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On a strictly downtown tip, Philly is very hard to beat. Philly - DC - Boston, unless you really really love museums in which case D.C. could leap ahead.
Boston is ahead of DC as of right now as far as Downtowns go and just downtowns... maybe not in a few years but as of right now Boston is ahead.
You know what, I think I may be wrong about the northern half of downtown D.C. being the closest comparison. The southern half including Capitol Riverfront and SW Waterfront is probably going to offer the greatest comparison since it will be full of all tall 12-15 story residential structures unlike the northern half which will only rise to 9 stories at the most. It also offers more of a unique experience. The residential population and density will be sky high down there compared to other parts of the city because the entire thing will be 12-15 story residential high rises or low rise lofts. They also have row houses built there too. Also, the waterfronts will be amazing.
I really think you should take a look at the PUD for the waterfront in SW. They have spared no expense for what they plan to do there and it will be extremely unique unlike the boring office buildings in the central parts of downtown D.C.
I'm going to agree with this. The already highly built-out nature of the U and 14th Street Corridors suggests that they'll continue to grow, but in a more segmented and less drastic way. The Southwest Waterfront and Navy Yard, on the other hand, can handle and absorb massive growth in a way needed to compete with Center City and Downtown Boston. It'll be interesting to see this debate in ten years.
I looked over some older pictures of Philadelphia from before the Independence Mall was made and then from before the convention center was made--I think it's almost unbelievable the amount of destruction Philly wrought on itself. Philly seems to me a city that could be incredible (and is still great) that really tried to screw itself. The Frankfort-Market line is a really expensive piece of infrastructure and yet a lot of the neighboring streets along the stations in West Philadelphia seem to be in really awful shape though the areas just south of those stations are as bougie and tidy as can be. Is this true for the Broad Street line as well?
The convention center is about as unremarkable as possible for a city as unique to the US as Philadelphia. It seemed pretty oversized and bland when it was first constructed, and now with the expansion, it just seems to be even more oversized and somehow even blander.
SEPTA is also patently awful despite its possibilities for being great.
Honestly, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around just how these series of huge missteps just kept on happening over the last several decades. On the other hand, the skyline is looking pretty good.
Also, for DC and Philly, a lot of those new mid-rise new urbanism sort of developments are incredibly ugly to me. Anyone else getting that?
Also, for DC and Philly, a lot of those new mid-rise new urbanism sort of developments are incredibly ugly to me. Anyone else getting that?
I wouldn't call the boom in mid-rise construction going on ugly as much as a lot of it is just uninspiring. Like a place holder, so to speak (although I can definitely say an uninspiring building is far more attractive than an abandoned/under-utilized parcel of land).
This building trend is especially pronounced in cities that are as architecturally rich as the major cities of the Northeast Corridor. However, this seems to be a national phenomenon. While there are definitely some ambitious and architecturally unique proposals in many cities, they seem to be the exception rather than the rule -- particularly when those proposals are scaled down/re-vamped due to fierce NIMBYism. I think we as a nation need to get our "mojo" back in terms of re-embracing bold architecture and urban form that really adds to the fabric of cities.
As for the rest of your assessment vis-a-vis Philadelphia planning gaffes -- yes, you can take your pick. Yet Philadelphia is by no means alone in that boat. Even for all of the planning mistakes that Philly has made -- particularly over the past half-century -- it is still undoubtedly one of the top cities in the country for historic preservation and progressive urban planning. The city is now in the process of trying to right its wrongs, however slow that process is and some "trip-ups" there still are.
I wouldn't call the boom in mid-rise construction going on ugly as much as a lot of it is just uninspiring. Like a place holder, so to speak (although I can definitely say an uninspiring building is far more attractive than an abandoned/under-utilized parcel of land).
This building trend is especially pronounced in cities that are as architecturally rich as the major cities of the Northeast Corridor. However, this seems to be a national phenomenon. While there are definitely some ambitious and architecturally unique proposals in many cities, they seem to be the exception rather than the rule -- particularly when those proposals are scaled down/re-vamped due to fierce NIMBYism. I think we as a nation need to get our "mojo" back in terms of re-embracing bold architecture and urban form that really adds to the fabric of cities.
As for the rest of your assessment vis-a-vis Philadelphia planning gaffes -- yes, you can take your pick. Yet Philadelphia is by no means alone in that boat. Even for all of the planning mistakes that Philly has made -- particularly over the past half-century -- it is still undoubtedly of the top cities in the country for historic preservation and progressive urban planning. The city is now in the process of trying to right its wrongs, however slow that process is and some "trip-ups" there still are.
Yea unfortunately Boston has a considerable amount of mid-rise junk buildings going up too. Lots of precast concrete façades, etc. It's pretty depressing.
People may not like the architecture being built in D.C. in the core, but it's way better than what Philadelphia is building right on the outside of center city. This is a gentrification no-no. I will take D.C. gentrification over this suburban oasis in Philadelphia any day. How is center city going to expand it's boundaries and grow when the city of Philadelphia is allowing single family houses like this to be built on the center city border?
People may not like the architecture being built in D.C. in the core, but it's way better than what Philadelphia is building right on the outside of center city. This is a gentrification no-no. I will take D.C. gentrification over this suburban oasis in Philadelphia any day. How is center city going to expand it's boundaries and grow when the city of Philadelphia is allowing single family houses like this to be built on the center city border?
Why do the boundaries of Center City need to grow? There is nothing fundamentally wrong with SFH and Low rise structures.
So, you like these houses? Do you think this style of house fits in with an urban environment? Single family houses are not the problem. Every city has them. It's the style of single family houses. Think about it like this. Row houses and town houses look entirely different yet, they are the same thing actually. The difference is that one style looks urban and the other look suburban. This house looks like it belongs out in KOP somewhere, not bordering center city. I just think high density belongs near the core and low density should be reserved for the suburbs.
People may not like the architecture being built in D.C. in the core, but it's way better than what Philadelphia is building right on the outside of center city. This is a gentrification no-no. I will take D.C. gentrification over this suburban oasis in Philadelphia any day. How is center city going to expand it's boundaries and grow when the city of Philadelphia is allowing single family houses like this to be built on the center city border?
Nice try. That is the Richard Allen housing projects which is in North Philly. They are tearing down large housing projects like this philadelphia pa - Google Maps and replacing them with low density housing like which you posted. This operation is called hope VI which I'm not really a fan of. The center city border is Spring garden not Fairmount ave. That has nothing to do with center city.
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