Are there any US cities similar to NYC in the ?

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by ChitownCity

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....

I would add Cincinatti to that list as well.

[VelesHomais]

Albany

[ChitownCity]

I forgot all about Yonge Street. Its definitely super vibrant!!!

[Northsider]

Originally Posted by diablo234

I would add Cincinatti to that list as well.

I wouldn't.

Originally Posted by ChitownCity

I forgot all about Yonge Street. Its definitely super vibrant!!!

True! Toronto is an awesome city. Having just finished up my [3rd] tour of NYC this week, I must say that this sort of urbanism is hard to replicate in the States. I still stand by my claim that Chicago comes closest (with Toronto a close second) in style and scope (size of the city, expanse of urbansim, style of architecture) but all those mentioned by Chitown are excellent choices as well.

[tpe]

Originally Posted by Northsider

I wouldn't.


Having just finished up my [3rd] tour of NYC this week, I must say that this sort of urbanism is hard to replicate in the States. I still stand by my claim that Chicago comes closest (with Toronto a close second) in style and scope (size of the city, expanse of urbansim, style of architecture) but all those mentioned by Chitown are excellent choices as well.

It requires a good balance of art and culture, money/business, and sheer eclecticism in both a local and international sense. A city that lacks in or is much too dominated by any one component will not have the same vibe. For me, this is what "energy" means.

[Turbosnail]

London, although obviously not American has similar feel to New York, albeit not as tall.

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by Northsider

I wouldn't.

Why's that?

There are plenty of neighborhoods there that fit the description of what the OP was looking for density wise (granted they don't make up the majority of the city, but that is also the case for NYC, Chicago, Philly, Boston, and DC as well).

[Northsider]

Originally Posted by diablo234

Why's that?

There are plenty of neighborhoods there that fit the description of what the OP was looking for density wise (granted they don't make up the majority of the city, but that is also the case for NYC, Chicago, Philly, Boston, and DC as well).

OP:

an "urban" feel throughout almost the whole city

Cincinnati hardly qualifies for that. The city definitely has more of a East Coast/Great Lakes urban feel to it, but it's pretty paltry compared to giants like Philly and NYC

[OakvilleGuy]

I think Toronto is pretty close to New York, some areas at least, some movies which setting is in New York are actually filmed in Toronto. The modern architecture in Toronto is completely differerent though.

[OakvilleGuy]

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...)

You should add Montreal to the list bud

[600West218]

I'd be a bit more restrictive in the listing of "urban" N.A cities.

In the US it is:

New York
San Fran
Chicago

To a lesser degree

Boston
Philly
Washington

North of the border there are more cities with a European urban vibe. I'm not an expert on Canada but I would say Montreal, Toronto and Vancuevor make the cut with even smaller cities like Ottawa and Quebec City being decent.

But in the US New York is truly unique. No other US city even comes close to its urbaness as measured by population density, public transportation usage and more subjective measures like street life.

[Rolling_stones]

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...

No, I'm afraid its really only New York. Chicago has a bit of that "feel" that you're talking about, but not so much. You do get it in some Canadian cities though, but that distinct vibe you get when you're in Europe is something that's missing in America.

I think it's because America is so sparsely populated, it's only like 80 people per square mile. That's why cities are so spread out and there doesn't seem to be much activity going on compared to Europe and Asia. (I know cause I've lived in Seattle, which has a tad of urban feeling, Dallas, which has no vibe at all, Philadelphia, and Boston while I was in the US for 6 years). You might like Canada though.

I'd say, if you move to America, move to New York, otherwise Europe is preferable

[eyeofodin]

San Francisco hands down. 2nd highest density in the US.

[CNB30]

Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Baltimore, DC, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, New Orleans

[Uaarkson]

When I was in San Francisco, it felt more like NYC than Chicago in terms of raw physical makeup. Chinatown in particular felt quite a bit like Manhattan.

Chicago has always felt more like a super-sized Detroit or St. Louis to me. Its majorly Midwestern character is hard to ignore for someone familiar with the region.

[tpe]

Originally Posted by Uaarkson

When I was in San Francisco, it felt more like NYC than Chicago in terms of raw physical makeup. Chinatown in particular felt quite a bit like Manhattan.

Chicago has always felt more like a super-sized Detroit or St. Louis to me. Its majorly Midwestern character is hard to ignore for someone familiar with the region.

Chinatown aside, I rather feel the opposite. And Chicago's Northside reminds me very much of Uptown (e.g., the historic blocks of the UWS) and the genteel parts of Brooklyn.

[mobus]

Are there any cities internationally that remind anyone of New York City? Whether it be at street level, from a cultural perspective, atmosphere, etc.

[luci203]

Originally Posted by mobus

Are there any cities internationally that remind anyone of New York City? Whether it be at street level, from a cultural perspective, atmosphere, etc.

From skyline perspective, the city from China that have some kind of "New York-ish" look is Chongqing.

[Northsider]

Originally Posted by mobus

Are there any cities internationally that remind anyone of New York City? Whether it be at street level, from a cultural perspective, atmosphere, etc.

In my opinion, no. Cities in the rest of the world have skyscrapers with little to no street front presence the way old cities in the US do (NYC, Chicago, Philly, etc...). I've been around quite extensively and haven't really seen anything quite like NYC (for better or worse).

Culture? Atmosphere? Sure, like 100s of cities. It's not enough anymore to simply be a "big" city. In my opinion, I'll take San Francisco over NYC.

[mobus]

Someone in the Oz forums was posting about how Sydney is Australia's answer to a tiny version of Manhattan. However I have my doubts he is even from the States. From an American's perspective does Sydney feel at all Manhattan-esque at street level? Most of the comparisons Sydney receives to an American city are with San Francisco, so if San Fran feels the most like NYC than any other US city, then I suppose the comparisons between Sydney and NYC aren't so far-fetched. A few shots of some Downtown Sydney streets.

image hosted on flickr

IMG_1781 by mornnb, on Flickr
image hosted on flickr

_MG_4671.jpg by mornnb, on Flickr
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

IMG_1422 by mornnb, on Flickr
image hosted on flickr

_MG_2255 by mornnb, on Flickr
image hosted on flickr

_MG_2226 by mornnb, on Flickr



BTW, the monorail above is soon to be gone. Most people compare New York with London, and while there are some similarities, I don't really understand the likeness.