Atlanta's Atlantic Station Neighborhood vs. D.C.'s National Harbor Neighborhood (state, better)
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Both of these neighborhoods are very similar. They are both constructed from scratch in the new urbanist model and neither developed organically. They both are hubs for entertainment and housing and have expansion plans in the works. Which is better using the following categories:
-Urban Design
-Entertainment
-Housing Stock and Variety
-Mixed Use
-Shopping
-Restaurants
-Vibrancy
-Nightlife
I know many people aren't familiar with these two area's so here are some introductions:
These both suck, IMO. Both are generic, car-oriented "new urbanist" type outdoor mall places. They're basically the modern-day version of malls.
If I have to pick, I go with Atlantic Station, as at least it's in the city proper, and close to transit. Washington Harbor is in the middle of nowhere in PG County.
I attended a convention in Washington Harbor, and you might as well be visiting the Moon. You are nowhere close to anything, and there is no way to get to anything unless you take the shuttle vans. The restaurants are all those mall-oriented chain-type places.
Atlantic Station will be cool if the real estate market ever gets good enough to develop all of the parcels that are slotted for highrise towers. Right now it's only about half built: there is space for about half a dozen more highrises in the complex.
But I live quite close to it and almost never go there, except to go to Target or a festival. Rent is steep in AS, and it's reflected in the prices at restaurants and bars. You're not going to get locals to be regulars by having $6-7 pints everywhere, when in Midtown proper the same can be had for $3-5.
Don't get me wrong--I'm glad it's there--but it's definitely not urban in function. It's a big urban-style mall that caters primarily to suburbanites who drive into the development in their cars. I give it a B- as a district. If you added maybe a thousand residential units to it, the area would start to feel a lot more "real".
Midtown is distinct in that it is connected to the rest of the city, caters to a mix of urban and suburban people, has lots of pedestrian trips made within the district, etc.
Atlantic Station will be cool if the real estate market ever gets good enough to develop all of the parcels that are slotted for highrise towers. Right now it's only about half built: there is space for about half a dozen more highrises in the complex.
But I live quite close to it and almost never go there, except to go to Target or a festival. Rent is steep in AS, and it's reflected in the prices at restaurants and bars. You're not going to get locals to be regulars by having $6-7 pints everywhere, when in Midtown proper the same can be had for $3-5.
Don't get me wrong--I'm glad it's there--but it's definitely not urban in function. It's a big urban-style mall that caters primarily to suburbanites who drive into the development in their cars. I give it a B- as a district. If you added maybe a thousand residential units to it, the area would start to feel a lot more "real".
Midtown is distinct in that it is connected to the rest of the city, caters to a mix of urban and suburban people, has lots of pedestrian trips made within the district, etc.
Have you been to both? If so, what would you say based on the criteria?
These both suck, IMO. Both are generic, car-oriented "new urbanist" type outdoor mall places. They're basically the modern-day version of malls.
If I have to pick, I go with Atlantic Station, as at least it's in the city proper, and close to transit. Washington Harbor is in the middle of nowhere in PG County.
I attended a convention in Washington Harbor, and you might as well be visiting the Moon. You are nowhere close to anything, and there is no way to get to anything unless you take the shuttle vans. The restaurants are all those mall-oriented chain-type places.
Have you been to both? If so, what would you say based on the criteria?
Atlantic Station will be cool if the real estate market ever gets good enough to develop all of the parcels that are slotted for highrise towers. Right now it's only about half built: there is space for about half a dozen more highrises in the complex.
But I live quite close to it and almost never go there, except to go to Target or a festival. Rent is steep in AS, and it's reflected in the prices at restaurants and bars. You're not going to get locals to be regulars by having $6-7 pints everywhere, when in Midtown proper the same can be had for $3-5.
Don't get me wrong--I'm glad it's there--but it's definitely not urban in function. It's a big urban-style mall that caters primarily to suburbanites who drive into the development in their cars. I give it a B- as a district. If you added maybe a thousand residential units to it, the area would start to feel a lot more "real".
Midtown is distinct in that it is connected to the rest of the city, caters to a mix of urban and suburban people, has lots of pedestrian trips made within the district, etc.
Atlantic station has a mix of urban and suburban also. There are lots of people that live in the city and drive there. Theres also lots of people that are taking the shuttle from Arts center
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MichiVegas
These both suck, IMO. Both are generic, car-oriented "new urbanist" type outdoor mall places. They're basically the modern-day version of malls.
If I have to pick, I go with Atlantic Station, as at least it's in the city proper, and close to transit. Washington Harbor is in the middle of nowhere in PG County.
I attended a convention in Washington Harbor, and you might as well be visiting the Moon. You are nowhere close to anything, and there is no way to get to anything unless you take the shuttle vans. The restaurants are all those mall-oriented chain-type places.
That doesn't make them both "suck." I never understood that on here, somehow anything "New" and "shiny" placed in a major urban metro area automatically "sucks." If that's the case i pray for the future of this country.
The fact of the National Harbor not having Metro was already pre-determined/ understood years before it began construction. So don't try to act like it diminishes the presence of the development now. It is what it is.
Both of these developments do obviously have direct bus connections to Marta/Metro within the development.
For one, the Harbor is on the water. I mean, you basically have all the stuff Atlantic Station has (minus a movie theater), but the water takes it to the next level. The water taxi that goes from the Harbor to the Alexandria waterfront is a really nice feature.
And I guess that's really the biggest difference between the two. It doesn't bother me so much that the architecture is cookie-cutter at the Harbor because it's far removed from the city center. It will be interesting to see what it's like there once the casinos go in.
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