>>"I can only think of a few like this: Boston, SF, NO, NYC, Philly, DC(?), Montreal, Austin"
>I would put Chicago and Seattle right at the top of any list too. Like you I find that most every city of the south lacks any sort of a vibrant downtown. Florida downtowns are the absolute pits for a state with 17M+. I give em all an F except Orlando, which gets a higher grade as it is better than say Tampa or Phoenix which ain't saying much. Only Austin seems to stand out above the crowd so far. If I had to guess I'd bet Houston and Atlanta become the shining stars of urban gentrification in the south.
I was in Houston a couple years back. I was surprised and shocked. It was a much larger and cosmopolitan city than I expected. On the other hand, the lack of zoning may keep it from the list of "walkable cities." Haven't been to not-so-Hotlanta since the Olympics in '96. That was a huge disappointment after seeing Barcelona in '92. You expected to be able to go to a downtown where the world was meeting. Nope, gotta hop in your car to go to Buckhead or Virginia Highlands (I think) or wherever. There ain't nothing fun around Centennial Park. Atlanta is the L.A. of the East, including the silicone.
So: add Chi-town, Seattle, and Portland. Has everyone moved out of DC or do lots of people still live, work, and play in the city? |
