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Old 10-16-2014, 01:02 AM
 
Location: Brooklyn
2,314 posts, read 4,823,108 times
Reputation: 1946

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluefox View Post
Having lived in LA and spent considerable amounts of time in Dallas, I would mostly agree, with additional points. In many ways Dallas and LA are nothing alike - mostly in terms of demographics. Dallas will never have the sort of wealth a place like LA attracts. Dallas will never have a Beverly Hills or a Malibu or a Santa Monica or a Venice Beach or a Hollywood or even a Pasadena.

They're both sprawly cities but Dallas I think sprawls more. On the other hand, LA's density is a little off for me. It makes it not only feel sprawling, but overcrowded and sprawling. Like yeah, it's dense, and that means I have to sit in an egregious amount of traffic, and then can't find a parking spot at the strip mall or grocery store I have to drive to for my daily needs. It's not an organic density so to speak the way NYC or even Chicago and SF are. Those cities grew up to accommodate masses of people. LA hasn't gotten it down yet but soon they will, I hope.

Dallas is more of the conventional low density sprawl. Sure there are trafficky areas but it doesn't approach the critical mass that is LA. You can still enjoy the sprawl (can't believe I just said that) for its qualities - finding a parking spot for one. But the fact that Dallas is already mindful about densifying makes me think it has a bright future - in some ways maybe it has learned from the mistakes cities like LA have made.
I think you described LA's conundrum on it's density vs. sprawl perfectly here.

The density of LA is a little bit more beneath the surface than it seems. There are plenty of very dense areas that don't seem extremely dense at first glance (though Koreatown is the most urban neighborhood in LA). I think 'overcrowded sprawl' is a great way to describe it.

Never have been to Dallas, so I cannot comment on it. I do know that it's NOT an oil based city. Doesn't take a GED to know that.
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Old 10-16-2014, 02:39 AM
 
Location: Los Angeles
5,872 posts, read 15,326,000 times
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There are very dense areas that don't seem dense? Like where? Fairfax district? Hollywood? East Hollywood? Silver Lake?
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Old 10-16-2014, 07:40 PM
 
Location: Philadelphia
5,294 posts, read 10,290,479 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pwright1 View Post
LA is big but very walkable. I walk more here and drive less than I did in DC and Seattle, which are the last two cities I lived in. Sometimes it's the people who lived here for many years who thought LA wouldn't change, and indeed it has. Public transportation is growing at a rapid rate. More are biking. The city is getting more dense than ever before. The air is much cleaner. LA has changed like night and day since I first started coming here back in the 80s.
DC is much more sprawling than a lot of people realize, especially when you factor in the suburbs of WV, Virginia, and Maryland.
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Old 10-16-2014, 08:20 PM
 
Location: Pasadena, CA
10,078 posts, read 15,964,932 times
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I'd actually argue that my neighborhood is less dense than it looks. It looks like it is in the 20k ppsm range but is actually just 15k ppsm.

I'd argue that one day LA will have 10 big walkable nodes (give or take) and they will all be conveniently connected to transit. It may not be the kind of city you walk clear across, but one you can hop around walkable areas and still be able to leave the car at home.
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Old 10-16-2014, 10:03 PM
 
Location: Philadelphia
5,294 posts, read 10,290,479 times
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I second that notion^^
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Old 10-16-2014, 10:12 PM
 
Location: Houston
112 posts, read 259,440 times
Reputation: 145
Los Angeles needs to invest walkable commercial strips, there are too many strip malls. San Fransisco has commercial strips in the hood that look better/more appealing than most of what Los Angeles has right now. I always felt that was one thing that held the city back....
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Old 10-17-2014, 01:04 PM
 
Location: Washington DC
686 posts, read 1,173,496 times
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What is a commercial strip as opposed to a strip mall?
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Old 10-17-2014, 02:42 PM
 
116 posts, read 223,745 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Metro Matt View Post
Dallas is the 4th largest metropolitan area in the US after Chicago.
Sorry, but no. It's behind DC, the Bay Area, and Boston, and it feels smaller than those metro areas:

https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6258...imvuvTJkPQ!2e0
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Old 10-17-2014, 03:12 PM
 
Location: Who Cares, USA
2,341 posts, read 3,630,991 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UrbanObservor View Post
Sorry, but no. It's behind DC, the Bay Area, and Boston, and it feels smaller than those metro areas:

https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6258...imvuvTJkPQ!2e0
Why did you link a Google street view of Seattle?
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Old 10-17-2014, 03:26 PM
 
Location: Watching half my country turn into Gilead
3,531 posts, read 4,220,768 times
Reputation: 2930
Quote:
Originally Posted by UrbanObservor View Post
Sorry, but no. It's behind DC, the Bay Area, and Boston, and it feels smaller than those metro areas:

https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6258...imvuvTJkPQ!2e0
How about Philadelphia?
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