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Every downtown has outward extensions over time. They can be different districts, but I never consider them different downtowns unless there's significant distance and low-density space between them.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mhays25
Every downtown has outward extensions over time. They can be different districts, but I never consider them different downtowns unless there's significant distance and low-density space between them.
That is how I personally view Brickell/ DT Miami. It's functionally an extension, not secondary.
Miami's one of my favorite places, and although I haven't lived there I'm a frequent visitor. When I've stayed in Brickell it was literally at an Airbnb on the Miami river right at the bridge where you cross to "downtown" in a 3/4 min walk. I was walking into the Whole Foods in "downtown" and to Bayside with 0 fanfare then back to my room in Brickell. To me it's just a newer extension of the original DT, but I fully understand if there are locals who'd like to call them separate in theory.
Buckhead and Midtown ATL are essentially connected by two strings of density along Peachtree and Piedmont. I'm not sure if that would consider them to be separate downtowns or one just very stretched one.
Houston has at least 6 or 7 and one of the first city to have this concept
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaBears02
Not even close imo. 2 most likely but maybe 3 at max. A few buildings in an office park doesn’t make a downtown. An area has got to have tons of retail, be a major center of commerce, and have the amenities a CBD would have to act like CBD. Really only downtown and uptown achieve this.
Yep. A few 20 stories (if even that) suburban office buildings does not make a "downtown". So no, Westchase, Energy Corridor, Memorial Mall / CityCentre area, etc. aren't really "downtown".
Downtown (especially around Skyline District) is. Uptown + Greenway Plaza forms a secondary cluster that's big enough to be consider a "secondary downtown" (especially with all the hotels / high end restaurants in the area).
Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthAmerica_US
People have different standards of “downtowns” probably.
What could be just random suburb to one person is a “downtown” to another.
The poster responded to downtowns that at one point had buildings seemingly the same height or smaller than buildings in DC. By those standards, how many downtowns does DC proper have? A lot. Then the DC metro area has like 15 downtown skylines when you include places like Eisenhower East which is bigger, taller and more amenities (urban Wegmans, Movies, fairly dense, jobs, etc) than a lot of the downtowns shared here but in this area, I think it’s just referred to as a neighborhood.
And then you have those from an Atlanta who think of things like Buckhead, Midtown, Downtown being 3 downtowns. Maybe add in a couple more as a stretch but. To each their own.
A lot of these downtowns posted would be insanely low dense if you picked it up and plopped it in say San Francisco. There’s not enough space to have that sort of low density.
Eisenhower East is not even IN DC, though . It's also where "extension of downtown" comes in (Old Town Alexandria is what I consider "downtown", but Eisenhower East is just next to it).
Speaking of DMV - does Arlington (which isn't a "city") count? One center around Rosslyn (extending to Ballston), the other around Pentagon City / Crystal City ("National Landing").
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ion475
Yep. A few 20 stories (if even that) suburban office buildings does not make a "downtown". So no, Westchase, Energy Corridor, Memorial Mall / CityCentre area, etc. aren't really "downtown".
Downtown (especially around Skyline District) is. Uptown + Greenway Plaza forms a secondary cluster that's big enough to be consider a "secondary downtown" (especially with all the hotels / high end restaurants in the area).
Eisenhower East is not even IN DC, though . It's also where "extension of downtown" comes in (Old Town Alexandria is what I consider "downtown", but Eisenhower East is just next to it).
Speaking of DMV - does Arlington (which isn't a "city") count? One center around Rosslyn (extending to Ballston), the other around Pentagon City / Crystal City ("National Landing").
I posted this upthread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by the resident09
For DC obviously the city core doesn't come into the conversation in terms of skyscrapers, but there are multiple "tall skylines" away from downtown, and you can see some from the city core.
The DC area has added high rises in more separate nodes of it's metro than any US metro area not named NYC or Miami the past decade. https://postimg.cc/NLLZPbzQ
DC suburban skylines with multiple buildings above 300' (key word multiple):
Rosslyn (multiple 350+)
Tysons (multiple above 400')
Reston (multiple above 400')
Crystal City
Pentagon City
Alexandria
DT Bethesda
DT Silver Spring (one stands, two under construction)
There is definitely a difference between "high rise district", and an actual downtown. I would say it's 2 downtowns for city proper DC with DT and Navy Yard/Capital Riverfront, but those are within the height limits. For outside the city, Rosslyn is legit a secondary downtown, if we're calling DT Brooklyn a downtown. After that it's CC/Pentagon city that run somewhere in between actual downtown, and/or just an urbanized TOD zone. I'll concede they need some more cohesion to actually be "downtowns", but are strongly walkable and strong amenity nodes. Tysons is a huge edge city with the tallest buildings, but I would not call it a "downtown".
I'd be interested as a bit of a separate topic to know which metro areas can compete with DC regards to the bolded and which have more/less nodes in number. I know Atlanta has a number of them.
Buckhead and Midtown ATL are essentially connected by two strings of density along Peachtree and Piedmont. I'm not sure if that would consider them to be separate downtowns or one just very stretched one.
Midtown, yes but I’d say no to Buckhead. There is a lot of low density between Downtown/Midtown and Buckhead (mostly beautiful massive mansions on expansive wooded and hilly lots). Buckhead acts as a separate downtown imo but you’re right that Midtown is fully functioning as an extension of Downtown Atlanta.
University City looks very similar to West Loop in Chicago anyway, and most people would consider The Loop and West Loop a single business district.
Quote:
Originally Posted by the resident09
I posted this upthread:
I'd be interested as a bit of a separate topic to know which metro areas can compete with DC regards to the bolded and which have more/less nodes in number. I know Atlanta has a number of them.
Greater LA maybe...but not sure how tall buildings are outside of DTLA and Century City, though.
I'd be interested as a bit of a separate topic to know which metro areas can compete with DC regards to the bolded and which have more/less nodes in number. I know Atlanta has a number of them.
NYC, Miami & LA are more nodal than DC (assuming nodes = high-rise cluster/mini downtowns). Atlanta rivals it.
Outside of that, none.
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. It's also where "extension of downtown" comes in (Old Town Alexandria is what I consider "downtown", but Eisenhower East is just next to it).