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The Bay Area by miles and miles. South Florida is the perfect example of an area that is dense without being urban. Yes, the density of South Florida is high, but it appears to be a gathering of never-ending suburbs.
Cul-de-sacs and subdivisions are not urban.
At the same time, cul-de-sacs & subdivisions seem to rule the entire Southern part of the Bay Area. I think the Northern part of the Bay is urban enough to make them the clear-cut winner here though.
I would have to disagree with your geography there. Cul-De-Sacs and sub-divisions rule the outer East bay and North bay. Eastern Contra Costa county (Walnut Creek, Concord), other East Bay cities like Pleasonton and Livermore and North bay cities like Petaluma and Santa Rosa have far more Cul-De-Sacs and subdivisions than places in the South bay, like Mountain View, Santa Clara, and even Palo Alto.
Dont get me wrong, cul de sacs and sub-divisions exist there too, but the South Bay has much more of a street grid presence in many cities.
SF/Oakland/Berkeley etc are not considered the North Bay. Aside from that central core area, Id say the South Bay probably has the least amount of cul-de-sacs and sub-divisions.
I would like to see how many areas in each place has more urban/downtown kind of areas. I can give some of the ones in the South Florida area below....as for the Bay Area I can't really say how many downtown areas or areas with density that are within it, but I did enjoy my time visiting there however and I thought how I would love to move there if it wasn't so expensive. I'll name and show all the areas of South Florida that have downtown/mini-downtown areas, and then someone else from the Bay Area can show their downtown areas for comparison...
South Florida Downtown/mini-downtown areas with a lot of density.....
I only added the core areas with downtown type density....I could have added some other cities like Hialeah, Little Havana, Sweetwater, Hallandale, Hollywood, or any beach area basically for density, but most of those areas don't have a downtown kind of area. They just have lots of low-rise condos and lots of density
I'm looking forward to see the areas that the Bay area has that can be considered little downtown density type of areas
I would like to see how many areas in each place has more urban/downtown kind of areas. I can give some of the ones in the South Florida area below....as for the Bay Area I can't really say how many downtown areas or areas with density that are within it, but I did enjoy my time visiting there however and I thought how I would love to move there if it wasn't so expensive. I'll name and show all the areas of South Florida that have downtown/mini-downtown areas, and then someone else from the Bay Area can show their downtown areas for comparison...
South Florida Downtown/mini-downtown areas with a lot of density.....
I only added the core areas with downtown type density....I could have added some other cities like Hialeah, Little Havana, Sweetwater, Hallandale, Hollywood, or any beach area basically for density, but most of those areas don't have a downtown kind of area. They just have lots of low-rise condos and lots of density
I'm looking forward to see the areas that the Bay area has that can be considered little downtown density type of areas
Yeah, I don't think people realize how many different urban areas, Downtowns, and cities are in South Florida.
Yeah, I don't think people realize how many different urban areas, Downtowns, and cities are in South Florida.
Yeah I think lots of people don't realize how many different urban cores there are in South Florida....I didn't really add all the beach areas or places like Hialeah that has lots of density...I kinda added the downtown looking kind of areas....I would say though that out of all the places in the U.S. that the Bay area would be considered most like South Florida as far as layout and density of each area goes....but each place is really different though ...I'm speaking more of how each area has 3 major cities and how each area goes north to south and stretches for miles
As you can see downtown Miami, and downtown San Fransisco have the same density of skyscrappers almost as well...I do think San Fransisco is and was a beautiful place when I went. I added one pic of Lombard street that might be off topic at the end of the San Fransisco pics anyways because it's a beautiful street.
As you can see downtown Miami, and downtown San Francisco have the same density of skyscrapers
What about density of people in downtown?
Here is Downtown San Francisco on a regular day. Not during some special event but just on a normal workday.
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Yeah I think lots of people don't realize how many different urban cores there are in South Florida....I didn't really add all the beach areas or places like Hialeah that has lots of density.
Several highrise condos does not really equate to a vibrant downtown area. Sometimes it just looks like suburbs with tall buildings. tall buildings, but still very unfriendly to pedestrians.
Also, Public Transit Usage tends to be higher in high density areas due to the hospitable environment. Meaning the lay of the land is condusive for one to want to use public transit to get around.
Workers age 16+ who commute to their place of employment via public transit
City of San Francisco 225,511
State of Florida 160,373
Here is Downtown San Francisco on a regular day. Not during some special event but just on a normal workday.
Several highrise condos does not really equate to a vibrant downtown area. Sometimes it just looks like suburbs with tall buildings. tall buildings, but still very unfriendly to pedestrians.
I would agree that San Fransisco has Miami beat BIG TIME with the amount of people downtown...too many bums in downtown Miami to be walking around there ....it's kinda gritty down there sometimes
Here is Downtown San Francisco on a regular day. Not during some special event but just on a normal workday.
Several highrise condos does not really equate to a vibrant downtown area. Sometimes it just looks like suburbs with tall buildings. tall buildings, but still very unfriendly to pedestrians.
I would also say that in the urban cores of South Florida that you won't see that much action unless it's time for work or play...during normal times you don't see that many people out and about in the downtown cores in South Florida especially Miami due to the amount of transients and bums walking around (safety reasons) and because of the amount of real business places that cater to the public such as shopping and food places..it's mostly corporate, banks, and other professional business going on downtown Miami..and people living in high-rise condos and towers in downtown Miami..San Fransisco is more like New York downtown in the sense of having busy streets with lots of people doing different things.
Doesn't mean that the Bay Area is more dense than South Florida though..because South Florida has more low rise apartment complexes and low rise condos than people think...which hold lots of people in a little living space
Last edited by RazorRob305; 05-04-2010 at 04:37 AM..
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The specific topic is asking for San Francisco Bay Area vs. South Florida as WHOLES, not as specific municipalities. If you want to compare specific municipalities and argue that makes for a more dense urban area, then that's fine but do that in a thread where its a bit more relevant. However, you're going to HAVE to do that for ALL municipalities and then average them out. Since many municipalities in the Bay Area AND South Florida extend out into areas that can't be built on, then it will obviously lower the average for all.
Just for fun, here are the downtown's/central cores that I know of in the Bay Area.
I'm sure some others in the Bay Area can add more to the conversation, but all these areas are EXTREMELY pedestrian friendly, and none are very near to each other.
The point of this thread is compare WHOLE AREAS to WHOLE AREAS. However, its not to say that South Florida isn't dense or not urban because I would be lying if I said it wasn't. South Florida is still a work in progress, and I think its making great improvements to become a more cohesive urban area.
Again, its not like we're comparing Tokyo to a small village in the Congo.
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