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Irvine would be dense for an average outer Australian suburb too. Those apartments are kinda reminiscent of the newer midrise developments in for example, Penrith on the outer western fringe:
Not too much a fan of the architecture though. White blocks, everywhere.
Houses with shared driveways, you see a fair few of those around Sydney too (like the one I posted before), except not in such a concentration as in your example. They're usually spread out individually, mixed in with all the detached houses.
How much of LA is built like Irvine? Are there any other examples of dense LA suburbs?
Most inner LA suburbs are denser than Irvine. Santa Ana, Long Beach, Lakewood, and Santa Monica come to mind. Santa Ana has a whopping 5,000 people/square mile--and it has 330,000 residents!
Of course, you do have some hillside mansions in the outer suburbs with much lower density, but I'm sure Sydney has that, too.
But once again, suburbs in LA and SF are denser than they are in the rest of the U.S.
When it comes to architecture--why don't you like Irvine?
Here's some typical Irvine new home architecture. It's got that Spanish and Italian style. Look at all those olive trees and cypress trees! Notice that just like in Australia, every house has fences/stone walls.
Of course new home architecture is going to be staid and cookie-cutter, but at least Irvine has that Mediterranean theme going for it. After all, California has a Mediterranean climate. Not sure what theme the Sydney new homes have.
Irvine is 45% Asian. Chinese are the largest Asian group, at 17%. We even have 85 degrees C, just like Australia. Irvine has several Asian-dominated strip malls. Here's a pic of one of them:
Irvine is a well-educated, upper-middle class area. But surprisingly, it's also quite liberal (Hilary beat Trump 2-1 in the elections).
Which brings me to a few questions:
1. Are there upper-middle class, well-educated, edge cities in the outer suburbs of Australia? Or do outer suburbs tend to be bedroom communities?
2. Do you have any planned cities in Australia that were built purposely for the university? Irvine was virtually uninhabited before architect William Pereira was hired to plan a city to support a new university campus, which opened in 1965.
3. Are there any left-leaning, minority dominated suburbs like Irvine in Australia?
Oops... what I meant was I don't like Sydney's newer suburban apartment architecture. There's a few exceptions here and there (particularly the taller and/or more prominent buildings), but the average new apartment block in Sydney is not much more than a generic white box filled with balconies and a dash of colour on a wall or two. Some suburbs are turning into a sea of white (like Rhodes for example). The pics you posted for Irvine before seems to vary a bit more in styles and colour.
Ethnic suburbs are everywhere particularly within Sydney and Melbourne. In Sydney, Lakemba has a large Lebanese and Pakistani population, Strathfield for Korean, Hurstville for Chinese, Cabramatta for Vietnamese, etc, whereas in Melbourne there's Box Hill for Chinese, Footscray for Vietnamese and African, etc. I'm not too sure if they have any political bias but very generally in Sydney, the wealthier eastern areas tend to lean to the right (obviously), whereas the western suburbs where most of the ethnic suburbs are, more towards the left.
In Australia the more expensive suburbs (remember suburb = neighbourhood in Aus lingo) tend to be in the inner areas closer to the CBDs, and the further out you go the cheaper it gets. Some exceptions of course, such as the North west in outer Sydney which tends to be upper middle class and conservative. I understand that's not necessarily the case in some parts of America? (especially seeing that in some inner areas around the US there seems to be a lot of decay)
Not sure if there's any communities built just for a University, but Canberra would be Australia's most planned city, being built just to be the capital.
In Australia the more expensive suburbs (remember suburb = neighbourhood in Aus lingo) tend to be in the inner areas closer to the CBDs, and the further out you go the cheaper it gets. Some exceptions of course, such as the North west in outer Sydney which tends to be upper middle class and conservative. I understand that's not necessarily the case in some parts of America? (especially seeing that in some inner areas around the US there seems to be a lot of decay)
Not sure if there's any communities built just for a University, but Canberra would be Australia's most planned city, being built just to be the capital.
Interesting. Are there any wealthy ethnic suburbs in Australia? While there are lower-income Chinese ethnic suburbs in Los Angeles such as Monterey Park, Alhambra, etc. there's also plenty of wealthy suburban Chinese communities, like Arcadia, San Marino, Fremont, and Irvine. After all, Chinese (and other Asian) Americans have an educational attainment and household income higher than Whites, even.
Yes, I'd say that in the LA area, the inner city is blighted. Some of the inner suburbs are, too, like Compton. But predictably, anywhere by the coast is upscale--even if they're inner suburbs. Many outer suburbs are wealthy, such as Irvine, Newport Beach, Chino Hills. But then you have other outer suburbs--San Bernardino, for example--that are infamous for crime and blight. These outer suburbs are where people live when they're priced out of closer in suburbs. They often have to commute 90 minutes or more, one way, to LA to work.
I'd like a few more Canadians to chime in on the state of their suburbs. I'd suspect that a lot of wealth tends to be in the outer suburbs, too. In particular, I've always thought that Markham, Ontario is very similar to Irvine. Both are heavily Chinese, master-planned, affluent, high-tech edge cities.
Interesting. Are there any wealthy ethnic suburbs in Australia? While there are lower-income Chinese ethnic suburbs in Los Angeles such as Monterey Park, Alhambra, etc. there's also plenty of wealthy suburban Chinese communities, like Arcadia, San Marino, Fremont, and Irvine. After all, Chinese (and other Asian) Americans have an educational attainment and household income higher than Whites, even.
Chatswood's a wealthy Asian area. I'd say most ethnic areas in Sydney are solidly middle class and not lower income. Areas in the inner west like Strathfield, Burwood and Ashfield which are heavily Asian are starting to become pretty pricey (as is the case in pretty much all of Sydney though).
When it comes to east and west in Sydney, the CBD/inner city is skewed heavily towards the east so most of the city is west of the CBD, hence the "west". It's only that the wealthiest, 'elite' (if I may) areas tend to be situated around the harbour and beaches in the east, which is in reality maybe 15-20% of the city.
It's been interesting looking up LA. I've never paid as much attention to it as some other US cities, like neighbouring San Francisco but your posts kinda piqued my interest towards LA a bit.
Chatswood's a wealthy Asian area. I'd say most ethnic areas in Sydney are solidly middle class and not lower income. Areas in the inner west like Strathfield, Burwood and Ashfield which are heavily Asian are starting to become pretty pricey (as is the case in pretty much all of Sydney though).
When it comes to east and west in Sydney, the CBD/inner city is skewed heavily towards the east so most of the city is west of the CBD, hence the "west". It's only that the wealthiest, 'elite' (if I may) areas tend to be situated around the harbour and beaches in the east, which is in reality maybe 15-20% of the city.
It's been interesting looking up LA. I've never paid as much attention to it as some other US cities, like neighbouring San Francisco but your posts kinda piqued my interest towards LA a bit.
I just wondered if a new, master-planned community like Oran Park would be considered upper-middle class in Australia. Yeah, it's on the edge, and you said the edge is poorer, but it looks pretty nice to me: https://www.google.com/maps/@-34.004...7i13312!8i6656
I notice the low speed limit: 60 km/hr. In Irvine, many major arterial surface streets are six lanes wide and have 80-90 km/hr speed limits. Four lane roads might have 70 km/hr speed limits.
I'm sure Chattswood and Parramatta would be edge cities. Are there any outer suburbs that are also edge cities, like Irvine?
A couple more google maps street view pics of Irvine:
http://google.com/maps/@33.6894908,-...7i13312!8i6656
This is an older strip mall in Irvine. It is mostly Chinese and Korean restaurants/businesses. Chinese and Koreans are the two largest Asian groups in Irvine, at 17% and 9% of the population, respectively (only counting full-blooded Chinese or full-blooded Koreans). While San Francisco has an enormous Cantonese-speaking population, the Chinese population in Irvine is overwhelmingly Mandarin-speaking, with the largest group of Chinese being from Taiwan. (Have you ever eaten at 85 degrees C, the bakery from Taiwan? I know Australia has them. The first U.S. location is in Irvine.)
http://google.com/maps/@33.7341398,-...7i13312!8i6656
This is a newer strip mall in Irvine. It's mostly white businesses (although Asian businesses have crept in, too). Notice that heavy Italian/Spanish theme, many cypress trees.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.6505...7i10240!8i5120
Here is the largest mall in Irvine, with a whopping 150+ stores. It's an open-air mall. Notice the Moroccan architecture--it is in fact based off of The Alhambra, the Moorish palace built in Grenada, Spain.
Irvine is an edge city, with three times as many jobs as housing units. These are high-paying jobs, mostly in tech, finance, and pharmaceuticals/biomedical services. Western Digital (hard drive manufacturer), Broadcom semiconductors, Taco Bell, and Blizzard (game studio behind Warcraft and Starcraft) are all headquartered in Irvine. KIA (South Korean auto company) has its North American headquarters in Irvine.
Not only was Irvine built and planned just for the university, it is one of very few cities in America whose land is entirely owned by one real estate company: the Irvine Company.
Irvine's Asian (especially Chinese) population has been growing rapidly. In 2016, Irvine became the largest American city, other than Honolulu, with an Asian plurality, at 45% of the population (this figure includes only full-blooded Asians). Irvine's university and exceptionally ranked K-12 education have attracted Mainland Chinese investors and students in hordes. That's why Irvine real estate is up to 20% more expensive than surrounding areas. A new home in Irvine costs $500 USD/square foot.
Even the "white" population in Irvine includes lots of Middle Easterners: Arabs, Israelis, Persians, and Turks.
If you're wondering how Irvine's climate is like, it's very similar to Perth. Summers are usually either cool and overcast or a dry heat, but once in a while it actually gets hot and humid (32-35C temps with dew points of 21C + more) because some hurricanes from Mexico push moisture up north.
Interesting. Are there any wealthy ethnic suburbs in Australia?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ciTydude123
Chatswood's a wealthy Asian area. I'd say most ethnic areas in Sydney are solidly middle class and not lower income. Areas in the inner west like Strathfield, Burwood and Ashfield which are heavily Asian are starting to become pretty pricey (as is the case in pretty much all of Sydney though).
Strathfield, in Sydney's inner-west, has been a relatively upper middle class ethnic enclave for a while, for wealthy Indian/Asian immigrant families.
Yep, that's Australia for you! Not only that but there's speed cameras everywhere and cops will book you in for doing a few K's over the limit. We recently had mobile phone detection cameras introduced where if you're spotted holding a phone while driving you get demerit points and a hefty fine. I've heard a lot of Americans coming here talking about how strict the speed rules are. Well...it's "safety", they say...
I'd say Oran Park and the majority of outer suburbs are still fairly middle class. Afaik there isn't nearly as much of a wealth gap in Australia as in the US. Claymore in the outer south west is Sydney's most struggling area. A large part of the suburb is public housing and last time I heard, a third of the residents are on the dole (unemployment benefits): https://www.google.com/maps/@-34.044...7i13312!8i6656
Outside of the CBD and North Sydney, the largest employment centres in Sydney include Macquarie Park, Parramatta, St Leonards, Chatswood, Liverpool and several others. The CBD is still by far the biggest office hub but there's recently been a push to further decentralise the city. A few major government sector jobs and banks have recently relocated/are relocating to Parramatta for example. Still, as it is Sydney is Australia's most decentralised city.
One interesting thing is there doesn't seem to be much in the way of themed shopping malls in Sydney's suburbs. Town centres like the ones I posted above there's plenty, but the largest themed mall I can think of would be the Chinese themed Mandarin Centre, in Chatswood (best pic there is on google images lol): https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/me...food-court.jpg
But even that's overshadowed by the much larger but more mainstream Westfield Chatswood and Chatswood Chase nearby. Westfield Chatswood has this section styled in the theme of an Asian hawkers market, but then it's only a little section: https://tul.imgix.net/content/genera...h=630&fit=crop
As for 85C? Yep I've eaten there plenty of times, including a few birthday cakes. They make good cakes!
Sydney, Brisbane, and other Australian cities actually look quite like Singapore in terms of architecture, infrastructure, and just the overall cleanliness. It seems like Singapore is simply a more high-rise, tropical, Chinese-dominated version of Australian cities, when it comes to layout/architecture.
Look at these views of Singapore. They look very Australian to me, apart from the tropical vegetation and Chinese signage. They could pass for some high-rise portions of Sydney like Parrammatta.
Torontos suburbs are a mix. You have some afluent areas but you also have crappy areas like Scarborough and the Jane a finch areas that are obsessed with American gang/ gun culture. Toronto itself feels like one big giant suburb. Outside of old Toronto the city is just miles and miles of bland urban sprawl.
Someone asked for some examples of suburban Canada. So here we go.
The post-war suburbs in Canada are often filled with Levittown-style bungalows. In many cases there are within the city proper in what at time was perhaps the urban fringe. These types of streetscapes are found in almost all Canadian cities:
Then towards the end of the 60s and into the 70s, affluence started to increase and houses became more expansive. This is kind of the "Brady Bunch" house style. You find this all over Canada as well. https://www.google.com/maps/@45.3879...7i13312!8i6656
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