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So both of these cities are polycentric, with Berlin having no single central area and instead having multiple centers in Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg, etc., and Sydney having many active suburban nodes centered around suburban rail stations...which do you feel is more vibrant in terms of how busy the streets are over a large area and how unlikely it is to have to wander an empty street?
I'm well aware that Berlin has far more transit infrastructure and as a result, Sydney's trains may feel a bit more crowded during rush hours (simply due to Sydney not having sufficient transit infrastructure)...but I'm talking about how busy the streets are during the day/night around the business districts and generally all over the inner portions of each city
Thanks for the input guys. I've visited Berlin (like 15 years ago and was too young to remember the visit ), but haven't visited Sydney...I've heard some describe Berlin's streets as feeling "empty" and others say that the city is really vibrant. How does inner Berlin compare in terms of how busy/vibrant it is to other major European cities?
I haven't been to Sydney but Berlin really isn't that 'bustling'. It's very decentralized and people are not really concentrated in any one area. I would imagine that Sydney, which seems more typical of a new world city would have to take this, at least the downtown area.
Based on the stuff I've read, when comparing world metro areas, Berlin seems to have the infrastructure of a much larger city and metropolitan area, while Sydney's infrastructure (both transit and otherwise) isn't quite adequate for its size (though clearly far better than most comparably-sized North American cities), so perhaps there's more of a "crush" felt in Sydney.
Also, based on looking at street-view, Sydney seems to have many small, vibrant pedestrian-friendly nodes with substantial structural density connected by pedestrian in-hospital nodes- so, if you're standing in or walking around one of these nodes, Sydney could definitely seem more bustling and vibrant. Berlin, on the other hand, seems to have a less-compressed feel, so in any given node may feel less vibrant/bustling than the more bustling Sydney nodes, but there's better interconnectivity between the nodes and on average more street activity over a large area.
Based on the stuff I've read, when comparing world metro areas, Berlin seems to have the infrastructure of a much larger city and metropolitan area, while Sydney's infrastructure (both transit and otherwise) isn't quite adequate for its size (though clearly far better than most comparably-sized North American cities), so perhaps there's more of a "crush" felt in Sydney.
Also, based on looking at street-view, Sydney seems to have many small, vibrant pedestrian-friendly nodes with substantial structural density connected by pedestrian in-hospital nodes- so, if you're standing in or walking around one of these nodes, Sydney could definitely seem more bustling and vibrant. Berlin, on the other hand, seems to have a less-compressed feel, so in any given node may feel less vibrant/bustling than the more bustling Sydney nodes, but there's better interconnectivity between the nodes and on average more street activity over a large area.
What do you guys think?
I think you have to be very careful when drawing conclusions on how 'bustling' and vibrant a city is by looking at Google Street view - particularly when it comes to pedestrian vibrancy. In some cases with some very busy cities they actually record the streets very early in the morning or at off peak times because they are too busy to film properly otherwise.
The best way to determine which city is more bustling and vibrant with any meaningful conclusion is to actually spend time in the cities you are comparing - until then its largely speculation and opinion that is incomplete and inaccurate.
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