Cities that could blend into another region

[Boisebro]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

If Milwaukee and Buffalo switched places with each other in the middle of the night, would anyone notice?

Milwaukeeans and Buffalonians would.

[ThatDarnSacramentan]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

Portland and Montreal could switch places. Gray skies, long riverfront CBDs, mountainous backdrop. You could swap Portland for Nashville or Pittsburgh too.

Funny enough, my second thought visiting Montreal for the first time was, This reminds me a lot of an older, French Portland.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by jd3189

Pittsburgh could also be where Chattanooga is now. I like to think of the latter as the Southern little brother of the former.

I think that makes more sense than Nashville, but still, Chattanooga is pretty flat in comparison to Pittsburgh. Urban Pittsburgh is built IN the hills, where street grids are impossible. Chattanooga isn’t like that. I think Cincinnati is the only other major city that comes close to the urban topography of Pittsburgh (in the US at least).

[Docere]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I think Queens would blend in well as a Great Lakes city.

Toronto is the Queens of the Great Lakes.

[pj3000]

Or of pretty much any other Great Lakes City

[Nomad9]

Originally Posted by jd3189

Pittsburgh could also be where Chattanooga is now. I like to think of the latter as the Southern little brother of the former.

Birmingham has been called the “Pittsburgh of the South” given similar industrial histories and hilly, wooded terrains. Though the Tennessee River flowing around the city and mountains gives Chattanooga a more similar appearance.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by ThatDarnSacramentan

Funny enough, my second thought visiting Montreal for the first time was, This reminds me a lot of an older, French Portland.

That's weird. I don't get that with Portland at all. Montreal for me in terms of US cities has shades of Philly, Boston and NYC.

Portland to me feels like an oversized Ottawa.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Acajack

That's weird. I don't get that with Portland at all. Montreal for me in terms of US cities has shades of Philly, Boston and NYC.

Portland to me feels like an oversized Ottawa.

I think it's more the natural setting... with their downtown grids aligned along their respective rivers and with a relative low ridge backing their cores.

Obviously, Montreal is much older and larger and feels like east coast US cities on the ground, much more than it does Portland to me.

[pdxtex]

Originally Posted by llamaorama

Duluth, MN and Bremerton, WA are loaded on ships and swapped out (Downtown Duluth appears narrow enough to fit through the St. Lawrence Seaway)

St. Louis and Harrisburg PA are loaded onto several barges in a lengthy process.

Sacramento and Omaha are disassembled and put on railroad flatcars and switch locations

Nobody will notice as long residents keep it a secret.

Sacramento and Tampa CBD seem more similar than Omaha. Omaha is actually kind of undulating and has totally different architecture than Sacramento.

[ThatDarnSacramentan]

Originally Posted by Acajack

That's weird. I don't get that with Portland at all. Montreal for me in terms of US cities has shades of Philly, Boston and NYC.

Portland to me feels like an oversized Ottawa.

For me, it was less of the actual built environment that did it and more the vibe of the people I met, places I ate, etc. I mean, absolutely there's nothing like Place d'Armes or the Olympic Park in Portland, but there are shades of similarity between Mount Royal and Washington Park/Pittock Mansion, Griffintown and the Pearl District.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Minneapolis could easily be part of Canada.

[Metro-One]

Victoria BC would blend in very well in Tasmania or South Island New Zealand.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Victoria BC would blend in very well in Tasmania or South Island New Zealand.

Yeah I was thinking Victoria and Christchurch could be swapped.

[bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by TWAK

Gold Coast and Fort Lauderdale seem like they are similar.
Guess Honolulu too?

I can see that. The Gold Coast in Australia looks a lot like metro Miami near the coast.

[Quixote]

Gold Coast, Australia --> South Florida
Old Montreal --> parts of Edinburgh
Philadelphia --> Liverpool

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I think that makes more sense than Nashville, but still, Chattanooga is pretty flat in comparison to Pittsburgh. Urban Pittsburgh is built IN the hills, where street grids are impossible. Chattanooga isn’t like that. I think Cincinnati is the only other major city that comes close to the urban topography of Pittsburgh (in the US at least).

I would throw in Asheville, Greenville, Birmingham, Louisville, and Knoxville to this discussion. Austin and KC to a lesser degree as well.

[Quixote]

Oddly, I get a very NYC vibe with Buenos Aires (I've never been) based on Google Street View exploration. It's only reminiscent of Paris in a few areas. But the grid, mix of pre- and post-war buildings of various heights, tree-lined side streets, wide avenues (not meant to be grand monumental) are strangely redolent of Manhattan between 42nd and Houston. NYC is obviously more polished and the architecture more beautiful, but it has a similar raw energy and "messier" look.

[edale]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

I would throw in Asheville, Greenville, Birmingham, Louisville, and Knoxville to this discussion. Austin and KC to a lesser degree as well.

I've not been to Birmingham, so I won't comment on that, but Louisville, Austin, and especially KC have nothing even comparable to Cincinnati's topography, let alone Pittsburgh's. Ashville and Greenville...maybe? but they're much smaller cities with very different built environments. I wouldn't say any of these cities are good comparisons to Pittsburgh.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by edale

I've not been to Birmingham, so I won't comment on that, but Louisville, Austin, and especially KC have nothing even comparable to Cincinnati's topography, let alone Pittsburgh's. Ashville and Greenville...maybe? but they're much smaller cities with very different built environments. I wouldn't say any of these cities are good comparisons to Pittsburgh.

The west side of Austin, just minutes from downtown, has topography similar to the hills of Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, and well within the city. Pittsburgh's hills cover pretty much the whole city, though. I don't know about Cincinnati's coverage. Anyone who has been to Austin but stayed east of Mopac would not be aware of the high hills and deep valleys of west Austin, which is the beginning of the Hill Country. The airport, which is all a lot of people see, is on the east side in a swath of farmland/grassland that couldn't be more different from scenic west Austin. Google Earth is instructive in this matter.

The following view is within the city on the west side. Office complexes are perched above the bridge over the river.

[img]Top of Mount Bonnell by Sushicircus, on Flickr[/img]

Posted by Sushicircus on Flickr
https://flickr.com/photos/sushicircu...4jgRb5-4jgRju/


Typical residential area west of downtown Austin. Easy to see why Californians are attracted to Austin (and they have the money to buy in these residential areas). If they work downtown, it's quite a short drive.

[img]Jester View by Chris Matthews, on Flickr[/img]

[streetscaper]

Originally Posted by Quixote

Oddly, I get a very NYC vibe with Buenos Aires (I've never been) based on Google Street View exploration. It's only reminiscent of Paris in a few areas. But the grid, mix of pre- and post-war buildings of various heights, tree-lined side streets, wide avenues (not meant to be grand monumental) are strangely redolent of Manhattan between 42nd and Houston. NYC is obviously more polished and the architecture more beautiful, but it has a similar raw energy and "messier" look.

I've been to BA and I buy this comparison