Quote:
Originally Posted by The North One
Pittsburgh seems to be in the same position as Cincy and it's very disconnected as well.
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Pittsburgh's not in the midwest, but the best way to describe it is basically as follows:
First, a well-preserved, dense downtown area with extremely minimal usage of sufcace parking lots for a rust belt city.
Second, a "ring of ruin" basically surrounding downtown on all sides where traditional urban form was either destroyed or all-but destroyed. Lower Hill, Uptown, Strip District, North Shore, Station Square, etc. All of these areas are seeing massive new investment today, but it's very much "urban light" in the modern sense and won't hold a candle to what was lost.
Third, a series of very-well preserved, finely-grained, traditionally urban neighborhoods which are found on the North Side, East End (including Oakland) and South Side. Altogether it makes for a very large swathe of urbanity, but the lack of cohesive traditional urbanity between them and downtown is palpable. Still, the overall scope of this grouping is way larger than Cincinnati, and it's way more intact than anything remaining in St. Louis.