Dense in the future?

[SFBruin]

I did some original research on this once and found that LA has the densest settled (>= 1000 ppsm) census tracts of any city in the US once you reach about 20 miles from its core. Within 20 miles, it's all NYC.

Fun fact, I guess.

[ThePhun1]

Originally Posted by JManc

LA is actually pretty dense and for a long way out. Eastern cities drop off pretty quickly into low density. I think I read somewhere that LA is the densest metro area. Interesting considering New York, Boston, DC, SF and even Chicago.

I wonder what the numbers would be if the Western Inland Empire was included.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by JManc

LA is actually pretty dense and for a long way out. Eastern cities drop off pretty quickly into low density. I think I read somewhere that LA is the densest metro area. Interesting considering New York, Boston, DC, SF and even Chicago.

LA is the densest metro [with lower commute times than NY].

[ThePhun1]

Yeah, well what about that elephant in the room I just mentioned?

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

I did some original research on this once and found that LA has the densest settled (>= 1000 ppsm) census tracts of any city in the US once you reach about 20 miles from its core. Within 20 miles, it's all NYC.

Fun fact, I guess.

There's a fun little tool here: http://www.statsamerica.org/radius/big.aspx

Can type in the city or county, and see the population via radius from "X" location. Along with some other parameters.

Los Angeles in a 25/50 mile radius = 10,105,518 / 14,142,453

NYC in a 25/50 mile radius = 13,230,988/20,462,617. The NY jump from 25 to 50 mile radius is quite impressive. Likewise with LA.

Based on 2018 pop figures.

[SFBruin]

Very cool.

I guess this is useful for determining where to put rail stations, airports etc.

Edit: It also shows which parts of the country are populated/growing etc, and which parts not so much. Cool.

Edit II (last edit, I promise): I would argue that the 500-mile radius around Chicago almost perfectly captures the boundaries of what I would consider the Midwest.

[the urban politician]

^ Not bad. I would argue that Chicago is more tied to western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Tennessee than to the Dakotas. So that map sort of makes sense

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

I guess this is useful for determining where to put rail stations, airports etc.

Not really. Population density, by itself, tells you very little about what a community looks like and its needs. You could have a very sparsely populated community with strong need for rail connectivity, or a really dense one with no such need.

Orange County, CA is dense, huge population and growing but has no use for rail; a tiny village in the Swiss Alps couldn't survive without rail. Weighted density may tell you something, however.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Not bad. I would argue that Chicago is more tied to western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Tennessee than to the Dakotas. So that map sort of makes sense

Pittsburgh definitely looks more toward Philly, DC, and NYC than Chicago. Has a lot more inter-migration with those cities as well.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Pittsburgh definitely looks more toward Philly, DC, and NYC than Chicago. Has a lot more inter-migration with those cities as well.

Well, by your logic then, there are no true economic regions in the US because doesn't everybody "look toward NYC and DC"?

But as an social, geopolitical economic region, I'm referring more to this kind of stuff:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Megalopolis

Yeah yeah yeah Pittsburgh is just another city that doesn't want to be a part of that yucky word "midwest", we know....

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

Very cool.

I guess this is useful for determining where to put rail stations, airports etc.

Edit: It also shows which parts of the country are populated/growing etc, and which parts not so much. Cool.

Edit II (last edit, I promise): I would argue that the 500-mile radius around Chicago almost perfectly captures the boundaries of what I would consider the Midwest.

Maybe the true Midwest is somewhere inside that 500-mile radius, but Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia are definitely not the Midwest.

[LA21st]

No, I agree. Pittsburgh definetly looks toward the east. For me, I don't see the midwest until you cross the Ohio border.

What does Pittsburgh have in common with Chicago besides a large blue collar workforce?

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by LA21st

No, I agree. Pittsburgh definetly looks toward the east. For me, I don't see the midwest until you cross the Ohio border.

What does Pittsburgh have in common with Chicago besides a large blue collar workforce?

Pittsburgh was settled as an interior river town. It has even less of a historical connection to the east than Chicago.

But I think it's an error to define Midwest as originating from Chicago. That's like arguing that everything West Coast originates from L.A. There are plenty of cities in the Midwest that predate Chicago.

[Handro]

Since we're edging into "what is the midwest/east/west/whatever" territory again, instead of hijacking this thread about density: https://forum.skyscraperpage.com/sho...61#post8698961

[edale]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

No sound walls?

Are freeway sound walls just a California thing?

lol really? Some Californians are so incredibly naive and ignorant about the rest of the country. You really thought sound walls around freeways were just a California thing? It reminds me of when I was in college (in Los Angeles) and people asked me if we had Starbucks in Ohio. Come on...

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by edale

lol really? Some Californians are so incredibly naive and ignorant about the rest of the country. You really thought sound walls around freeways were just a California thing? It reminds me of when I was in college (in Los Angeles) and people asked me if we had Starbucks in Ohio. Come on...

Californians are like the Americans of America.

[JManc]

It's a fair question; sound walls are more common in some areas than others. I notice them more here in Texas, California, Florida and other areas with sprawl-y cities compared to east where you see less development along the freeways.

[LA21st]

Most of the expressways/freeways have sound walls in DC area.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by edale

lol really? Some Californians are so incredibly naive and ignorant about the rest of the country. You really thought sound walls around freeways were just a California thing? It reminds me of when I was in college (in Los Angeles) and people asked me if we had Starbucks in Ohio. Come on...

Are there Starbucks in Ohio though?

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by LA21st

Are there Starbucks in Ohio though?

What's an Ohio?