Why do American cities look so alike? (development, area, buildings)
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The overriding concern was to get as much living space as possible on a lot. The dumbbell model allowed just enough air to be legal. The lots are 25 x 100 (and intended originally for single-family homes!), which doesn't allow a lot of space for a courtyard.
The lot size is a poor choice for a city of apartment buildings; but if the original intent was single family homes (rowhomes, most likely) that makes sense. The other difference, as I said, was NYC at the time was growing at a very fast and concentrated in a small space.
The densest of European cities don't have much open space between apartment buildings, either. Paris:
The Cartesian coordinate system was used by early surveyors which used a theodolite with a compass in it to indicate where magnetic north was,
Urban sprawl became vertical integration as space became scarce and that's the story behind skyscrapers.
100 years from now ranch houses will become a rare word as more and more people move into condos with a view instead of house with a back yard and a patio.
whoa. Over-the-Rhine has one of the most drastic changes in building condition / looking like a "nice" neighborhood I've seen. Kinda sketchy looking, and a big abandoned building:
block and a half away. Over-the-Rhine looks like a big, somewhat denser version of an upstate NY city commercial street, maybe Troy?
OTR is being revitalized (I'm not sure gentrification is the correct term here, because I believe most buildings were already vacant) relatively quickly. (at least it's pretty fast by Ohio standards) In your 2nd streetview example, look at the history. You'll see that, less than 10 years ago, it looked very similar to your first example.
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike2050
Just a bunch of concrete sky scrapers in the city centre does not make a city for me. Great cities have their individual characteristics that develop over time. It's almost like all the cities use the same template.
Most of the large buildings that you see were built in the past 100 years. Those are all recent developments. Since character takes time, as you suggest, it may be better to wait another 100 or more years before passing judgement.
The Cartesian coordinate system was used by early surveyors which used a theodolite with a compass in it to indicate where magnetic north was,
Urban sprawl became vertical integration as space became scarce and that's the story behind skyscrapers.
100 years from now ranch houses will become a rare word as more and more people move into condos with a view instead of house with a back yard and a patio.
I don't see that really happening. There definitely will be a higher percentage of individuals living in more urban/dense locations, but I don't see the standard American surburban community disappearing in that time span.
I don't see that really happening. There definitely will be a higher percentage of individuals living in more urban/dense locations, but I don't see the standard American surburban community disappearing in that time span.
Maybe it will if people actually have to pay the true costs of them, because now, they're subsidized. Obviously not completely because there are suburbs in European cities too. But mostly.
In my opinion the cities in America are quite different from each other in appearance, for instance, Las Vegas situated in desert，while Miami is situated in seaside. and New York has tall buildings but Phoenix which is the 5th largest city in America doesn't have a single high rise.
By the way I think cities in Japan are looking very similar, such as Tokyo and Osaka, the street and building style are just like out from a single place, don't get me wrong, I like Japanese cities.
Ever been to western Europe? Those cities all look the same, too. A city square that is several US blocks each way, totally paved over with no greenery save for a tree or two growing through the bricks; a cathedral; stores, restaurants, yada, yada.
Oh yeah, sure.
Strolling along the Boulevard St. Germain in the Left Bank of Paris is just like Bloomsbury in London which is just like Nyhavn in Copenhagen, which is just like the Ringstrasse of Vienna.
I tell you the architecture is the same! All of those cities have at least one church in the Gothic style! All of those cities have a statue in a public square somewhere.
Strolling along the Boulevard St. Germain in the Left Bank of Paris is just like Bloomsbury in London which is just like Nyhavn in Copenhagen, which is just like the Ringstrasse of Vienna.
I tell you the architecture is the same! All of those cities have at least one church in the Gothic style! All of those cities have a statue in a public square somewhere.
Oy vey.
Makes as much sense as the OP. I mean, Denver with its mountain backdrop, the gold dome of the Colorado state capitol building looks just like Omaha with its riverscape, looks just like Pittsburgh with its "point" at the confluence of the two rivers coming together to form a third and its inclined railways going up the hills, etc.
They're all the same general style but different individually.
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