way since there are such drastic changes between each neighborhood.

Overall: Queens is a very big place (178 sq mi land area) and you kind of have to look at Queens on a individual neighborhood basis sometimes rather than a general one due to its history & how it was built/developed.
Even with its pockets of suburban areas it still has an overall higher density than San Francisco at ~21.5K/sq mile, despite having almost 4x the land area. Some parts of Queens even have density levels that rival Manhattan. But overall it's considerably less urban + dense than Manhattan, BK, and BX, but still far above other cities in America.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Glendale, AZ should be part of Phoenix. The Ahwatukee and Paradise Valley sections of Phoenix should be annexed by Chandler and Scottsdale respectively