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Midtown Atlanta is probably the best example here, yet it was left out?
Nashville- The Gulch? Or Midtown Nashville? I see these areas developing lightning fast now with the AMZN decision.
Charlotte- South End? The light rail running through has caused this area to BOOM! Totally unrecognizable from even 3 years ago. It also is directly adjacent to Uptown (Downtown) Charlotte.
Most of the “Downtown 2.0” examples listed are part of a greater downtown. There is nothing separating them from downtown proper.
Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood is a legitimate second downtown.
I agree. Using Seattle as an example, people here often refer to the "Central Business District" ("CBD") and the "South Lake Union / Denny Triangle" districts as distinct neighborhoods, but really they are all part of the same one-square mile downtown center, making their distinctions arbitrary. They are often referred to as distinct districts because the tech / Amazon growth has focused in the north part of Seattle's downtown whilst the southern part of downtown is mostly Seattle's civic center with governmental and legal firms being located here. But absent the arbitrary naming distinctions, they are all really just part of "downtown Seattle." Plus, it is not as though Seattle is like Manhattan where urban development spans miles upon miles of land where neighborhood distinctions makes sense. Seattle's downtown is roughly 1 mile east-to-west by 2 miles north-to-south. That's not large enough to warrant making every 0.5 miles of land a distinct and separate neighborhood. Our downtown is roughly the size of Manhattan's Midtown neighborhood.
Portland is a similar story. Downtown Portland is roughly one square mile. The "Pearl District" is the northern part of that square mile downtown. This area was once industrial warehouses and was referred to as "Northwest Industrial Triangle." Around the 2000's, probably as a way to drive up business and real estate development, the area was renamed the "Pearl District" which is more marketable of a name than "NW Industrial Triangle." But just because land owners rebranded the general area, this doesn't make this area a separate district. It's all just part of downtown Portland.
Midtown Atlanta is probably the best example here, yet it was left out?
Nashville- The Gulch? Or Midtown Nashville? I see these areas developing lightning fast now with the AMZN decision.
Charlotte- South End? The light rail running through has caused this area to BOOM! Totally unrecognizable from even 3 years ago. It also is directly adjacent to Uptown (Downtown) Charlotte.
I don't think SouthEnd really counts since it's largely residential and commercial...not as much office space although more is being added.
I know St Louis has the Central West End. It definitely has a huge employment base between the Hospital district and CORTEX (innovations district) also Clayton has a thriving DT that is extremely corporate and sterile. All have easy access to DT via Metrolink.
Midtown and Buckhead in Atlanta is a perfect example as well as uptown Dallas.
Last edited by mjtinmemphis; 11-14-2018 at 08:34 AM..
I don't think SouthEnd really counts since it's largely residential and commercial...not as much office space although more is being added.
True. Like you said, more is being added at a pretty fast pace too. I think as Uptown gets more and more built out and expensive, South End will gain even more. Transit is already there
Houston has Midtown and EaDo (not fully developed, but getting there) as extensions of the downtown. It also has multiple other business districts including Uptown, Museum District/Medical Center, Memorial/Energy Corridor, and Greenway. But I would say Midtown comes the closest to fulfilling the OP's constraints.
First of all, Atlanta has probably the most successful "downtown 2.0" in the United States, but you completely disregarded it (Midtown).
Second, in the 1920's, General Motors sought to create a 2nd business/entertainment/shopping district in Detroit, called the "New Center", 2.5 miles north of downtown Detroit. When the Great Depression hit, development in the district petered out, but it may have been the 1st large-scale "downtown 2.0" outside of NYC. It had a few skyscrapers, an ornate Broadway theater, and even a (real) Saks Fifth Avenue (not the outlet).
If you're going to say Uptown for Dallas, then Midtown Atlanta and Uptown Houston should count.
And what is Center City East in Philly? Are you talking about University City?
In Dallas case: Uptown is built an offshoot to downtown when they built the American Arena and high rises surrounding it. In Philly: Center City East was a no man zone recently as 2010. They revitalized the whole area with shops, restaurants, museums, theaters, high rises and etc. It qualifies as 2.0. University is separate neighborhood entity.
Boston seaport/ft point and back bay. Kendall square Cambridge if including urban area
I'd even say you could argue that Boston's Back Bay is it's original "Downtown 2.0." It's so old and established at this point that it's not comparable to the newness of others here. And the gap between Back Bay and the Financial District continues to fill in.
But I would agree with the Seaport and Kendall (no reason to exclude it). Kendall has been around for quite some time, and it continues to grown and boom. The Seaport is truly a brand new neighborhood and peripheral downtown. In the past 15 years, it's gone from parking lots and rail yards to the hottest neighborhood in the city. Tens of millions of square feet of office, residential, and retail space have been added. It definitely belongs on this list.
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