Are there any US cities similar to NYC in the ?

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by STLgasm

It's ridiculous to compare any American city to New York. Even Chicago is a very distant second in terms of density.

I thought this thread was about built density, not population density?

That is why I was posting photos of cities that could be considered to be similar to NYC in parts.

[The Urban Politician]

Originally Posted by lucky_luciano

This is from the city where i live so you can understand why i have a different perspective on "urban" architecture.
I like both styles but this is what i'm used to.

^ But most of New York, even, looks nothing like this

[The Urban Politician]

Originally Posted by lucky_luciano

I know, i was just trying to show what i'm used to and why i could relate more to NY than most other cities in the US.

^ Despite the fact that you just admitted that you've never been to another American city besides New York?

Not trying to give you a hard time, but I have to admit I don't understand what the point of this thread is.

[lucky_luciano]

Originally Posted by The Urban Politician

^ Despite the fact that you just admitted that you've never been to another American city besides New York?

Not trying to give you a hard time, but I have to admit I don't understand what the point of this thread is.

Yeah, but you can still get an impression from streetview, movies etc.

[VelesHomais]

Why don't you get back to us after paying a visit to, say, Philadelphia.

[Northsider]

Originally Posted by lucky_luciano

you can still get an impression from streetview, movies etc.

No. Whenever I travel I always go street view, satellite, search for photos, etc beforehand...they NEVER EVER portray a location as it is. At least for me. I'm always surprised by how different a place is than what I expected from those sources. (especially movies!)

[lucky_luciano]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

Why don't you get back to us after paying a visit to, say, Philadelphia.

Maybe i will.
I've checked Philadelphia out and it looks nice just as Boston, this was the point of the thread btw.

[The Urban Politician]

Originally Posted by lucky_luciano

Yeah, but you can still get an impression from streetview, movies etc.

Streetview is an absolutely horrible way to get an impression of a place. You never get a feeling of the scale or the energy.

And regarding movies? Come on, that's because the lazy ass film industry does all of their filming in NYC or LA anyhow, so it's the only 2 places in the US most foreigners will ever see.

[geoking66]

I'd argue DC comes close, while its suburbs (mainly Arlington) are actually more like NYC. The high restriction does some odd things, but it actually increases spread of development, so you have a large number of neighbourhoods and a very large built environment, mainly to get as much retail/residential/office in as possible. Looking at the plans for South Arlington, Crystal City will certainly complement the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor as a major urban centre.

[VelesHomais]

Philadelphia, residential street...

[desertpunk]

Union Square - San Francisco

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pbo31/

The Tenderloin District - San Francisco

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/catdirtsez/

Pioneer Square - Seattle

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/icantshoot/

LoDo - Denver

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ebatty/

Pioneer Square - Portland

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericrice/

[lucky_luciano]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

Philadelphia, residential street...

Love this..

[VelesHomais]

By the way, there are many times more people living in an entirely urban environment in the United States than in all of Belgium

[Northsider]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

By the way, there are many times more people living in an entirely urban environment in the United States than in all of Belgium

You are comparing a country with an area of 11k sq miles to the United States?

By the way, cities like Boston, SF, and Chicago all have population densities higher than that of Brussels.

[VelesHomais]

Only because a person from Antwerp started this thread

[lucky_luciano]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

Only because a person from Antwerp started this thread

What do you mean by that?
First of all, this thread totally deviated from my original question which has been answered already.
I asked for cities that have similar architectural style and building density.
I didn't mean to bash on other us cities for not being urban enough,
you guys seem to imply this.
I apologize for being a bit vague in this thread though.

[ChitownCity]

^I think I understood what you was asking for (I hope I was the one who answered your question ). Basically what cities have a strongly built urban environment outside of the Central Business District/Downtown like how NYC stays urban throughout the vast majority of its city limits.

The list is pretty much (with the exception of impoverished areas of course):

Philly (East Coast)
Boston (East Coast)
Baltimore (East Coast)
DC (East Coast)
Chicago (Midwest)
San Fransisco (West Coast)
Toronto (Canada)
Pittsburgh (East Coast or Midwest?)
in no particular order

Then There's cities with well built neighborhoods that don't reflect the rest of the city such as:

Los Angeles (West Coast)
St. Louis (Midwest)
Richmond, Virginia (East Coast)
and so on....

As far as vibrancy goes, I don't think any city can be compared to NY, not even Toronto.

So in short, there are a lot of US cities that are considered urban by US standards. As far as European standards go, its completely unfair to make a comparison like Desertpunk said because of the history behind the two (walkability vs. Auto-centric). But anything remotely similar would most likely reside in Boston and other East Coast cities aside from NY.

Sure hope this helped clarify things for those who are confused.

Luck Luciano if you're interested in exactly what certain cities streetscapes look like then there are plenty of photo threads on here that you can look at that should help give a feel for that city/neighborhood . (I don't think this should become a photo thread since it is in the New York thread instead of international...)

[lucky_luciano]

Originally Posted by ChitownCity

^I think I understood what you was asking for (I hope I was the one who answered your question ). Basically what cities have a strongly built urban environment outside of the Central Business District/Downtown like how NYC stays urban throughout the vast majority of its city limits.

The list is pretty much (with the exception of impoverished areas of course):

Philly (East Coast)
Boston (East Coast)
Baltimore (East Coast)
DC (East Coast)
Chicago (Midwest)
San Fransisco (West Coast)
Toronto (Canada)
Pittsburgh (East Coast or Midwest?)
in no particular order

Then There's cities with well built neighborhoods that don't reflect the rest of the city such as:

Los Angeles (West Coast)
St. Louis (Midwest)
Richmond, Virginia (East Coast)
and so on....

As far as vibrancy goes, I don't think any city can be compared to NY, not even Toronto.

So in short, there are a lot of US cities that are considered urban by US standards. As far as European standards go, its completely unfair to make a comparison like Desertpunk said because of the history behind the two (walkability vs. Auto-centric). But anything remotely similar would most likely reside in Boston and other East Coast cities aside from NY.

Sure hope this helped clarify things for those who are confused.

Luck Luciano if you're interested in exactly what certain cities streetscapes look like then there are plenty of photo threads on here that you can look at that should help give a feel for that city/neighborhood . (I don't think this should become a photo thread since it is in the New York thread instead of international...)

Damn, this is the post i have been waiting for.
I'll definitely check the photo threads out.
Thanks.

[VelesHomais]

There are also smaller cities with cities retaining their urbanity in residential parts. Like Albany, for instance

[Elnerico]

Toronto has some of the NYC glitz and lights but "lite" version, a la Dundas Square and Yonge Street

from http://wvs.topleftpixel.com/09/03/29/

Dundas Square



Yonge Street