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Believe what you want but I won't argue with you. Because of what I do I have been priviledged to travel extensively. The only states of the US I have not visited are Alaska, N. and S. Dakota, Montana and Idaho. That's it. Every other State (45) I took time the time to investigate the downtowns of their major cities and many of the not so major ones. The only significant sized cities I have not visted out of the 45 States I have visited are Toledo, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, and Lexington, Ky. I have also traveled to 15 other countries.
Duluth's downtown is decent. It's getting a lot better. With the revamped Electric Fetus (music store), Pizza Luce, and the Sheraton, it's starting to get classier. It's the main hub of all the busses in town, where I believe close to all of them connect. Just a short walk away from downtown, down Lake Avenue, you have the Canal Park area which is just gorgeous in the summer time. Really, Canal Park is where it's at for the summertime.
Next biggest city is Minneapolis, 2 hours south. And I freaking love Minneapolis. Its also cool, from a distance (I believe on 35, or 94, I can't remember), you can see the skylines of Minneapolis and St. Paul. It's just a cool experience.
Though I bash my state's weather, I defend its awesomeness.
The Caldwells in NJ would get a 4 out of 10. Terribly disruptive (low flying) and constant air traffic, hicks riding dirtbikes on the streets haphazardly, and trees being chopped down daily. Their town center is abysmal, and there no standardization among facades in the downtown areas. This area will be the next Newark within 10 years. Darn shame it's gone downhill so quickly...
If NYC, Chicago, San Fran are a 10 and DC/Philly/Boston are 9, I'd give Kansas City's downtown a 7. Better than say Dallas, Atlanta or Houston in terms of livability, which I'd give a 5-6 and below Denver and Minneapolis, which I'd give an 8. There's been over $5 billion in development in last decade, a large number of lofts created, dozens of old buildings converted to cool lofts. There are 3 warehouse districts - one district farmers/asian/world markets, another has 60+ art galleries (one of largest in country) and the W Bottoms is like Dumbo in Brooklyn but not as redeveloped. Crown Center has a lot of family friendly activities.
The downtown loop has a lot of tourist additions like the new arena and Power & Light distict, which frankly is corporate entertainment but many cities would kill to have it and it balances out the other variety in DT KC - gives something for convention people to do.
The end result it is no longer a dead downtown and has signs of streetlife after hours and is very active when there are events going on - like arena, conventions, theatres. It's not on par with the largest cities, but it well deserves a 7 that will become an 8 as more people move down there. Condos were overbuilt but they can't build rentals fast enough. The infrastructure is there now to be a livable downtown, including a nice grocery store in middle.
Nashville (I'm grading to other cities its size) - 6.9
Architecture - 7
There are a number of beautiful historic buildings and blocks that have been preserved, including a number of beautiful churches, as well as newer buildings such as the symphony hall, main branch library, justice center, and modern examples such as the Pinnacle office tower. Still, a number of less attractive examples of 60s-80s architecture bring the score down, notably the current convention center. The skyscrapers are mostly modern, and some have their appeal, while others are uninspiring.
Nightlife/Streetlife - 9
While most of the bars and clubs are concentrated in 2 areas, downtown is usually a lively place at night. There is not much residential traffic at this time (see below), but Nashville is definitely not a city that shuts down after dark. The Honky Tonks, bars, and other music clubs are fairly concentrated, so tourists and locals alike can drift from place to place, contributing to the overall feel of the nightlife and streetlife.
Downtown living options - 4
At this time, there are fewer downtown living options in Nashville than there are in many other major cities. However, I can see this score rising a bit as the economy recovers. A number of new downtown apartments and condos have opened in the past decade, making it one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in the city (the population doubled, but still remains pretty low at around 6,000 in the downtown area). Many historic buildings have also had their upper floors converted to condos or lofts.
Sidewalks/pedestrian friendliness - 8
Nashville has decently wide sidewalks, especially in the entertainment and touristy areas...but all of the streets have sidewalks, so "walkability" is not a factor at all. Crosswalks are well marked, and the signals give an appropriate amount of time to cross. However, a few things could be done to make downtown more pedestrian friendly. I would like to see raised crosswalks (even with the sidewalks, forcing traffic to slow down as they cross them) on the major roads to enhance pedestrian safety. I would also love to see a district similar to Knoxville's Market Square, where there is no car traffic at all, making it possible to walk from restaurants and stores without having to cross a street.
Public transit - 7
Downtown is one of the few areas of Nashville where public transportation is relatively easy. All bus routes terminate downtown, so there are a lot of buses there, and there is even a new route (the Music City Circuit) that is free to passengers, and allows quick travel around downtown. There is still room for improvement, but this is one area where public transportation is not really an issue.
Density - 5.5
Downtown Nashville used to be fairly dense in the 1940s and 50s, before the urban renewal projects of subsequent years tore down a good amount of the "urban fabric" that was run down or dilapidated at the time. While downtown isn't exactly "spread out", a number of surface parking lots exist in the area, so there is still plenty of room to build up. Luckily, these lots have been the main targets of development recently. Hopefully the renewed interest in downtown will continue to build up the city's core.
Street level - 7
The street level in the nightlife/entertainment district is pretty good, but overall there are a number of areas with plain office entrances, and not as attractive to the street level (Commerce St and Union St come to mind). As a whole, the city should look at the revitalization of the Church St corridor as a template for how the street level should look as a whole, downtown.
Shopping/retail - 3
At this point in time, there are only a small number of places to shop downtown. When the downtown revitalization started in the late 1980s, a small mall opened up (Church Street Center) to try to revitalize downtown shopping (which thrived in the 40s-60s). Ultimately, it was before its time and failed. There are a number of small shops today, but downtown is certainly not a shopping "destination." Lower Broad has a number of touristy shops, and the area around 4th, 5th and Church, anchored by The Arcade, are the two small shopping areas. This may rebound somewhat if downtown continues to add more residents. Until then, the primary shopping areas will remain in the suburban areas.
Entertainment options - 10
Obviously the music venues drive the entertainment options, but there are also a number of museums and sports venues, too. From the Honky Tonks and hockey/basketball arena downtown, to the Frist and Tennessee State museums, to the symphony hall, to the public events on the riverfront, courthouse square, and legislative plaza, to the NFL stadium just across the river, downtown is definitely the dominant focal point for entertainment in the city. Entertainment is what makes downtown a vital part of the city today. Sure, there are state offices and businesses downtown, but the lifeblood runs through the entertainment industry.
Setting - 8.5
Downtown is located on a bluff overlooking the Cumberland River. Most of the area is built up on hilly ground (with most of the outlying area being somewhat lower). The state capital building sits atop the highest downtown hill, with a prominent view of the north side of town. The riverfront area is relatively small at this point, but there are major plans in the works to develop both sides of the waterfront into a park, which are connected by the Shelby Street pedestrian bridge to downtown.
I don't have enough images of my own to add to this discussion...but maybe I can take a weekend to get some shots in to better illustrate my points.
In the meantime, check out this link for some wonderful pictures of downtown Nashville.
Architecture -Not much to brag about here, some French architecture, the SHAW Center for the Arts is a fantastic modern building, the art deco state capital, old state capital and the older Spanish Town and Beauregard Town homes are beautiful.
Nightlife/Streetlife -It's getting better on 3rd street, some new renovations, clubs, bars, and the like. Doesn't compare to Lafayette, let alone New Orleans.
Downtown living options- Getting better also, not a huge demand but apartments are going up downtown and people are moving there.
Sidewalks/pedestrian friendliness - Is very good because downtown isn't very busy at most times, it gets bad once you reach River Rd north of Convention St. Also south of Government St into Beauregard Town isn't as friendly for pedestrians.
Public transit -Haha
Density -From street level it is decent.
Street level -I actually like some of the streetscapes in downtown BR, mix of old and new, abandon and renovated.
Shopping/retail -Haha
Entertainment options-Large riverboat casino, 4 or 5 museums, 2 BEAUTIFUL state capitals to tour, the USS Kidd battleship, the river, another casino on the south of downtown, etc.
Setting-Decent because it's set along the mighty Mississippi, other than that, blah.
Is actually very nice and modern with alot of great shopping, restaurants, cultural events, buildings
Architecture-8,
most of the buildings are beautiful works of art from a great era in American culture 1900-1940, but there is also very modern designs with great flow.
Nightlife-2,
there is a few "clubs" but for the most part the town roles up around 10:00PM which is the way I like it!
Streetlife-6,
alot of cultural events, sidewalk vendors, street artists, outside dinning options
shopping-9,
you may not know it but the Chrarleston Town Center was once the largest downtown mall in the US, also there is the village district, and other unique shopping experiences like the Capital Market
Restaurants-8,
some really good places to eat, both nice and casual, this area is home to some good hometown eateries!
Downtown Living-4,
not alot of options, some condos, upper level rentals, not really any high class units
Attractions-10,
Charleston Town Center, Civic Center, Clay Center for Arts and Sciences, Capital Complex, Cultural Center, Power pro baseball,ect...
skyline-5,
there are some beautiful high rises, but not alot of growth in this department, the view of the skyline is very nice though
landscaping-10!!!,
sorry but its hard to bet Chrleston in urban parks, trees, mountains, green spaces, urban art!!! If you don't believe me you have to come see for yourself!!!
Overall Charleston's Downtown is between 7-8
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