Thanks for the info, I wonder what Seattle would look like today had they built rapid transit in the 70s. It would've probably spurred Vancouver and Portland on in building their systems alot sooner too. The whole of the Pacific Northwest would probably be alot more urban than it is today, what a shame.
In the same era, we also downzoned most of the city to avoid getting any nasty new highrises. And we rounded up and shipped off most of our Chinese community in the late 1800s. Then we reduced building heights Downtown through the CAP initiative in 1988 or so, which was a revolt against the boom going on at the time (oddly, the larger trigger was probably Bus Tunnel and over-freeway Convention Center construction). We have a long list of mistakes...
Just out of curiosity, how urban would Seattle "feel" coming from someone who lives in San Francisco? It's definitely a city I could potentially see mysefl living in. Obviously I get the density/walkability would not be on the same scale, but would it feel like a San Diego in the PNW? How urban and walkable is it compared to Vancouver or Portland? I'm super excited about all the light rail development Seattle has these days, I don't think any US city is moving forward at such a rapid pace.
I'm interested in Seattle b/c I've always loved to the Pacific Northwest, but the job market in Vancouver is terrible (so I hear), it would be a hassle as a non-Canadian to move there, and for me Portland is too small and provincial (albeit lovely).
Portland has more rail than Seattle but less transit usage. Vancouver has more of both.
Seattle is much denser, more walkable, and more transit-friendly than San Diego, in every measurable.
Portland's narrow streets give it a walkability edge in some regards. It's like SF in terms of streets, but not very dense. But being flat makes walking easier.
San Francisco is much more urban. On the urbanity scale I'd estimate that what Seattle is to San Diego, San Francisco is to Seattle. But Seattle is narrowing the gap in core districts.
Just out of curiosity, how urban would Seattle "feel" coming from someone who lives in San Francisco? It's definitely a city I could potentially see mysefl living in. Obviously I get the density/walkability would not be on the same scale, but would it feel like a San Diego in the PNW? How urban and walkable is it compared to Vancouver or Portland? I'm super excited about all the light rail development Seattle has these days, I don't think any US city is moving forward at such a rapid pace.
I'm interested in Seattle b/c I've always loved to the Pacific Northwest, but the job market in Vancouver is terrible (so I hear), it would be a hassle as a non-Canadian to move there, and for me Portland is too small and provincial (albeit lovely).
Well, I would say that depends on what your notion of urbanity is. If you are strictly speaking of density and transit then I would say Vancouver would feel the most urban in that sense. If however, you are speaking of how urban a city is by what the city offers on a cultural/economic basis I would say Seattle is the most urban with Portland and Vancouver after that. There are differing combinations/amounts of both notions in all three.
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