Quote:
Originally Posted by jpdivola
I feel like DC is the least urban of the so called Big 6. Partially due to being a master planned government city with a lot of impersonal government buildings in the core. But, also it is really more a hybrid urban/sunbelt city than the 5 others. In 1930, DC was far smaller than Boston or Philly to say nothing of Chicago. DC's prewar core is more like STL than Boston or Philly. With the rise of modern zoning, much of DC's quiet row house neighborhoods were basically frozen in time. Had DC grown earlier, it is likely Capitol Hill would have seen more apartment buildings and commercial mixed-use development built.
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I understand these points, and DC is a bit of an outlier among the six. It's younger, more Sunbelt-y and lacks the extensive prewar fabric. It doesn't have terrific density and its activity nodes are often underwhelming. There's an (admittedly subjective) genericism in its architecture, design and civic spaces.
At the same time, DC has some particular strengths. It arguably has the best transit system outside of NYC. It has the highest heavy rail ridership outside of NYC. It has the highest share of multifamily outside NYC. It has a huge, monumental core that's the undisputed regional nexus. It has the best and most extensive postwar transit-oriented suburban development in the U.S. Downtown DC is the second or third largest core office market in the U.S.