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I left Center City Phily and got on 95 (that highway that goes into Wilmington) and started to head south, I wasn't driving at that point as one of my relatives took over so I had some time to catch some skyline shots of Phily then we passed that area with all the sports arenas and stadiums and I looked over the elevated expanse of the highway and saw nothing but dense development until I started seeing hills in the back surrounding the Phily area. Phily looked like a huge place but in a very small geographic area while DC felt very spread out in every direction. When we entered the district, it still looked rural but we started seeing some rundown areas and strip malls and the development was unimpressive because they were spread out. We got into the downtown/tourist area fast from there and it just left me wondering how only a few miles from downtown the district drops to such a underdeveloped space for a supposed region of 9M. On the way back to NYC we crossed the New York avenue bridge and right after we crossed it was a underdeveloped, rundown, crimeridden area, saw a guy at 4 in the morning eating fried chicken on the narrow suburban looking sidewalk only 3 miles from downtown in the district. Compared to every other northeastern city I saw, this one was the most different by far. Baltimore fell in line with Phily but DC? I don't know what to tell you man.
I enjoyed visiting DC for the tourist areas and I even left it thinking that I could live there but its not NYC, its not Phily, and its not Boston. It doesn't feel like a big city at all outside of those urban 13 story building canyons downtown. Its so underdeveloped. I felt a lot of breathing room that I don't get in the bay but it was sort of a good thing-bad thing situation if you know what I mean? Plus side that Metro system was terrific for tourists to get around the whole area and see things below grade and above grade and get around. Learned a lot from this trip and had a blast. Cant wait to do it again, will never visit any BosWash city by itself again, its most fun to do it all together IMO
The reason why you didn't see anything genius is because you were on FEDERAL PARKLAND coming into DC's (BACKDOOR) from Baltimore. There is no development on or along the B/W parkway. The highway was carved out of a Federal forest. Coming into DC on NY avenue is run down but it is definitely not rural. Every city has rundown entrances. You should have come into DC from the VA side.
Last edited by DC's Finest; 08-22-2012 at 09:27 AM..
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The DC bashing continues, no body cares how you all perceive DC anyway, because the majority of people who live here has a "Big city" mindest. Other than NY or maybe Chicago no city feels busier or as important to the country as DC does when I travel. A city can't "feel" like it's 18 million or 8 million or 6 million people it just is what it is. People here don't pay attention to any of that, the only feeling I notice is when I go to a city/metro that is smaller than DC because you will actually know it.
When referring to how the development looks in the Bos Wash corridor in general, you have to understand and accept things for what they are. The development patterns between CT and Boston, or suburbs of NJ and the suburbs between DC and Baltimore are NOTHING like the development patterns in Northern or Southern California. Out there you actually SEE the development much more clearly, from any roads or highways due to topography or standard suburban sprawl that seems to be never ending. The roads that run from the city proper out there will run all the way out miles and miles away from the city center. When the DC area was founded it was not developed like that, the suburbs are around it are built in more like patches or small town plots of land that are between two major cities.
To break "DC" down even further lets just be completely frank, we are talking about the Maryland suburbs of DC that either connect or do not connect them to Baltimore. It is true that decades ago we were just dealing with 2 separate cities that had very little connect the two of them. Now it is to the point that each city's suburbs have run in to each other and we don't know which MSA to put them in. When riding up or down I-95, or 295 or even 97 for that matter you will NOT see much of the development between the two cities. So don't come to town for a weekend and say, "I rode the highway between Baltimore and College Park and only saw one 18 story skyscraper" and think that there is nothing else near you. Off of each and every highway exit between 695 (Baltimore beltway) and 495 (DC beltway) there is continuous development that you will not even know is there if you do not take that exit. The statement about there being "No development for 15-20 miles between DC and Baltimore" is compeletly FALSE. If you take Route 1 north between the "DC suburbs" to the "Baltimore suburbs" you will not encounter a break in development at any point. Throughout Howard county and PG it is continuous.
I don't know what you saw but did you see any the immediate suburbs that are built more urban than most of you average California cities are? Arlington, Alexandria, Tysons, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Rockville? I can understand you feeling the way you do being from Sprawville, USA nothing on the East Coast resembles the style of sprawl in CA. Just understand what seems like "lack" of development to you, may just actually be "hidden development" that is much more pleasant on the eye to most of us. Maryland by itself, as tiny as it is, approaching 6 million people and the majority of that is somewhere between Baltimore and the suburbs of Washington.
Also who has any record of the dates that those satelitte pictures were taken for the cities, those look to be mighty old or nothing that reflects complete accuracy of a population center.
This is the most recent aerial shot of Baltimore-Washington, the outer suburbs of each are touching each other and are only growing more:
The reason why you didn't see anything genius is because you were on FEDERAL PARKLAND coming into DC from Baltimore. There is no development on or along the B/W parkway. It's a forest on each side. Coming into DC on NY avenue is run down but it is definitely not rural. Every city has rundown entrances. You should have come into DC from the VA side.
Why are you angry? I really liked your city.
I took a few drives in NoVA also, like I said I really liked the DC area would go as far as to say loved it and my time there but yes it is underdeveloped which is my only con to the area. I don't care if it is parkland or not, you cant brag about having continuous development between DC and Baltimore and I've seen it myself at least not in the same way San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland or Dallas-Fort Worth are. The development is very small, doesn't mean it doesn't exist but its sort of small. Also when does federal parkland have random 13 story skyscrapers sprouting from no where?
I didn't take 95 into DC but I took it on the way out at night. Your aerial proves my point, the development between DC and Baltimore is a stretch of continuous development and its narrow. Look at all the underdeveloped or undeveloped areas outside of that main route where its built up on.
We have jagged mountains not those overgrown hills that plague the east so we cant develop on them as you can clearly see on the map above, its too steep but DC is landlocked and the hills for the most part can be developed on but that doesn't stop DC and Baltimore from being two separate areas. What's your excuse?
Tokyo, Sao Paulo and London are either on the ocean, or on a major river tributory just off the ocean. Paris is pretty close too.
To me, NYC and LA both feel a lot bigger than Chicago, but it has nothing to do with "coastal" vs "inland". The issue is that both cities are a lot bigger, so they feel a lot bigger. NYC is self-explanatory, and LA has that consistent density over a huge, huge area.
You are just an incredibly ill-informed, abrasive and confrontational poster. Is that ignore function still available on this site? If so, I'll put you on it.
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That break you see is the designated Federal parkland and Agricutural Wildlife and Reseach land between Prince George's and Anne Arundel County Maryland. If you notice there is development outside of that little big black spot on all four sides, that's because you cannot build there. Along with Ft. Meade and BWI airport taking up the rest of the developable space along 295 otherwise known as the Baltimore/Washington Parkway. These are huge areas of land that has been restricted from adding residential development over the years. Do you honestly think that the fastest growing Metro area on the East Coast would not have already developed that part of land if it could? Before making broad ass statements about an area or region, make sure you understand the facts of each local area and reasons to why things are what they are.
It's a reason why 295 is a Parkway and not an Interstate, lord knows we need the traffic relief to open up that 2 lane highway, into 6 lanes on each side, we just can't.
That break you see is the designated Federal parkland and Agricutural Wildlife and Reseach land between Prince George's and Anne Arundel County Maryland. If you notice there is development outside of that little big black spot on all four sides, that's because you cannot build there. Along with Ft. Meade and BWI airport taking up the rest of the developable space along 295 i.e. the Baltimore/Washington Parkway. These are huge areas of land that has been restricted from adding residential development over the years. Do you honestly think that the fastest growing Metro area on the East Coast would not have already developed that part of land if it could? Before making broad ass statements about an area or region, make sure you understand the facts of each local area and reasons to why things are what they are.
LOL I really don't care mr. broadbrush, that's not my problem. There's a military base between LA and San Diego but you don't see them still trying to make the densely developed area between those two cities off as one metro. Sucks that you have federal parkland but I like most people don't care, what's undeveloped is undeveloped. Simple as that!
Its undeveloped therefore its undeveloped. Even inside the district once you cross the New York avenue bridge into that rundown area is nothing but strip malls and low to medium density sprawl and bottom tier Sun Inn type hotels with HUGE PARKING LOTS. You'll never find that in the city of San Francisco. So why do people compare the two cities? LOL no contest, no contest! The bay is easily the bigger feeling region, you're off your rockers if you went to DC or Baltimore and truly felt a region of 9M.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scrantiX
I didn't take 95 into DC but I took it on the way out at night. Your aerial proves my point, the development between DC and Baltimore is a stretch of continuous development and its narrow. Look at all the underdeveloped or undeveloped areas outside of that main route where its built up on.
We have jagged mountains not those overgrown hills that plague the east so we cant develop on them as you can clearly see on the map above, its too steep but DC is landlocked and the hills for the most part can be developed on but that doesn't stop DC and Baltimore from being two separate areas. What's your excuse?
It would take 2 1/2 hrs to ride from end to end of that metro and around the whole Bay in a circle, that picture is like 150 miles around. DC to Baltimore is 35 miles. In no traffic I could drive from NOVA to North of Baltimore in 1:15 mins probably less. See what i'm saying about the difference in development patterns?
I took a few drives in NoVA also, like I said I really liked the DC area would go as far as to say loved it and my time there but yes it is underdeveloped which is my only con to the area. I don't care if it is parkland or not, you cant brag about having continuous development between DC and Baltimore and I've seen it myself at least not in the same way San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland or Dallas-Fort Worth are. The development is very small, doesn't mean it doesn't exist but its sort of small. Also when does federal parkland have random 13 story skyscrapers sprouting from no where?
Pump your breaks homey. This is city data and I don't have a scratch on me. Jay-Z. lol. No one is upset or mad but you really do not have a clue about DC. First, you came into DC from a Federal Parkway, which dumps you into New York Ave. That's the only major artery from Baltimore on that end of the city. The Feds prohibit any development on their land. DT DC has more office space than DT LA and is much larger in land area. DC has miles of rowhouses. You only saw a small part of DC and it was probably the worst area to enter the city if you really wanted to see anything. You can't make a comparison if you didn't see everything and I know you didn't see everything. Oakland is rural compared to DC.
Last edited by DC's Finest; 08-22-2012 at 10:06 AM..
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