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What about Hong Kong? I've never been but I've looked it up on several occasions on Google Streetview and it does seem as if it's more urban than NYC in whole. For anyone who has visited what would you say?
What about Hong Kong? I've never been but I've looked it up on several occasions on Google Streetview and it does seem as if it's more urban than NYC in whole. For anyone who has visited what would you say?
Wow bro. Google street view is the worst way to compare cities on street level. It is nowhere near the same as actually visiting the city. Also, NYC is way more vibrant and "happening" than hong kong( I would know because I constantly visit the city because my brother is a school teacher there). However, hong kong has a bigger and better skyline.
Maybe so, Ive been to NYC but not Hong Kong so Streetview was the only way I could compare. I do believe NYC has much more going on than Hong Kong but I still believe Hong Kong is more urban. NYC has must of it's skyscrapers clustered in Manhattan while Hong Kong has its 70 story towers city-wide.
NYC has must of it's skyscrapers clustered in Manhattan while Hong Kong has its 70 story towers city-wide.
Hong Kong does have 50 floor towers everywhere (but not really 70 floor towers), but it's debatable whether they're super-urban. Most are in giant housing complexes that are basically mega-housing projects. They aren't really urban at street level, though they are super dense.
The truly urban HK neighborhoods are HK Island and Kowloon. Really the rest of the city, while super dense, does't have a super urban feel.
I have been to Tokyo, Sao Paolo and Mexico City and none of them measures up to Manhattan. They have a much lower commercial density and few areas of comparable residential density.
I have not been to Sao Paolo or Mexico City (which is a somewhat spread-out city, right?), but I have spent a good amount of time in Tokyo & Seoul, and lots of time in Shanghai & Beijing. Those cities are much more modern than NYC, generally more populous, and I think equal or surpass Manhattan's energy level. Tokyo's commercial density is so high that retail goes up 5-6 stories on regular retail streets, which is something that only happens in a few spots in Manhattan (like...Koreatown). Tokyo itself is not quite as dense as Manhattan residentially (tall buildings don't play well with earthquakes), but the city it has a very high level of density that goes on for a loong time, and the pinch-points in Tokyo get extremely crowded. And the lights...lights everywhere. And Shanghai is bananas with all the new things that are going on there.
Manhattan to me just generally feels laid back and old fashioned when I get back from Asia, but maybe some of that is a "home again" relaxation.
I have not been to Sao Paolo or Mexico City (which is a somewhat spread-out city, right?), but I have spent a good amount of time in Tokyo & Seoul, and lots of time in Shanghai & Beijing. Those cities are much more modern than NYC, generally more populous, and I think equal or surpass Manhattan's energy level. Tokyo's commercial density is so high that retail goes up 5-6 stories on regular retail streets, which is something that only happens in a few spots in Manhattan (like...Koreatown). Tokyo itself is not quite as dense as Manhattan residentially (tall buildings don't play well with earthquakes), but the city it has a very high level of density that goes on for a loong time, and the pinch-points in Tokyo get extremely crowded. And the lights...lights everywhere. And Shanghai is bananas with all the new things that are going on there.
Manhattan to me just generally feels laid back and old fashioned when I get back from Asia, but maybe some of that is a "home again" relaxation.
I agree with your post, but manhattan is still on par with the most vibrant Asian cities. But cities like Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Bangkok, ect. obviously put our other cities to shame.
What about Hong Kong? I've never been but I've looked it up on several occasions on Google Streetview and it does seem as if it's more urban than NYC in whole. For anyone who has visited what would you say?
Hong Kong (to me) feels nowhere near as large as NYC as a whole. HK is very dense and the topography forces all of the population into a small area. However, which you don't get in Hong Kong is the influx of people from the 'burbs like you do in NYC. It's just not at all comparable in terms of the sheer scale of either city. HK does have some of the most massive residential buildings I've ever seen before though. Kowloon City must have been a site to see as well.
Hong Kong's skyline may just be my favorite in the world. You have to see it in person, it's simply spectacular.
I have not been to Sao Paolo or Mexico City (which is a somewhat spread-out city, right?), but I have spent a good amount of time in Tokyo & Seoul, and lots of time in Shanghai & Beijing. Those cities are much more modern than NYC, generally more populous, and I think equal or surpass Manhattan's energy level. Tokyo's commercial density is so high that retail goes up 5-6 stories on regular retail streets, which is something that only happens in a few spots in Manhattan (like...Koreatown). Tokyo itself is not quite as dense as Manhattan residentially (tall buildings don't play well with earthquakes), but the city it has a very high level of density that goes on for a loong time, and the pinch-points in Tokyo get extremely crowded. And the lights...lights everywhere. And Shanghai is bananas with all the new things that are going on there.
Manhattan to me just generally feels laid back and old fashioned when I get back from Asia, but maybe some of that is a "home again" relaxation.
I've never been to Seoul, so I can't compare.
However, I agree with you regarding Tokyo vs. Manhattan. Particularly the residential density. I'm constantly amazed at how far you can travel in the Tokyo/Chiba/Yokohama area and retain the same relative density.
Also, the commercial districts around the train stations in Tokyo's residential neighborhoods rival the U.S.'s most vibrant downtown areas in terms of vibrancy and street level activity.
Hong Kong (to me) feels nowhere near as large as NYC as a whole. HK is very dense and the topography forces all of the population into a small area. However, which you don't get in Hong Kong is the influx of people from the 'burbs like you do in NYC. It's just not at all comparable in terms of the sheer scale of either city. HK does have some of the most massive residential buildings I've ever seen before though. Kowloon City must have been a site to see as well.
Hong Kong's skyline may just be my favorite in the world. You have to see it in person, it's simply spectacular.
I don't think this is completely accurate. There is a megapolitan region of literally hundreds of millions, with an area roughly the size of New Jersey, at the foot of Hong Kong's door. The mainland Chinese have actually been described as locusts, so many of them go to Hong Kong. Think Pearl River Delta.
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Downtown Seattle
