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I'm dying laughing here. Dallas and Houston over Seattle? Clearly Texans really need to get out more.
I must've missed that. That's pretty absurd.
Downtown Houston has a lot of potential and is starting to come around in realizing it, but it's very much a work in progress and it has no business being at or near the top of downtowns across the U.S.
My list based on vibrancy, density, architecture, and urban living: (not in perfect order)
1. Downtown Manhattan (NYC)
2. Midtown Manhattan (NYC)
3. Chicago
4. Philadelphia
5. Boston
6. Washington DC
7. Baltimore
8. San Francisco
9. St. Louis
10. Seattle
11. Pittsburgh
12. Cincinnati
13. Milwaukee
14. Cleveland
15. Charleston, SC
16. Fort Worth
17. Buffalo
18. Detroit
19. Austin
20. Indianapolis
21. San Diego
22. Portland, OR
23. Providence
24. Minneapolis
25. Richmond
I would put Providence at or above the level of Denver's. Providence has a very nice downtown...though Denver does too.
This list is very very biased. I would say Louisville's downtown is as nice or nicer than Providence, but it hasn't garnered nary a mention. What you see here is regional bias.
I think outside the top ten, this list is impossible to rank. A better ranking would be to rank the vibrancy of downtown as a percentage of the metro population. Using that criteria, midsized cities like Charleston, Austin, Richmond, Louisville, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Columbus, Nashville, OKC, SLC, and Orlando (and I am sure I forgot at least 2-3) are all metros at or less than 2 million which have downtowns which are very vibrant given the size of their metro area.
That said, the top 10 are a no brainer IMO:
1 NYC
2 Chicago
3 SF
4 Boston
5 Philly
6 DC
7 Seattle
8 Portland
9 Denver
10 San Diego
Given the size of their metro areas, large downtowns in the sunbelt are downright pathetic except for their skylines. This includes LA, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix. Based on size alone, you'd expect ATL to have a downtown like Philly, but it isn't even close. The saddest downtowns given the size of the metro are without a question LA and Houston. I have spent several weeks in both cities on weekdays and weeknights and can tell you outside some nice skyscrapers and daytime office activity, the downtown is a hollow shell that empties out after 5 PM and does not give one the feeling of safety, density, or vibrancy.
Last edited by Peter1948; 01-22-2010 at 01:11 PM..
The problem is in a lot of those larger cities, few people live there. That's where the vibrancy comes from. Here in Houston it is pretty popular to dismiss downtown living out of hand. Then they'll use the "it's dead" "there's nothing there" etc. etc. argument. Well, somebody's got to set a trend. I think it would be nice to go to a ballgame or a concert or have a nice dinner without driving, paying for parking with just a few blocks to walk if anything. Retail is quietly, slowly popping up. More light rail is coming. Things are changing in the right direction - people's mentalities at large will probably be the last thing to shift.
1 NYC
2 Chicago
3 SF
4 Boston
5 Philly
6 DC
7 Seattle
8 Portland
9 Denver
10 San Diego
LOL!!! A no brainer huh? Downtown Minneapolis tops downtown Denver.
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