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Live in one & have visited DC many times. It's kind of silly to compare a city like DC that was "mastered planned" before the advent of the auto to Miami which is only 117 years old. I will give the urban edge to DC but Miami is no slouch in the urban department and was laid out in a "grid" style street system similar to Manhattan.
Dallas and Houston are gridded across the city...doesn't really mean it's urban. Miami is suburban as heck outside of downtown and a few neighborhoods surrounding that area. Trust me, I know...my dad's family lives there and I used to go all the time. D.C at least has a really walkable and dense core, despite being surrounded by low density sprawl.
That being said, on a global scale, the two cities are much closer to each other than any of them are to foreign competition. So in regards to within America, I personally do believe saying "Washington by FAR" is quite an exaggeration. Let's keep it 100, Washington isn't on some urban level that newer cities cant eventually catch up to and other than New York, pretty much goes without saying for majority of American cities.
I know this is an old quote, but I somewhat disagree. Unless Miami is going to develop one of the most extensive HRT systems in the country, then yes DC is on a level in terms of urbanity that makes it hard for many other similarly-sized cities to catch up.
Dallas and Houston are gridded across the city...doesn't really mean it's urban. Miami is suburban as heck outside of downtown and a few neighborhoods surrounding that area. Trust me, I know...my dad's family lives there and I used to go all the time. D.C at least has a really walkable and dense core, despite being surrounded by low density sprawl.
Miami has a walkable and dense core. Miami is suburban as heck, once you get to areas in the North like Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes, etc, and once you get to places in the South like Kendall. I wouldn't say it's suburban as heck outside of Downtown. Wynwood, nor Midtown, nor Little Havana, nor Design District are all that suburban. I agree people overrated how urban Miami is, but now folks are underrating how urban it is. Someone said in another thread that Miami Beach is really no different from Houston, and is only dense, and not urban.
I know this is an old quote, but I somewhat disagree. Unless Miami is going to develop one of the most extensive HRT systems in the country, then yes DC is on a level in terms of urbanity that makes it hard for many other similarly-sized cities to catch up.
Well, Miami already has Tri-Rail and Metrorail. And while they aren't the best, they are already breaking ground on All-Aboard Florida, which will have stations running from Downtown West Palm Beach 60mi South, through every single downtown in the South Florida urban area. It'll be tops in the country. Miami South Florida is one of the few places in the South that already has a heavy-rail system.
Miami has a walkable and dense core. Miami is suburban as heck, once you get to areas in the North like Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes, etc, and once you get to places in the South like Kendall. I wouldn't say it's suburban as heck outside of Downtown. Wynwood, nor Midtown, nor Little Havana, nor Design District are all that suburban. I agree people overrated how urban Miami is, but now folks are underrating how urban it is. Someone said in another thread that Miami Beach is really no different from Houston, and is only dense, and not urban.
They're not... If a city is urban, most people will give it props. Remember, people on this site live for urbanity. They'd know before the average person how urban a city is. Miami's downtown is small as hell and Brickell is dense, but not very walkable at all.
Miami Beach is by far the most walkable area in the Miami area and that's technically not even in the city proper.
^ Remember most people on this site have never even been to Miami either. Walk Score rates Miami as one of the most "walkable" cities in the nation and ranks it in the Top 10 at #5 which is higher than DC. at #7.
Care to explains how Brickell is "not walkable" when it gets a 84% walkability score?
Mutiny77 If Miami had the kind of funds DC gets from Congress to build a extensive HRT system it would have. As it stands now Miami had plans to extend their HRT system but the FEDS have kept denying funds. DC gets a unfair advantage being the nation's capital.
Well, Miami already has Tri-Rail and Metrorail. And while they aren't the best, they are already breaking ground on All-Aboard Florida, which will have stations running from Downtown West Palm Beach 60mi South, through every single downtown in the South Florida urban area. It'll be tops in the country. Miami South Florida is one of the few places in the South that already has a heavy-rail system.
That's still nowhere near as extensive as rail-based transit in the DC area. You've got the METRO (with a line under construction through Tysons Corner on to Dulles), MARC, VRE, the streetcar line under construction, the future purple line light-rail, etc. No other similarly-sized city in the country without as extensive a system will be catching up to DC in the foreseeable future, Miami included. That's a big reason why DC is more urban "by far."
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