Cities of the Americas - what's your cities most European-like neighborhood/district?

[LA21st]

That area in the right (north of City West) is constantly adding large 6-7 story apt and condo buildings too. Nobody really talks about it, but it's one of the best places in the city for infill. It sort of reminds me of what Chicago did with River West before it became more vertical.

[rbehs]

This block in Hyde Park is by the same developer as Alta Vista Terrace (had to grab my AIA guide to verify):

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8004...7i16384!8i8192

They look like separate houses, but if you look closely, they are rowhouses. Not very European though.

[Emprise du Lion]

St. Louis certainly has some neighborhoods with European-esque architecture, but they still come off looking Midwestern in the end whether it's the density or the wideness of the city streets. For the most European looking neighborhood I'll go ahead and put forward Lafayette Square:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6157...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6187...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6160...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6192...7i16384!8i8192

Soulard would be my second choice:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6042...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6074...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6069...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6082...7i16384!8i8192

Soulard is far bigger than Lafayette Square, so there's more of it. St. Louis is big on essentially micro-neighborhoods.

Originally Posted by ardecila

Midwestern/Western cities have too much space; any US city established after the Colonial period is bound to be more spread out, except for the random pieces of kitsch and theme architecture.

Obviously the architecture isn't remotely the same, and the streets are wider, but I do think West Loop is developing into a Euro-style midrise neighborhood.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8830...7i16384!8i8192

To me the West Loop looks like what downtown St. Louis will look like once it's fully revitalized. Lots of brick midrises here.
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6322...7i16384!8i8192

For a real gut punch though, here's what downtown St. Louis used to look like back in the day:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6305...7i16384!8i8192

The area is called Laclede's Landing, and it's basically all that's left from the Arch grounds getting demolished, the highways going in, the streets getting widened across the city, etc.

[Emprise du Lion]

Also, while this wasn't the exact purpose of the thread, I would like to call attention to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis in St. Louis. It has the most mosaics of any church outside of Russia, which is little odd since it's a Catholic Church and not an Orthodox one. Still, absolutely stunning:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...arter_view.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Main_Isle.jpg

Edit: I removed the images because they were absolutely massive. Wasn't certain how to resize them.

[Maldive]

This thread will accelerate to 647 pages once Buenos Aires photos are posted.

A visit to the Paris of South America belongs on every bucket list.

[proghousehead]

In Manhattan - certainly there are a lot of neighborhoods below 14th that have a European aesthetic, with the narrow windy roads, low rise architecture (massive amounts of which are from the 1800s and even some from the 1700s). Soho, west and Greenwich village, nolita, parts of Chinatown/little Italy, and especially the financial district which is the oldest part of the city and it definitely shows.

Fort Tyron park could be a hilltop in the Italian countryside.

Brownstone Brooklyn also fits the bill. Parts of forest hills in Queens as well
With the Tudor buildings.

Observe for lower Manhattan:

55129786]I'll try to make a case for certain NYC neighborhoods with a superficial London vibe:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7234...thumbfov%3D100

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7218...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7147...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7051...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7179...7i11100!8i5550

[SlidellWx]

French Quarter and Marigny neighborhoods.

[Fresh]

I'm really struggling with Sydney - we have plenty of neighbourhoods that are dense, walkable and with windy illogical euro-style streets but I can't really think there's anything in Europe that this resembles

https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.888...7i16384!8i8192

I suppose this sort of stuff looks quite similar to London

https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.897...7i16384!8i8192

This streetscape and cafe set up is also quite European but again ignore the big glass and steel skyscrapers behind

https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.859...7i16384!8i8192

[muppet]

I think in denser cities (especially for urbanists like us) you get more urbanism, population, experience, opportunity, green credentials and interest pound for pound, which is a big reason as to why people move to cities in the first place. Beauty will always be subjective, but more historic edifices will be mined with interest (in comparison to say an office floor).

I think a big dream for many of us here is to be able to step out from our abode and instantly be 'somewhere', whether that's Times Square or a Tuscan hilltown where everyone knows each other.

I will say something though, the grass is always greener for many. For example when I was growing up in the UK I thought all rowhomes were ugly and should be demolished, a sign of poverty back in the day. Every town and city was marred by mile upon mile of them.





^They are of course now worth half a million a pop, and have been elevated as historic in the eyes of many. But bear in mind this is BORING for many commutes




In the same way I hear many people complaining about the housing stock in the US, many Europeans see this as what that entails, and aspire to it:

[muppet]

What many people of my generation associate rowhomes with:


https://edwardmellor.co.uk

https://images.immediate.co.uk



What visitors do:





How USAianites see suburbia:


https://api.kompressor.app

https://mobilitylab.org


How visitors see it (thankyou Hollywood)


https://images.fineartamerica.com

www.oldirvingpark.com

[muppet]

The same applies to city centres:

What Europeans think American city centres look like (and wish they could have more of at home):






What Americans think Euro cities look like (and wish they could have more of at home)






The reality is somewhat different in both cases, and also interchangeable.

[muppet]

In terms of interchangeability, European city centres can of course look like this (NA style good)






Or this (NA style bad - mod cons but soulless)




In the same way as North American city centres can look like this (Eurogood):






or this (Eurobad - historic but decayed)

[Yuri]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

Seriously asking - why is this even a question?

It's strange - so many Americans seem to put Europe on a pedestal, as if all things there are superior. Who declared Europe's building density, street / grid layout, architecture, urban planning, atmosphere, aesthetic and vibe to be the gold standard?

I personally find the opposite to be true in many instances, and not just with regards to NYC.

The American infatuation with Europe is mind-boggling.

That's not about what Europe has, but what the US lacks. Do you really think to raze your entire Downtown to turn it into a parking lot is a superior urban planning compared to Europe, Asia or Latin America relatively unscattered urban tissue?

[muppet]

I think a lot of US city centres are now filling in those parking lots with high density. Europe did similar with postwar tower-blocks-in-a-park, but they've similarly been replaced now.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by muppet

I will say something though, the grass is always greener for many. For example when I was growing up in the UK I thought all rowhomes were ugly and should be demolished, a sign of poverty back in the day. Every town and city was marred by mile upon mile of them.

That was a shared perception in the U.S., too. And still is in all but 5 or 6 U.S. cities.

[Yuri]

Originally Posted by muppet

I think a lot of US city centres are now filling in those parking lots with high density. Europe did similar with postwar tower-blocks-in-a-park, but they've similarly been replaced now.

And that's why they are now "improving", precisely by getting more similar to cities elsewhere in the world.

Even though Europe, Latin America had their own urban issues, population flight was much less pronounced then in the US.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Emprise du Lion

St. Louis certainly has some neighborhoods with European-esque architecture, but they still come off looking Midwestern in the end whether it's the density or the wideness of the city streets.

I don't know about European, but these StL neighborhoods have very similar architectural qualities with parts of Brooklyn. This house could easily blend into areas of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, or Bed-Stuy.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

Seriously asking - why is this even a question?

It's strange - so many Americans seem to put Europe on a pedestal, as if all things there are superior. Who declared Europe's building density, street / grid layout, architecture, urban planning, atmosphere, aesthetic and vibe to be the gold standard?

I personally find the opposite to be true in many instances, and not just with regards to NYC.

The American infatuation with Europe is mind-boggling.

I agree with this. I think there is a lot of good things to say about North American urbanism.

One thing I’ve noticed about most continental European countries is that their lower density neighborhoods have houses that are usually hidden behind a 7 foot tall masonry wall. These environments are brutal to walk around in - easily as monotonous and tedious as walking along a suburban arterial lined with gas stations. Our low density areas can still be urban and inviting since they usually have small lawns with trees and little gardens, and things like front porches, which are sometimes ornately detailed.

Europeans also haven’t really figured out how to build skyscrapers in an urban setting. In La Defense, Canary Wharf and Rotterdam they’re usually surrounding large plazas. They look good as standalone landmarks, but they don’t feel like they’re part of the urban fabric the way they do in, say, midtown Manhattan or the Loop. I haven’t been to Frankfurt, but from street viewing the area around the Commerzbank tower, things seem kind of underwhelming at street level.

[Segun]

Originally Posted by muppet

In terms of interchangeability, European city centres can of course look like this (NA style good)






Or this (NA style bad - mod cons but soulless)




In the same way as North American city centres can look like this (Eurogood):






or this (Eurobad - historic but decayed)

Shiiiiiet, you chose the best examples for decay in America. The decayed shot is of Philadelphia, which has great downtown, despite the ruins. Those cluttered East Coast style ghettos are usually around the corner from being renovated. Old Wood frame houses on stilts with a sagging foundation, not so much.

In terms of percentage, the majority of our large downtowns are barren, with

- Monumental buildings and skyscrapers
- Unused lawns and public spaces
- Lack of any pedestrian traffic
- Very little automobile traffic into the center
- A handful of open businesses
- Poor transit
- Lots of hotels and convention centers
- Empty storefronts and buildings
- Humongous parking lots
- Bad or non-existing flow into adjacent neighborhoods (there's almost always some adjacent historic neighborhood that was hip back in the day, but has been reduced to a shell of it's former self)

Montgomery, Alabama
https://goo.gl/maps/tn5dm4rdyBj113DD8

Are there any European centers that have a lack of services like the US?

[Six Corners]

Building off what Muppet was saying, Paris is often placed on a pedestal for urban beauty and planning, and it certainly lives up to its status in many ways. But if you venture into the outer suburbs, North American style big box and strip commercial development starts to become a common form:

Complete with billboards
Note the BBQ joint on the left