Quote:
Originally Posted by tpk-nyc
However, having a tall building or two doesn't make a city. Cities are also about density of housing, amenities. Suburban towers are usually built because of proximity to a freeway. A few eventually become cities. Two that spring to mind are Bellevue, WA and Stamford, CT.
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Stamford was always a city, albeit a small one. It was similar to Norwalk to its northeast, with a largely suburban/rural hinterland, and an urban core. Actually, up until 1947 the City and Town of Stamford weren't consolidated, meaning there was a small City downtown which was nestled within the town (a unique system to Connecticut and Vermont, I think - Groton is the only City which hasn't consolidated within the town).
Regardless, Stamford had a huge construction boom in the 1960s and 1970s - when NYC was looking rough. Many Manhattan offices moved north at that time. But during the same period, downtown had heavy urban renewal, which demolished most of the historic core. You can see remnants though, everything from two-story retail buildings to historic midrises, scattered through downtown.