[TVN]

The american cities look all the same.
Tall buildings, big cars and big highways.

But a big diffirence is the image of the big american cities.
And the image changed as the time passed, because of succes in a lot of things.

Choose some of thise cities, that you can put an image on with only few words:

Seattle
Phoenix
Atlanta
Dallas
Miami
Detroit
Boston
Houston
Cleveland
Philadelpia
Pittsburgh
Denver
Cincinnatti
Kansas City
Minneapolis

In europe we think thise cities are all the same...

 

[tmac14wr]

In europe we think thise cities are all the same...

Cities like Boston, Miami, Philadelphia and Detroit are all notable cities on that list that I would think most Europeans would know. My friend from Munich is visiting right now and he knows about those places. Are you sure you're not just dumb?

Neither Boston or Philly have very large highways.

 

[The anti-cheesehead]

The american cities look all the same.
Tall buildings, big cars and big highways.

But a big diffirence is the image of the big american cities.
And the image changed as the time passed, because of succes in a lot of things.

Choose some of thise cities, that you can put an image on with only few words:



In europe we think thise cities are all the same...

Gosh, and people in Europe think Americans don't know anything about the rest of the world. I'll give it a shot though, I'm not going to spend much time or think about it much though. :lol:

Seattle--trendy, technology and stuff, airplanes, coffee, gloomy, beautiful
Phoenix--desert, hot, sprawl
Atlanta--southern powerhouse city
Dallas--same as Atlanta
Miami--latin, warm, fun, beaches, cocaine, scarface
Detroit--auto industry and everything good and bad that came with it, rust belt, crime
Boston--rich old east coast city, elite, colleges, seafood, baseball
Houston--same as Dallas
Cleveland--rust belt, crime, great lakes
Philadelpia--kinda like Boston but inland with more crime, more blue collar
Pittsburgh--blue collar, old, former powerhouse, beautiful though, hilly
Denver--rocky mountains
Cincinnatti--hilly, old, nice old skyline
Kansas City--great plains, BBQ
Minneapolis--cold, mall of america

 

[Hia-leah JDM]

I'll give it a quick try to some, I can't do all

Seattle -Technology, airplanes, coffee, cloudy
Phoenix -sprawl, dessert, resorts
Atlanta -southern hip-hop, southern buisness center
Dallas -cowboys?
Miami -beach, latin/hispanic, art deco, hurricanes
Detroit -car indusdtry, crime, poverty
Boston -harbour, historic buildings, big dig
Houston -Oil, gritty industrial
Denver -rocky mountians

 

[hudkina]

If you think cities like Detroit, Philadelphia, Miami, Dallas, and Seattle all look the same then you must think cities like London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Athens, and Copenhagen all look the same... because while American cities tend to have many similarities, they definitely have their own regional styles. And especially depending on when they rose to prominence they come from different architectural periods. Sure cities in the same region tend to look similar to others, but I don't think anyone could ever confuse New York and Los Angeles or Detroit and Miami.

Also, if you think that American cities are small downtowns surrounded by big box stores and McMansions, you are sadly mistaken. While every city has a large suburban belt, all of them (including cities like Atlanta and Dallas) have a relatively large urban core.

 

[TVN]

No I am not stupid!

I just had to made a stupid tread to get answers to the subject that interest me.

Now the next question:

Do you think the image is just a naturel picture of city historie, or do some cities create its image to get "fast" succes?

Because some cities has to create a new picture. The force of Detroit is still cars, but now we all know that cars also is the problem of Detroit...

So what is the solution for Detroit? To do nothing?

 

[tombantdesfoetus]

Seattle
Phoenix
Atlanta
Dallas
Miami
Detroit
Boston
Houston
Cleveland
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Denver
Cincinnati
Kansas City
Minneapolis

In europe we think thise cities are all the same...

So in other words, you're basically just admitting your ignorance. Americans would scoff in disgust if you tried to compare Cleveland to Miami, Boston to Houston, or Seattle to Phoenix.

As per your reasoning, it should be logical to say that Venice and Stockholm are the same because they are both low-rise cities built on archipelagos.

 

[spartan21]

The american cities look all the same.
Tall buildings, big cars and big highways.

But a big diffirence is the image of the big american cities.
And the image changed as the time passed, because of succes in a lot of things.

Choose some of thise cities, that you can put an image on with only few words:

Seattle
Phoenix
Atlanta
Dallas
Miami
Detroit
Boston
Houston
Cleveland
Philadelpia
Pittsburgh
Denver
Cincinnatti
Kansas City
Minneapolis

In europe we think thise cities are all the same...

uhhhhh isnt miami known in europe like a lot... i would say after new york, LA... Miami is prolly next...

 

[TVN]

No no no.
I know a lot of the american cities but I know that my danish freinds doesn't.

Thats why I took some of the not so well known cities, to hear what you have to say about it.
Of cause europe know the big cities in america Miami and New Orleans, but you have to accept that not all cities in US is present in the danish media.

My tread was about your feeling with the question of the image today and to hear what city image mean in US. Sorry if you got it wrong.

 

[Pavlov's Dog]

Seattle-water, mountains, sofistication, cheap taxpayers, hip, grunge, technology, aircraft, cutting edge
Phoenix- hot and dry, beatutiful scenery, ugly city, retirees
Atlanta - Coke and CNN, anythings possible, sprawl
Dallas - pickups and cowboy hats, is it a city or a really big town
Miami- gateway to Latin America and Caribbean. The pot at the end of the rainbow for many
Detroit- dysfunctional metro that has fallen from grandeur big time. How long can the rich, white suburbs continue to pretend the poor, black city isn't a hell hole?
Boston- education, sofistication, snobbery. Aloof but worth getting to know.
Houston-oil and chemicals. laissez-faire "planning"
Cleveland- the mistake by the lake is better than it's reputation.
Philadelpia- lot's of tradition. wonderful architecture and history. Very much in the shadow of New York
Pittsburgh- working class rust-belt trying hard to turn things around
Denver- the plains meet the Rockies. A city that works to live (ski)
Cincinnatti- a city with a proud history. very non-descript present
Kansas City- bbq, heart of the plains, inadequate airport has stunted growth
Minneapolis- Scandinavian-German, orderly and understated. A forgotten metropolis

In europe we think thise cities are all the same...

I live in Europe too (although I'm American) and think people are knowledgeable of some of those cities.

 

[hudkina]

I find it ironic that cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, and Cleveland get passes for their large underclass and dysfunctional metropolitan politicals, yet you single that out as being the one defining characteristic of Detroit. And as far as the metro as a whole, you'd be surprised by how nice it is. (even the city)

 

[IraGlacialis]

Seattle: Cool summers, coniferous forest, very eccectic, high Asian population, shipyards, seafood, Northwest Coast Indians.

Phoenix: Desert

Dallas: Crazy drivers, everything is big.

Miami: Partying, condo highrises, hotel high rises, condo highrises, styling by the water, condo highrises.

Detroit: MoTown, stereotypically the standard at which sucky situations are set for (no offense guys ).

Boston: Emphasis on New England styling, a bit of the old, very liberal, pretentious.

Denver: Plains meets the mountains, mile-high.

Kansas City: BBQ, steak, jazz, revitilization, stockyards, where forest meets the plains, art scene (second largest single concentration after New York), convenient airport with separate security for each gate, Kansas side a pit of sickening smugness in the form of suburbia, competing with STL.

 

[barsa22]

It's a very interesting topic.
In Chile (South America), also we have problems recognizing some cities in US. But I would remove from the list Miami, Boston and Seattle (maybe Houston too). They are very well known. Specially Miami!
But probably it's the same with cities all around the world, I don't know anything about African cities, and probably most north americans don't know how to recognize different large cities in Latin America, after 3 or 4

 

[kevinkagy]

Seattle: Starbucks, rain, clean, good public transit, mountains
Phoenix: dry, hot, water-consuming, sprawl
Atlanta: CNN, Coke, big airport, sprawl, Marta
Dallas: SUV's, highways, oil, traffic
Miami: skyscrapers, sun, beaches, art, diversity, finances
Detroit: a lot of crime, cold, old Ford factories
Boston: education, smart people, really cold, ice, beautiful rowhouses
Houston: oil, SUV's, hot, evil oil companies
Cleveland: ohio
Philadelpia: nice architecture, great transit, less crime, good density
Pittsburgh: cold, white, rust belt, middle class
Denver: snow, mountains, Columbine
Cincinnatti: nothing, if Europeans don't know Houston, Seattle or Miami, why would they know Cincinnatti?!
Kansas City: suburbs, bbq, Kansas State University, nice airport
Minneapolis: no idea

 

[IraGlacialis]

Kansas City: suburbs, bbq, Kansas State University, nice airport

Er... K-State is quite a ways away.

The Denver assesment one of yours was slightly depressing.

 

[Pavlov's Dog]

I find it ironic that cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, and Cleveland get passes for their large underclass and dysfunctional metropolitan politicals, yet you single that out as being the one defining characteristic of Detroit. And as far as the metro as a whole, you'd be surprised by how nice it is. (even the city)

My impression of Detroit is that many suburbanites would never even consider setting foot in most of the city proper. The same can hardly be said about Philly where suburbanites are proud of the city core. Cleveland seems to have turned the corner and suburbanites are moving into the city and go there to socialize.

This thread is about impressions. Mine, and everybody elses, are always wrong in others minds.

 

[TVN]

In Denmark we have a big competition in changing our city image. All big cities is doing a lot for its image.
City: "Horsens" got Poul McCartney, Rolling Stones, Madonna and Bob Dylan playing in the town. And now we all connect Horsens with "fun and beers". Before that Horsens was the city with a big prison. "Prison-city Horsens".
Other cities is bulding highrise buildings to make an image.
In fact its totally crazy in Denmark, but its working for some cities.
My hometown "Vejle" is now famous for its architcture:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=552149

 

[kevinkagy]

Er... K-State is quite a ways away.

The Denver assesment one of yours was slightly depressing.

No, I know K-State is in Manhattan, KU is closer in Lawrence, but it still is of the things I think of when I think Kansas City for some reason.

 

[hudkina]

My impression of Detroit is that many suburbanites would never even consider setting foot in most of the city proper. The same can hardly be said about Philly where suburbanites are proud of the city core. Cleveland seems to have turned the corner and suburbanites are moving into the city and go there to socialize.

This thread is about impressions. Mine, and everybody elses, are always wrong in others minds.

There isn't a city in this country where you won't find suburbanites who don't like the central city for some reason or another. I'm sure I could knock on a few doors in suburban Philadelphia and find more than a few people who don't like the central city.

Also, if suburbanites don't socialize in Downtown Detroit than who is going to all of the Tigers games? or Red Wings games? or Lions games? or the dozens of live music venues? or the symphony? or the opera? or all of the bars, restaurants, and nightclubs? or the three casinos? Hell who are all the people who work downtown or attend school at the three major universities in the city? Who are the people attending all of the major music festivals? Who's going to watch the Super Bowl? The MLB All-Star Game? The NCAA Final Four? The Detroit Grand Prix? Who are the people snapping up all of the new condos and apartments in the greater downtown area?

I guess you are entitled to your "impression" of the city, but you might want to think about learning a little bit more about the city than what you saw in 8 Mile...

 

[IraGlacialis]

No, I know K-State is in Manhattan, KU is closer in Lawrence, but it still is of the things I think of when I think Kansas City for some reason.

Fair enough.