Cities that most radically depart from and most closely resemble "typical" US demos

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by badrunner

From the 20s to the 60s the urban cores of the two cities probably looked somewhat similar, but they took quite divergent paths in the decades since. I think I once called LA a mashup of Detroit, Miami and Houston on here.

This could be an alternate universe Detroit:

• Video Link

That actually looks a lot like lower Woodward Avenue in Detroit today.

I think, structurally, they still look quite similar, especially on the primary and secondary roads, but obviously L.A. doesn't have the abandonment issues (and also has beaches and mountains and shit).

[Camelback]

Originally Posted by badrunner

Yeah I mean you could find similar looking intersections in Texas and Florida as well. Which is to say that the unremarkable suburban parts of sunbelt city A look just like the unremarkable suburban parts of sunbelt city B. No surprises there.

Prewar looks similar too.
https://goo.gl/maps/BrG5fwKhNK7RrWuK9
https://goo.gl/maps/g5pPqu9xHec9E9PS8
Same exact street light, sidewalk, street layout, curbs, landscaping (all imported in both regions). LA has a lot more of the prewar stuff because it was a huge city in the 1930s.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Camelback

Prewar looks similar too.
https://goo.gl/maps/BrG5fwKhNK7RrWuK9
https://goo.gl/maps/g5pPqu9xHec9E9PS8
Same exact street light, sidewalk, street layout, curbs, landscaping (all imported in both regions). LA has a lot more of the prewar stuff because it was a huge city in the 1930s.

And here's Detroit's analogy of that:

https://goo.gl/maps/HR5xz2rd2JF91WB27

Obviously the climate is different, but the architecture and spatial qualities seem similar.

[Camelback]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

And here's Detroit's analogy of that:

https://goo.gl/maps/HR5xz2rd2JF91WB27

Obviously the climate is different, but the architecture and spatial qualities seem similar.

Good find and very similar. Those old estates on big lots are priceless.

[Camelback]

Which is which from space? The Black Canyon Freeway and the Harbor Freeway on the east sides of both maps. Very similar urban development patterns. LA is more dense for socio-demographic reasons, however both post war regions are strikingly similar to each other.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.5290.../data=!3m1!1e3
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.9488.../data=!3m1!1e3

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by Camelback

Prewar looks similar too.
https://goo.gl/maps/BrG5fwKhNK7RrWuK9
https://goo.gl/maps/g5pPqu9xHec9E9PS8
Same exact street light, sidewalk, street layout, curbs, landscaping (all imported in both regions). LA has a lot more of the prewar stuff because it was a huge city in the 1930s.

Prewar IE has those types of neighborhoods as well:

https://goo.gl/maps/PRwsRf2ZxbzKn3Zs7
https://goo.gl/maps/CPyCWXUojUTssm7n6

They're not all that remarkable in CA, although Hancock Park is truly a unique place: https://goo.gl/maps/8d1s1pgHCEesbd8e7

[Camelback]

Originally Posted by badrunner

Prewar IE has those types of neighborhoods as well:

https://goo.gl/maps/PRwsRf2ZxbzKn3Zs7
https://goo.gl/maps/CPyCWXUojUTssm7n6

They're not all that remarkable in CA, although Hancock Park is truly a unique place: https://goo.gl/maps/8d1s1pgHCEesbd8e7

What's nice about Hancock Park is that it's appearance looks like it would be 20-30 miles from Manhattan, yet it's only 3-4 miles from the Wilshire Grand in downtown.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by Camelback

Not too many, probably none in the entire world resemble the best known parts of LA. I would say that parts of Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Jose, San Diego, East Bay come close. They're all in the same region. From downtown LA to the Bay and Phoenix is 350 miles. Las Vegas is about 230 and 250 miles away from LA and Phoenix.

Parts of the Valley and parts of the other Valley resemble each other. Also parts of suburban Orange County resemble parts of suburban East Valley of Phoenix. Everything down to the stop lights, curbs, arterials, overhead electrical wires, car culture.
https://goo.gl/maps/goV2DmVNSPk2Pchk9
https://goo.gl/maps/HyP7SGfS8adTu2Qj7
If there weren't labels on the images, then it would be hard to determine which is which.
https://goo.gl/maps/vRJWScz8LUafTSfV7
https://goo.gl/maps/AJA3oZJbNa7Mk3s98

Yea, me and some friends noticed some similarities between the SFV and older Phoenix for sure.

[Emprise du Lion]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

And here's Detroit's analogy of that:

https://goo.gl/maps/HR5xz2rd2JF91WB27

Obviously the climate is different, but the architecture and spatial qualities seem similar.

This looks very similar to St. Louis' neighborhoods that border Forest Park on the north and northeastern sections. The trouble is getting a proper streetview due to so many of those homes being on private drives.

Here's an aerial though:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6412.../data=!3m1!1e3

Here's some pics as well, just not streetview:
https://toursbyjoshwhitehead.blogspo...-st-louis.html

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by Camelback

What's nice about Hancock Park is that it's appearance looks like it would be 20-30 miles from Manhattan, yet it's only 3-4 miles from the Wilshire Grand in downtown.

Yeah usually in LA you find those kinds of neighborhoods up in the hills. To have a square mile of century-old custom homes in "the flats" in the heart of city, completely enveloped by high density urbanity, is quite unique. It's not a gated community either.

And speaking of hilly neighborhoods, Austin also has a Beverly Hills/Bel Air analogue in the westside. Okay maybe not quite as opulent, and certainly not of the same vintage, but it sort of reminds me of LA. And it's something that's unique for Texas. Houston and Dallas don't have wealthy hidden away neighborhoods snaking through the hills like in Austin. I wonder if real estate agents in Austin use the hills/flats terminology.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Memphis and Austin feel nothing alike, IMO. But Austin does feel like a smaller L.A. to me.

How so? Austin is quite centralized with the seat of the state government and a large, nationally renowned public university adjacent to each other in its urban core. Together, they clearly form the lifeblood of the city as far as civic institutions and employment are concerned. Heck, even the Oracle campus is a few miles away. This is obviously a radical departure from LA.

Austin also lacks the regular grid and cross-metro commercial arteries that wholly define LA’s urban framework. This is the biggest underlying difference, as the grid structure informs LA’s public transportation network and densification/urbanization efforts and potential. I like your Detroit analogy a lot more.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Quixote

How so? Austin is quite centralized with the seat of the state government and a large, nationally renowned public university adjacent to each other in its urban core. Together, they clearly form the lifeblood of the city as far as civic institutions and employment are concerned. Heck, even the Oracle campus is a few miles away. This is obviously a radical departure from LA.

Austin also lacks the regular grid and cross-metro commercial arteries that wholly define LA’s urban framework. This is the biggest underlying difference, as the grid structure informs LA’s public transportation network and densification/urbanization efforts and potential. I like your Detroit analogy a lot more.

Honestly, the Austin-L.A. resemblance didn't click for me until the last time I visited in 2019. Austin had grown like crazy since I was there about 5 years before that. But specifics: the gridded areas near downtown Austin around 6th Street with all the bars and nightclubs reminds me a little of the nightlife corridors around Hollywood and West Hollywood. Then, some of the newer apartment low-rise apartment buildings popping up in Austin reminds me of architecture that I associate with California (for instance: https://goo.gl/maps/Ha3bXMA8658PN4LS6). Also, some of the larger residential high-rises sprouting up in downtown are reminiscent of the newer residential towers going up in downtown L.A.

I do think the Detroit and L.A. resemblance is a bit stronger, though. Particularly because of the pre-war architecture and similarities in the grid layout. But it looks like Austin is being heavily influenced by contemporary L.A.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by badrunner

Yeah usually in LA you find those kinds of neighborhoods up in the hills. To have a square mile of century-old custom homes in "the flats" in the heart of city, completely enveloped by high density urbanity, is quite unique. It's not a gated community either.

And speaking of hilly neighborhoods, Austin also has a Beverly Hills/Bel Air analogue in the westside. Okay maybe not quite as opulent, and certainly not of the same vintage, but it sort of reminds me of LA. And it's something that's unique for Texas. Houston and Dallas don't have wealthy hidden away neighborhoods snaking through the hills like in Austin. I wonder if real estate agents in Austin use the hills/flats terminology.

Yes we do. And yes those houses are just as opulent in areas.

[TexasPlaya]

Originally Posted by badrunner

I never said those things didn't exist elsewhere. Read what I wrote again. Anyway it's really a matter of degree. We're not talking absolutes here. Culture is hard to quantify in that way, but Texans themselves often remark on the West Coast leanings of Austin. It's nothing new. Nobody says that about Memphis.

And there's really two different questions here that people are confusing. If you asked me to name the cities that most closely resemble Austin, LA would not be on top of my list. There are other cities like Nashville and Columbus that are more similar. But if you asked me to name the cities (outside of CA) that most closely resemble LA, Austin and Denver would be near the top of the list. Of course, the other alpha cities plus maybe Miami and Houston would be on the list as well, but those aren't really "scaled-down" versions of anything, so I'm not counting those. Think about it, what other cities really resemble LA?

What cities resemble an extremely decentralized, chaotic, sprawling city? Or which cities have both beaches, mountains, and Hollywood?

Houston and Miami both have a LA feel in totally different environments.

[Segun]

One thing I associate as an LA phenomenon are young, hip, trendy areas placed in automobile oriented environments, or trendy areas of one story commercial buildings in districts that looked like they were once served by a streetcar. If one were to look at it as a broad observation, and ignore small quirks, I could see someone finding similarities in newer development in Southern and some Midwestern cities. I find myself saying “this reminds me of LA” in a lot of trendy areas of various cities.

[Buckeye Native 001]

The only thing in Houston that gave me LA vibes were the freeways, aside from the access roads. God, I hated trying to navigate the access roads...

On a very, very superficial level, I thought Miami and San Diego shared some similarities more so than Miami and LA. Primarily, both cities have downtowns on the waterfront and are gateways to Latin America.

[LA21st]

I traveled quite a bit yesterday in Central and West LA.
It's been rare because of covid, but it reminded me how varied all the neighborhoods are.
Hollywood, Koreatown, Hancock Park, Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills adjacent (cedars, Robertson Ave etc), Westwood village...
Everything is different/unique.

[jd3189]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

The only thing in Houston that gave me LA vibes were the freeways, aside from the access roads. God, I hated trying to navigate the access roads...

On a very, very superficial level, I thought Miami and San Diego shared some similarities more so than Miami and LA. Primarily, both cities have downtowns on the waterfront and are gateways to Latin America.

I can see that. Culturally and demographically, they are somewhat inverses today. San Diego is still very “American” with Latinos still being a minority, although the largest minority. Miami is mostly “Latin” at this point, with a minority of influence from mainline American culture.

And by “American” I’m mainly talking about white American culture.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

The only thing in Houston that gave me LA vibes were the freeways, aside from the access roads. God, I hated trying to navigate the access roads...

The freeways, large areas that are gritty/blue collar, illegal street races, heavy industry and manufacturing, and before Houston, LA was the oil capital.


https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/20...ngeles/100799/

[Docere]

Largest NHW ancestry group

Atlanta English/American 17%
Baltimore German 16.4%
Boston Irish 22.3%
Chicago German 15.2%
Cincinnati German 29.1%
Cleveland German 19.9%
Dallas English/American 13.9%
Denver German 19%
Detroit German 16.1%
Houston English/American 10.1%
Indianapolis German 20%
Kansas City German 22.6%
Los Angeles English/American 7.4%
Miami English/American 9.2% (though Jewish might be largest)
Minneapolis German 31.4%
New York Italian 13.1%
Philadelphia Irish 19.2%
Phoenix German 13.8%
Pittsburgh German 27.8%
Portland German 19.3%
St. Louis German 28.7%
San Diego German 10.5%
San Francisco English/American 8.7%
Seattle German 16.2%
Tampa English/American 18.1%
Washington English/American 11.7%