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Thanks Wikedripeplum for the pictures. I was hoping to get an idea of the feel and urban development of Boston's outer regions in comparison to Atlantas. Most of the neighborhoods you show are well within 5 miles of Bostons center.
But what about when you get like 8 or more miles from Boston's center. Some towns that are about 8 miles from Boston's center include Winchester, Quincy, Dedham, Waltham, and Lynn. Do any of those cities look anything like this?
I doubt it. These are pictures of Buckhead, a full 8 miles from the center of Atlanta. Boston doesn't have this kind of development that far from it's center which is why I think Atlanta feels bigger than Boston
I agree.
Here's one of the downtown/midtown skyline with Buckhead in the distance.
Quincy, Lynn and Waltham are all pretty big cities. Do they have skyscrapers? No. But they have urban character in the residential areas. Check out "street view" on google maps
Yet Winchester is still more densely populated than Atlanta proper.
These last two posts highlight the diferences between a big sprawled city (Atl.) and a big city that has maintianed its development patterns (Boston). One feels bigger when driving around, the other feels bigger out of the car.
Very true. Most likely, the reason you don't find skyscrapers 20 miles out from downtown Boston is that everything in Boston is packed into the central city, which will be much more dense than any part of Atlanta. It still seems to come down to a matter of perception: whether many miles of built up area with at least a suburban degree of density seems more impressive and "big city," or lots of activity on the downtown streets gives this "big" impression. Most likely these perceptions vary from person to person.
Very true. Most likely, the reason you don't find skyscrapers 20 miles out from downtown Boston is that everything in Boston is packed into the central city, which will be much more dense than any part of Atlanta. It still seems to come down to a matter of perception: whether many miles of built up area with at least a suburban degree of density seems more impressive and "big city," or lots of activity on the downtown streets gives this "big" impression. Most likely these perceptions vary from person to person.
Very well stated. I do think "bigness" is a matter of individual perception.
No I'm from right next to Winchester I'm well aware how funny that is.
haha okay, good. Not to be a jerk but I really can't take Atlanta seriously ever again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wickedripeplum
I was wondering if people could post pictures of where people actually live in Atlanta, because clearly they don't live in those downtown skyscrapers?
Ya, I'll 2nd that and I'll try to find some typical residential street outside Boston. It's weird, I always thought greater boston got rural really fast (i.e. Lincoln, Weston) but I guess it's relative. Is suburban atlanta rural like that? I didn't think so but I can't even think of what it'd be like.
haha okay, good. Not to be a jerk but I really can't take Atlanta seriously ever again.
Ya, I'll 2nd that and I'll try to find some typical residential street outside Boston. It's weird, I always thought greater boston got rural really fast (i.e. Lincoln, Weston) but I guess it's relative. Is suburban atlanta rural like that? I didn't think so but I can't even think of what it'd be like.
Rural like what? You have to travel about 45 miles outside of downtown to find rural areas. Atlanta has a thick canopy on the northwest side of the city (where many skyline photos are taken from; highest elevation). It's the area with the "leafy mansions".
haha okay, good. Not to be a jerk but I really can't take Atlanta seriously ever again.
Ya, I'll 2nd that and I'll try to find some typical residential street outside Boston. It's weird, I always thought greater boston got rural really fast (i.e. Lincoln, Weston) but I guess it's relative. Is suburban atlanta rural like that? I didn't think so but I can't even think of what it'd be like.
More and more I'm realizing how relative it is. I spent most of my youth referring to anything outside of 128 as "way out west". As far as I was concerned Lincoln was in f***ing thunderdome, but for the purpose of most discussions here Lincoln is an urbanized area. I thought I lived in a lowish density suburb, but actually lived in a place that has about the same population density as LA.
I don't think density determines how big a city feels...I mean, Portland may be denser than LA, but I wouldn't say that it feels bigger. (Just an example).
How large a city "feels" is a combination of many components: metro population, how many people commute into the city for work, how much is going on in the city after hours, how many skyscrapers there are, how frequently people travel there for business, how much traffic there is, and, yes, density.
Well, in my opinion, anyway.
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