Are there any US cities similar to NYC in the ?

[lucky_luciano]

It seems to me that NY is the only city in the US where you get an "urban" feel throughout almost the whole city.
In this case i'm talking about architecture and infrastructure.
When i see people claim they live in an "urban environment" in L.A. or Miami and so on, their environment seems to be residential or more suburban-ish.
Whereas in NY this is almost never the case.
A lot of American cities tend to be more suburban looking than European cities i guess.
Correct me if i'm wrong.
Again, i'm not talkin' about the vibrance or anything.

I've only been to New York so i don't know for sure but this is the impression i get...

[tpe]

Are you talking about all the 5 boroughs? Large swaths are not exactly that urban -- but who cares? It is good to have a city that is varied.

Originally Posted by lucky_luciano

It seems to me that NY is the only city in the US where you get an "urban" feel throughout almost the whole city.
In this case i'm talking about architecture and infrastructure.
When i see people claim they live in an "urban environment" in L.A. or Miami and so on, their environment seems to be residential or more suburban-ish.
Whereas in NY this is almost never the case.
A lot of American cities tend to be more suburban looking than European cities i guess.
Correct me if i'm wrong.
Again, i'm not talkin' about the vibrance or anything.

I've only been to New York so i don't know for sure but this is the impression i get...

[aaabbbccc]

Chicagoland ??

[lucky_luciano]

Originally Posted by tpe

Are you talking about all the 5 boroughs? Large swaths are not exactly that urban -- but who cares? It is good to have a city that is varied.

Well, more like the Bronx and Brooklyn actually.
It's nice to have variety in a city, indeed. But i like streets that are full of townhouses and appartment buildings.
I don't see that too often in other US cities.

[tpe]

Originally Posted by lucky_luciano

Well, more like the Bronx and Brooklyn actually.
It's nice to have variety in a city, indeed. But i like streets that are full of townhouses and appartment buildings.
I don't see that too often in other US cities.

Don't forget that Staten Island is still NYC. Not exactly urban in parts, but a nice break from the rest of the City.

What do you think of the far northern part of Manhattan?

[lucky_luciano]

Originally Posted by tpe

Don't forget that Staten Island is still NYC. Not exactly urban in parts, but a nice break from the rest of the City.

What do you think of the far northern part of Manhattan?

Harlem?
Has a good urban feel.

[Northsider]

Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago...if you count Canada, Toronto is certainly similar to NYC in many ways.

Personally, I feel Chicago comes closest: large number of highrises, large amount of apartment complexes, many 2-3 flats, high density... Have a look at this thread: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=861334

also, page through this thread, it has many Chicago neighborhood shots: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...=523661&page=7

Whereas in NY this is almost never the case.

Large swaths of Queens, some of Bronx, and certainly Staten Island are much more "suburban" than Manhattan.

[tampasteve]

Parts of Baltimore and definitely Washington DC. Of course no other city in America is going to come close to NYC on shear size, so while most other cities have a urban core, NYC is just larger overall. So, parts of Atlanta, San Diego, Seattle, etc. could also be included.

Steve

[Northsider]

Originally Posted by tampasteve

Parts of Baltimore and definitely Washington DC. Of course no other city in America is going to come close to NYC on shear size, so while most other cities have a urban core, NYC is just larger overall. So, parts of Atlanta, San Diego, Seattle, etc. could also be included.

Steve

ATL, SD, and Seattle definitely are nothing like NYC, and have a distint suburban character to them. I'd include Baltimore and DC on the list, but definitely not the ones listed after that.

[tampasteve]

Originally Posted by Northsider

ATL, SD, and Seattle definitely are nothing like NYC, and have a distint suburban character to them. I'd include Baltimore and DC on the list, but definitely not the ones listed after that.

I said some parts, not the whole city. Those cities absolutely have a urban core with similarities to NYC, just MUCH smaller. Again though, no city in the USA can compare to NYC in terms of the size of the urban core, or density - with the exception of Chicago, and maybe San Francisco. I think may people would also be surprised how "suburban" Chicago can feel outside of the Loop and about a mile from the lake, just as parts of NYC can feel that way. It is not a competition, just an observation.

Steve

[diablo234]

I would say either Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, San Francisco, or Chicago.

Seattle, Portland, Denver, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Providence also have a few areas that are relatively urban on a lesser scale.

[Northsider]

I think may people would also be surprised how "suburban" Chicago can feel outside of the Loop and about a mile from the lake, just as parts of NYC can feel that way. It is not a competition, just an observation.

Completely true. Just as Queens has LARGE areas that are very "suburbanish", so does Chicago once you get 1-2 miles from the Lake/Downtown. I found this picture a while ago, and really speaks to how massive and dense NYC really is:
image hosted on flickr


Overlay this map with any other city and the disparity becomes even more apparent. Thus, Chicago is as close to NYC as you'll get in the states in terms of size, height, and urbanity.

[lucky_luciano]

Originally Posted by Northsider

Completely true. Just as Queens has LARGE areas that are very "suburbanish", so does Chicago once you get 1-2 miles from the Lake/Downtown. I found this picture a while ago, and really speaks to how massive and dense NYC really is:
image hosted on flickr


Overlay this map with any other city and the disparity becomes even more apparent. Thus, Chicago is as close to NYC as you'll get in the states in terms of size, height, and urbanity.

Do people who live right outside the urban core,
think they're living in an urban environment?

[Northsider]

Originally Posted by lucky_luciano

Do people who live right outside the urban core,
think they're living in an urban environment?

Well, it's not farmland...

To answer your question, yes. Most, if not all people in Chicago would think they live in an urban environment, and rightly so.

[lucky_luciano]

Originally Posted by Northsider

Well, it's not farmland...

To answer your question, yes. Most, if not all people in Chicago would think they live in an urban environment, and rightly so.

I'm not saying it's farmland.
But just by the look of it, there are a lot of streets i wouldn't call very urban.

[Northsider]

Originally Posted by lucky_luciano

I'm not saying it's farmland.
But just by the look of it, there are a lot of streets i wouldn't call very urban.

Like, such as...?

I think you need to define "urban". I'm not offended or anything that you don't think Chicago is urban like NYC, I'm just curious what you are basing it off of. Is the whole city a bunch of skyscrapers? No. Neither is NYC.

[tpe]

Originally Posted by lucky_luciano

Harlem?
Has a good urban feel.

Harlem is NOT far north Manhattan.

Harlem is certainly urban in feel...

[tampasteve]

Originally Posted by Northsider

Completely true. Just as Queens has LARGE areas that are very "suburbanish", so does Chicago once you get 1-2 miles from the Lake/Downtown. I found this picture a while ago, and really speaks to how massive and dense NYC really is:
image hosted on flickr


Overlay this map with any other city and the disparity becomes even more apparent. Thus, Chicago is as close to NYC as you'll get in the states in terms of size, height, and urbanity.

Cool map and great points.

BTW, I love Chicago (was there for the Marathon).

Steve

[ChitownCity]

Originally Posted by lucky_luciano

I'm not saying it's farmland.
But just by the look of it, there are a lot of streets i wouldn't call very urban.

If you're referring to the fact that a lot of 2-3 flats have small front yards (pending on the neighborhood) then sure. but that's a problem with our zoning code. other than that there's still the L train, alleys, cta, and well built avenues (pending on neighborhood) so even though weakest neighborhoods still have good urban qualities ...

[Northsider]

Originally Posted by ChitownCity

If you're referring to the fact that a lot of 2-3 flats have small front yards (pending on the neighborhood) then sure. but that's a problem with our zoning code. other than that there's still the L train, alleys, cta, and well built avenues (pending on neighborhood) so even though weakest neighborhoods still have good urban qualities ...

This is why I'm confused. I don't know what he means by "urban"...really, Chicago is pretty damn urban and very similar to NYC's cityscape, especially in the outer boroughs.