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Eric Fredericks 9:59 pm on April 19, 2009 Permalink | Reply

My Top 20 Favorite Large US Cities: 10 through 6

My apologies on the long delay for this posting. I have accepted a new job and things have become a little crazy as you might imagine. More on that to come. For now, hope you enjoy the series:

Boston Common with high-rise housing units in the background - Boston, MA

10. Boston, MA – Boston is one of those cities I really like, but when I’ve gone there to visit, I haven’t felt that it had IT. The city just doesn’t match my aesthetic or my climate preference. I think I’m due for a revisit though… Boston has a fantastic urban park in Boston Common (pictured). One of the most historical buildings in the country, Faneuil Hall, now functions as a market (with some great food). The T is one of the few subway systems in the country. And you can mention Boston without mentioning Fenway Park, can you? Don’t get me wrong, I love Boston, but I’m not jumping to move there. Photo credit David Berkowitz

A play on the famous Grant Wood painting in the Short North - Columbus, OH

9. Columbus, OH – So I might be a bit biased here since I essentially lived in Columbus part-time for almost two years, but I loved many things about Columbus from the first time I visited. I love art, and Columbus has my favorite art district in all of America–the Short North (be sure to go to a First Friday Gallery Hop). Aside from that, I could just name many of the great neighborhoods: German Village, Brewery District, Italian Village, Victorian Village, Arena District, Clintonville, and so on. What I love about Columbus is that it has great energy. It’s becoming very cosmopolitan and more walkable, but yet it maintains the charming character of its historic neighborhoods. Things to fix include the insane sprawl and mega arterials; the poor, dilapidated neighborhoods; the poor transit service, and a few other things. But it’s well on its way. Columbus Photos

5th Street in the Gaslamp Quarter - San Diego, CA

5th Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter - San Diego, CA

8. San Diego, CA – There are so many things to love about San Diego: the weather, the beaches, the high rise condos and apartments, the Gaslamp Quarter, beautiful Petco Park, Balboa Park, the Trolley, and many hip neighborhoods. So, why is it ranked this low? Because most of San Diego is a sprawling concrete wasteland with freeways running everywhere. In addition, the Trolley system I don’t feel is as good as everyone makes it out to be. And, it’s uber expensive. San Diego Photos

An artist paints the Dupont Circle Fountain - Washington DC

7. Washington, DC – Admittedly, Washington, DC is probably ranked too low on my list. But, really, the differences in my rankings of the remaining cities is very small, so it could easily climb to number one after my next visit. Obviously, there are many great things to see and do in DC. I spent a lot of time doing the tourist track and not getting to know the neighborhoods. However, I know it boasts one of the best transit systems in the country. It also has a great mix of really old, historical neighborhoods, and new, high-density, mixed-use developments. I also like the fact that it’s a little farther south than some of the other great US cities. I am dying to go back for a visit! Photo credit Shubert Ciencia

Sodo Neighborhood near Pioneer Square - Seattle, WA

Occidental Park - Seattle, WA

6. Seattle, WA – I think Seattle has the most beautiful natural setting of any city I’ve visited in the US. With the Puget Sound, natural lakes, evergreens, mountains, and Mount Rainier overshadowing the city, its location is breath taking. I also love many neighborhoods: Downtown, Pioneer Square, Sodo, Capitol Hill, the UW District, Belltown, Fremont, Ballard, and Green Lake are a few I visited and loved (among several others). The bike path system is spectacular (many thanks to my friend Pete Lagerway for that). And I’m incredibly jealous of their beautiful high rise condos and apartments, as well as the abundance of public art and parks. So, why would I rank Seattle at number 6? One obvious reason is the weather. The other bigger reason is that I felt Seattle was still too concrete for my taste. I think Seattle was quickly evolving before the economic meltdown, and I expect that it will continue afterward. It was really difficult to keep Seattle out of my top 5. Seattle Photos

I hope to not take such a long break between the next posting in this series, but my time to write will be extremely limited over the next few days. Here are links to the first two articles of this series:

My Top 20 Favorite Large US Cities: Intro and 20 through 16

My Top 20 Favorite Large US Cities: 15 through 11

Popularity: 75% [?]

James :{) 4:39 pm on June 16, 2009 Permalink

No question that Seattle is one of the most beautiful cities in the USA, but beauty has an UGLY side! Google: Seattle Freeze. To anyone thinking about relocating to Seattle…be sure you have enough pocket change for a round-trip ticket. “Seattle nice” is a bit of a trick!
db 7:11 am on June 18, 2009 Permalink

Thanks for including Columbus on your list. I moved to Columbus right after I graduated from high school about 16 years ago. I still love it. There are such great neighborhoods, events, art, parks, fabulous bike and walking trails. And you are right, the Short North is fantastic. There’s just something about it that makes you feel a little more alive strolling down high street and in the neighboring Victorian Village. I’m glad to see someone give Columbus the recognition it deserves!
ron 1:45 pm on September 17, 2009 Permalink

Why do you mention Seattle’s weather when you mention nothing about the weather of NYC or Boston even though they both get over 12 inches more rain per year, more cold and snow days, and way more hot sweaty days than Seattle?

Eric Fredericks 11:12 pm on April 2, 2009 Permalink | Reply

My Top 20 Favorite Large US Cities: 15 through 11

A view of Downtown Long Beach from Rainbow Harbor

15. Long Beach, CA – I think Long Beach is still one of the well-kept secret gems of America. Sure, there are places around the city I would classify as ghetto sprawl, but, they are REALLY trying to make Long Beach into a hip and walkable city. The downtown has high rise condo and apartment towers, outdoor restaurants and cafes, a movie theater, hotels, a beautiful harbor, and even a bowling alley! It’s quite a nice place to visit… except for that horrible smog problem. On a personal side note, my photo of Long Beach was used in a CNBC article this week (also see page 7). Long Beach Photos

Fruitvalle Village at Fruitvale BART Station - Oakland, CA

14. Oakland, CA – I get really tired of reading Oakland bashing on the Internets, especially when most people have never been there. The truth is, there are some fantastic neighborhoods in Oakland if you know where to look. The City is also doing a lot to encourage mixed-use development, especially near transit stations. Oakland has many diverse neighborhoods, some great food, and pretty good weather. Oakland would probably get a lot more *positive* attention if it did not have San Francisco to the west and Berkeley to the north. Oakland Photos

State Street in Winter - Madison, WI

13. Madison, WI – I grew up just 2 hours from Madison, WI, and sadly did not see much of it until I was just about to move away from Illinois for the final time. What a beautiful downtown! I know that Madison has one of the best reputations for biking and walking of any city in the country. I can also say that the best beer I’ve ever had was from a microbrewery in downtown. The last time I was in Wisconsin, I briefly stopped in Madison and stumbled upon a fantastic Indian restaurant. If I get to spend more time in Madison in the future, I can see it easily creep up this list. At a minimum, I probably won’t go hungry or thirsty there! This photo (courtesy of Wade Johanson) is pretty much how I remember downtown: beautiful lights, a nice streetscape, and snow!

Sixth Street by Night - Austin, TX

12. Austin, TX – I had really high expectations for my visit to Austin last year. And I learned one important thing… to add “for Texas” to the end of of the sentence “Austin is very walkable.” There are many great things about Austin: the nightlife, the high rise condos and apartments, bike paths, music, the funkiness of the city, etcetera. But, I still found it to be very car-centric and didn’t have the cozy feel that many East and West Coast cities have. I definitely think it’s worth visiting if you’re in Texas, because it’s the best city I’ve visited there. The flagship Whole Foods store alone is worth the visit–that place is amazing! Why does Austin top Madison on my list? Because of a) the weather; and b) I know it better. Austin Photos

A view of Waikiki from Diamondhead - Honolulu, HI

11. Honolulu, HI – One of the most beautiful spots for a city I’ve ever been to… unfortunately the sprawl and auto-obsession sometimes distracts your attention away from the beauty a little too much. Nonetheless, there are walkable areas of the city. Especially the Waikiki area. Yes, it’s very touristy. But, they’ve done a great job making it more pedestrian-friendly. In addition, Honolulu does have a great bus system called… wait for it… The Bus! Don’t forget to stop by Leonard’s Bakery for some tasty malasadas. Honolulu Photos

My Top 20 Favorite Large US Cities: Intro and 20 through 16

My Top 20 Favorite Large US Cities: 10 through 6

Popularity: 60% [?]

My Top 20 Favorite Large US Cities: 20 through 16 « Walkable Neighborhoods, and Peter are discussing. Toggle Comments
- Peter 1:02 pm on April 15, 2009 Permalink
  
  Hi Eric. I couldn’t find your pedestrian-friendly city rankings 1 to 10. I could only find ranks 11 to 20. Are 1-10 still in the process of being posted?
  
  By the way, I have a question since you are a guru on the subject. We are thinking of making a move to a pedestrian-friendly BIG city and are former residents of New York City, Toronto, Montreal and Baltimore (all of which are great, pedestrian-friendly cities, except for Baltimore, which {although historic} is only pedestrian-friendly in a few pockets and does not have DOZENS of cool neighborhoods like Toronto, New York or Montreal — it’s limited). We now need to find another city comparable to Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Boston or Montreal that is located in a better climate (even San Francisco is too cold for us). We now live in Florida, but find Miami to be unhospitable because the only interesting/vibrant/pedestrian-friendly neighborhood is South Beach. Unfortunately, South Beach has become too touristy and there are no other Miami neighborhoods worth hanging out in. It’s not a “real” city because it’s just too new.
  
  How is L.A.? Do you think it will meet our high standards? The climate would be great (much warmer than San Francisco), but is it a “real” city? We need a LOT of different neighborhoods in a city, so only a BIG BIG city will do it for us. We were thinking of checking out Chicago, but then we remembered how bad Chicago’s winter weather was. Is Greater LA the answer?
- Peter 1:45 pm on April 15, 2009 Permalink
  
  Hi Eric.
  
  Hey — I was just noticing that your site references the top 100 cities in America with a link to Wikipedia. The link is one that lists only the basic “City of ___” populations, which usually ends up being a misleading statistic. For example, if you list Buffalo or Jacksonville this way, you end up with them being listed as bigger than cities like Boston (which is ridiculous). Because the part of greater Boston called the “City of Boston” has a much smaller population than Buffalo or Jacksonville, Boston ends up being listed as the 21st biggest city in America, whereas Jacksonville ends up being 11th…which is crazy because Jacksonville has no suburbs and is about 3 million smaller than greater Boston (the same goes for Buffalo). I would therefore recommend that your link to Wikipedia be changed the following instead: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas This link shows the actual sprawl population of each city, including suburban areas. It shows how many people REALLY live in a city or travel into US cities on a daily basis. If you don’t like that link, you could instead use this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas I just find that the basic “city of ____” population statistics are totally misleading and don’t truly represent the number of people living in an urban area. ….just a thought, Peter.
Eric Fredericks 1:22 pm on April 1, 2009 Permalink | Reply

My Top 20 Favorite Large US Cities: 20 through 16

I’ve been meaning to do a list like this for a long time, but it’s not the easiest list to put together—I felt I actually had to visit most of the largest 100 cities in the United States before I could create my list. I’ve had the good fortune to visit many of the cities on the list, especially those that I believe are the most walkable. Walkability is the most important quality for cities on this list, but it’s not the only factor. Weather, transit service, amenities, access to water, and other factors were also important.

It should be noted that there are a few cities that I have not visited (or spent enough time in) that I think could crack my top 20. Some of these include: Philadelphia, Denver*, Pittsburgh*, Milwaukee*, Minneapolis/St. Paul*, Louisville*, Nashville*, Charlotte, and Baltimore (cities with an asterisk I’ve been to, but not spent enough time there recently to judge). Please see my comment in the comments area below for my background on why I feel confident creating this list.

20. Indianapolis, IN – Indianapolis has seen a lot of recent revitalization of its downtown. The city circle is one of the most beautiful public spaces in all of America. Indianapolis Photos

19. San Jose, CA – For a city that’s synonymous with urban sprawl, there are many things to like about its downtown. Like Indy, San Jose has a great public space in Plaza de Cesar Chavez. It also has very nice weather and close proximity to many amenities of the Bay Area. San Jose Photos

18. Cleveland, OH – Despite being labeled the poorest city in America and home to some of the worst foreclosure problems, Cleveland does have some redeeming qualities. One of my favorite spots: Little Italy. They also have a new BRT line! Photo courtesy of Joshua Rothhaas

17. Cincinnati, OH – Cinci has a nice location along the Ohio River. It has some very livable neighborhoods and a nice urban downtown. That’s the good news and we’ll leave it at that. Cincinnati Photos

16. Los Angeles, CA If it were not for the massively wide and congested streets, LA would probably be a really incredible city. It’s actually more dense than most people think, and it has one of the best transit systems in the country (seriously!). LA is definitely a city to watch as they plan to add tens of thousands more people to their downtown. Los Angeles Photos

Thanks to John Williams for featuring this article in Centerlines.

UPDATE: I also decided that I should have included New Orleans in my original Top 20.

My Top 20 Favorite Large US Cities: 15 through 11

My Top 20 Favorite Large US Cities: 10 through 6

My Top 20 Favorite Large US Cities: 5 through 1

Popularity: 79% [?]

Rosalie, Rudy Wobito, jennie and 5 others are discussing. Toggle Comments
- Rob 5:35 am on April 2, 2009 Permalink
  
  You should do some more traveling and spend more time in cities first before you write such an article.
- Eric Fredericks 7:45 am on April 2, 2009 Permalink
  
  Rob, I respectfully disagree. I would wager that I’ve been to more US cities than 98% of Americans. When I go to these cities, I try to visit as many parts of the city as I can, spend several days there (usually riding transit systems, walking , and/or biking), and I usually take hundreds of photos. And I don’t even think it’s necessary to do that really, I think I can get a feel for a city within 5 minutes of being there. Those cities with an asterisk above, some I’ve actually been to like 6 times and I still didn’t include them.
  
  Besides that, I’ve only released 5 cities so far… and these are MY favorites. I certainly think I’m entitled to my opinion every now and then.
- Peter 2:00 pm on April 15, 2009 Permalink
  
  Hi Eric. I couldn’t find your city walkability rankings from #1 to 10. Are they on this site?
  
  Hey — since you’re a guru on this subject, perhaps you could make a recommendation for us. We have moved to Florida for a better climate, but don’t find any of the cities here to be interesting. We previously lived in pedestrian-friendly cities which have TONS of cool neighborhoods, including Toronto, New York, Montreal and Baltmore (well, Baltimore was the exception. Baltimore actually didn’t meet out standards because it didn’t have nearly as many neighborhoods as the other three. It’s not a “BIG” walkable city like Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Boston or Montreal. We love all five of these cities. All five have so much to offer, have so many great funky neighborhoods, and are incredibly historic/pedestrian-friendly and vibrant. The problem is that they are all located in cold winter climates (even San Francisco is too cold for us). Miami has a great climate, but the only interesting neighborhood is South Beach — and we’re kind of “done” with it. Miami is just too new to be an interesting city. It’s mostly just sprawl and no urban density. So, we’re ready to move on to somewhere else and are considering LA. Will Greater LA do it for us? Only a VERY big city will meet our standards because we need a place that has DOZENS of cool neighborhoods, where people are on the streets walking and enjoying life. Chicago would probably meet our standards, but it would pose the same problem all over again — winter weather. We hate waiting for winter to end every year so that we can enjoy a measley 5 month summer. I know that LA has \great weather year-round…but is it a “real” city? Any suggestions?
- Vanessa 2:46 pm on May 11, 2009 Permalink
  
  Peter – I just moved to Los Angeles this year from the Bay Area and I love it here! I was nervous about moving because I had to learn how to drive (I grew up in Manhattan and had never owned a car before) and because I thought L.A. was going to be a nightmarish, smoggy, sprawling wasteland. L.A. is definitely a “real city” and I actually think that Los Angeles is a much more interesting and vibrant than San Francisco. L.A. has endless neighborhoods to explore, great architecture, world-class museums/cultural offerings/restaurants/etc…, and beautiful botanical gardens, parks, and hikes. And, while I wouldn’t recommend living here without a car, it is definitely possible to set up your life so that you don’t have to drive everyday.
- jennie 4:49 am on June 1, 2009 Permalink
  
  What was your answer to Peter on his April 15th blog wanting a great city with nice weather.
- Rudy Wobito 12:12 pm on June 7, 2009 Permalink
  
  I cannot beieve that you did not include Philadelphia in your top ten. It easily one of the most walkable and beautiful cities in the country. I am very disappointed.
- Rudy Wobito 12:15 pm on June 7, 2009 Permalink
  
  San Francisco was the absolute worst city that I have ever lived in.
  
  My top 10
  1. NYC
  2. Chicago
  3. Philadelphia
  4. Los Angeles
  5. Washington DC
  6. Boston
  7. Seattle
  8. Portland
  9. San Francisco
  10. Miami/South Beach
- Rosalie 3:24 pm on October 6, 2009 Permalink
  
  See! No one even cares about Kansas City. I’ve looked on like thousands of websites like this, with thousands of different opinions and yet not one has Kansas City been mentioned. Not even on a top 100 list. It makes me so sad to know that I live in a magnificent city that most people probably haven’t even heard of. Hello! Kansas City is the city of fountains (which are amazing ecspecially the JC Nichols Memorial Fountain), best BBQ (look it up I’m not making this up), Heart of America (as in middle), beautiful skyline, perfect blend of normal life and nature, and don’t even get me started on haw beautiful and wonderful KC is (I mean have you seen the Country Club Plaza). There are so many reasons we all love KC. You should check it out, I’ll admit it is not the best city ever (by a long shot) but it is still awesome. someday I’ll make Kansas City the #1 city in America, again (it was like as important as New York is now like a long time ago, because of the Missouri and Mississipi Rivers (that is like the one bad thing, we’re landlocked and the only water is so brown it just looks like a river of mud)) If you visited here you’d all like it too.
- Rosalie 3:24 pm on October 6, 2009 Permalink
  
  See! No one even cares about Kansas City. I’ve looked on like thousands of websites like this, with thousands of different opinions and yet not one has Kansas City been mentioned. Not even on a top 100 list. It makes me so sad to know that I live in a magnificent city that most people probably haven’t even heard of. Hello! Kansas City is the city of fountains (which are amazing ecspecially the JC Nichols Memorial Fountain), best BBQ (look it up I’m not making this up), Heart of America (as in middle), beautiful skyline, perfect blend of normal life and nature, and don’t even get me started on how beautiful and wonderful KC is (I mean have you seen the Country Club Plaza). There are so many reasons we all love KC. You should check it out, I’ll admit it is not the best city ever (by a long shot) but it is still awesome. someday I’ll make Kansas City the #1 city in America, again (it was like as important as New York is now like a long time ago, because of the Missouri and Mississipi Rivers (that is like the one bad thing, we’re landlocked and the only water is so brown it just looks like a river of mud)) If you visited here you’d all like it too.
- Rosalie 3:25 pm on October 6, 2009 Permalink
  
  oops sry bout the double post
- Rosalie 3:42 pm on October 6, 2009 Permalink
  
  Oh yea! So there is no confusion I was talking about Kansas City, MO.