Chicago and New York

[HomrQT]

Thought this was pretty cool. Neat little comparison although not as in depth as it could possibly get.



From http://www.citypass.com/blog/chicago...ats-difference

[Ichiban]

Wow nine guys for every ten girls...much better to be single in NYC

[Reinsdorf Sucks]

That was interesting, thanks. Chicago rules. ( New York drools ).

[skyduster]

Very nice, but I must give feedback:

Pizza
Totally agree, much better in Chicago, but NYC is good too. Unfortunately, many people outside Chicago equate "Chicago pizza" with deep dish. They don't understand that there's different kinds of Chicago pizza, and that most Chicagoans eat thin crust. To be fair to NYC, this "poll" may have been based on tourists trying non-authentic pizza in Manhattan eateries advertising "New York style pizza". But again, I prefer Chicago's thin crispy crust from local, non-chain pizzerias.

Demographics
"Hispanic" is not mutually exclusive to "White" and "Black" (especially in NYC). And the Hispanic nationalities represented in Chicago are very different from the ones in NYC, with the exception of Puerto Ricans who have large communities in both metros. Let alone growing numbers of people in both metros that have both Hispanic and non-Hispanic ancestry. "Hispanic" is a linguistic designation; an American-born and raised person that's, maybe, a quarter Hispanic, but speaks no Spanish, may not consider himself "Hispanic". This is why these types of measures are always problematic, and I prefer to avoid them. Why can't we just be "Chicagoans" and "New Yorkers"?

The fact the this measure only looks at the cities proper, and not the whole metros, is also problematic.

Cabs
Despite metro NYC being twice as big, and NYC proper being 3 times as big, Chicago has more than half as many as NYC. That's pretty impressive for Chicago, and kind of surprising.

Tourists
Ditto. I didn't know Chicago received that many visitors, almost three quarters as much as NYC, which again is very impressive for Chicago. Yes, Chi is a global city, but I didn't think we were that touristy. I'm curious, however, how these statistics were compiled. If hotel stays outside the cities proper were excluded, then both cities are being undercounted.

Presidential
Just because Reagan and Lincoln were from Illinois, that makes them Chicagoans? That's silly. We need to drop the state-city affiliation. Northeast Jersey is more "NYC" than Buffalo is. Likewise, NW Indiana is more "Chicago" than Decatur is.

Growth
This is an oversimplification of how the two cities grew. European and White-American (Midwestern, Northeastern) migration into Chicago had as much to do with the city's growth as the Great Migration of African-Americans from the South. NYC had already surpassed Philadelphia before large-scale European immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Southern African-American and rural White-American migrations were major factors of growth for NYC too.

[Mr Downtown]

Any article positing that Chicago grew "because former slaves migrated north" is too clueless to read.

[Northsider]

Originally Posted by skyduster

Pizza
Totally agree, much better in Chicago, but NYC is good too. Unfortunately, many people outside Chicago equate "Chicago pizza" with deep dish. They don't understand that there's different kinds of Chicago pizza

Spot on, buddy! Spot on. I like deep dish, but only occasionally. I love and grew up with the Chicago thin crust...which I must say (comparing apples to apples with NYC, pun intended) is much better.

Originally Posted by skyduster

The fact the this measure only looks at the cities proper, and not the whole metros, is also problematic.

Definitely problematic in Chicago considering the ethnic communities outside of the city limits (Mexicans, Japanese, etc). Same in NYC? I don't know...

Originally Posted by skyduster

Cabs
Despite metro NYC being twice as big, and NYC proper being 3 times as big, Chicago has more than half as many as NYC. That's pretty impressive for Chicago, and kind of surprising.

I saw this stat a while ago and I was surprised as well. To be fair, most cab activity is limited to Manhattan, and more specifically Midtown thru downtown...an area more comparable to Chicago.

[The Urban Politician]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Any article positing that Chicago grew "because former slaves migrated north" is too clueless to read.

^ Couldn't agree more. What stupidity

[siamu maharaj]

I have a hard time believing the # of cabs. You visibly see way more cabs in NY and it's about 3 times as big to boot.

[Northsider]

Originally Posted by siamu maharaj

I have a hard time believing the # of cabs. You visibly see way more cabs in NY and it's about 3 times as big to boot.

1. NYC cabs are all uniform and stand out with the bright yellow color. Chicago's are all different companies and colors

2. NYC cabs are generally more concentrated (it seems) than Chicago's. You really don't see many cabs in the outer boroughs.

3. Still, NYC has almost 6,000 more cabs than Chicago...that's huge!

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Any article positing that Chicago grew "because former slaves migrated north" is too clueless to read.

Yeah. This seems more like a graphic design exercise than a legitimate attempt at comparison (or even conveying any kind of information).

[meh_cd]

Originally Posted by Northsider

1. NYC cabs are all uniform and stand out with the bright yellow color. Chicago's are all different companies and colors

2. NYC cabs are generally more concentrated (it seems) than Chicago's. You really don't see many cabs in the outer boroughs.

3. Still, NYC has almost 6,000 more cabs than Chicago...that's huge!

I love the gigantic taxi stand next to LGA. I wonder how many cabs they have parked there at any given moment?

And why doesn't Chicago adopt a uniform taxi cab scheme? Make it something unique; but I can see the problem since there are several companies. To me, that is one of NYC's charms. Your brain immediately knows it's a taxi if you see that color in NYC.

[siamu maharaj]

I think another reason for the # of cabs is that, and I am only guessing, most NYC cabs tend to cater to just NYC, whereas in case of Chicago a bigger percentage caters to the suburbs too which might explain some of the discrepancy.

[tpe]

Originally Posted by siamu maharaj

I think another reason for the # of cabs is that, and I am only guessing, most NYC cabs tend to cater to just NYC, whereas in case of Chicago a bigger percentage caters to the suburbs too which might explain some of the discrepancy.

I don't think this is the case. You don't see any Chicago cabs doing the rounds in the suburbs. When needing a ride to, say, the airport, people from outside the city proper usually take one of the many limo services available for hire. And when people living in the suburbs return by late train from Chicago, there are usually a couple of suburban "cabs" waiting to take those without rides back to their homes.

I don't know what surprises people about the number of cabs in Chicago. When I lived there, I took it for granted that there were always plenty of cabs available -- except when it rained and then it was difficult to get one.

In many instances, I find hailing a cab in Chicago to be an easier task than hailing a cab in Manhattan -- especially when you hit that wretched hour when all the cabs in the island head over to Queens for the switch to the night shift.

[Northsider]

Originally Posted by meh_cd

And why doesn't Chicago adopt a uniform taxi cab scheme? Make it something unique; but I can see the problem since there are several companies. To me, that is one of NYC's charms. Your brain immediately knows it's a taxi if you see that color in NYC.

From a quick wiki, NYC taxis are ordered by statute to be all painted yellow to decrease likelihood of unofficial taxis taking passengers (adopted during late '60s violence era of NYC). Chicago has no such law and thus each private company has its own livery scheme.

I love the gigantic taxi stand next to LGA. I wonder how many cabs they have parked there at any given moment?

O'Hare has the same thing.

Chicago a bigger percentage caters to the suburbs too which might explain some of the discrepancy.

I'm not positive but I don't think so either. It costs a LOT more to take a Chicago taxi outside of city limits. There's suburban taxis for that.

[urbanlife78]

I am not sure I get what the issue with the cabs number is. I have been to both cities a number of times and that seems about right. Besides, in NYC most of the cabs hang around Manhattan and thin out when you get to the boroughs, which is a constant problem for people there.

If you take Manhattan and lay it over Chicago and it's northside, you get an idea of similarity of city size which is basically where most of the Chicago cabs are gonna be to help get people around.

For me, the biggest difference between the two cities when it comes to cabs is that in Manhattan it is best to take a cab when going across the island because there aren't really any subway lines that run that way. And with Chicago, you can get almost anywhere without needing a cab unless you are in Streeterville or some place like that where the rail is much farther away. Therefore in Chicago, taking a cab is more of a luxury than it is a means of transportation for me.

But both cities definitely have more than enough cabs....unless it is raining....which oddly enough is the same problem here in Portland.

[ParadiseLost]

Originally Posted by Northsider

1. NYC cabs are all uniform and stand out with the bright yellow color. Chicago's are all different companies and colors

2. NYC cabs are generally more concentrated (it seems) than Chicago's. You really don't see many cabs in the outer boroughs.

3. Still, NYC has almost 6,000 more cabs than Chicago...that's huge!

Maybe the fact that New York has a much more robust public transportation system also plays a part? But yeah when you see the sea of yellow cabs in Manhattan you'd expect the difference to be bigger.

[WI_1982]

Originally Posted by ParadiseLost

Maybe the fact that New York has a much more robust public transportation system also plays a part? But yeah when you see the sea of yellow cabs in Manhattan you'd expect the difference to be bigger.

I suspect that the relative difference in yellow cabs is quite enormous, and not properly indicated by the relative difference in yellow cab medallions.

NYC simply has a massive amount of cabs and car services relative to Chicago.

A cab medallion is simply the right to operate a single vehicle at a single point in time. It isn't a proxy for the number of cabs in existence.

One medallion could be as many as four or five such vehicles (say, three shifts M-F, and additional weekend shifts), assuming maximum usage of ownership rights. Or, alternatively, it could be zero vehicles, assuming the owner isn't currently utilizing his rights.

So, for example, City A with 10,000 medallians could actually have 40,000 cabs (assuming a high capacity scenario). Or City A could have 10,000 medallians and only 5,000 cabs (assuming a low capacity scenario).

Then there's the separate issue of car services. Most "for hire" vehicles in NYC aren't yellow cabs, but car services (most stereotypically the Lincoln Town Car fleets). Car services are at least as common as yellow cabs in Manhattan (if not more common) and car services absolutely dominate the Outer Boroughs.

Even though there's no way to really compare (because cities only care about the medallions, which is how they make their money and regulate the industry), I would assume that NYC has many, many times the number of "for hire" vehicles than in Chicago, simply because its much bigger, and because most New Yorkers don't own vehicles, and most Chicagoans do.