Ranking the 12 Largest American Cities on Urban Planning

[@Genericnameperson]

"babe come quick! The top 12 cities for urban design are officially out!"

[@lowz1369]

Us urban nerds totally get bitches (real)

[@alistairlee7604]

Yes honey

[@morganboutwell8231]

Lmfao

[@jwaj]

Not tonight honey 😔

[@dummysick_8117]

🥵

[@zoppp621]

Atlanta deserves it's roast. Everyone complains about traffic, but no one votes for public transport. Instead of extending Marta northwest to the new baseball stadium/Marietta, they built a dedicated elevated 2 lane express lane for cars. The only sustainable sections of development are in Buckhead and midtown where everything is right by the Marta stations and it's a grid layout.

[@jetfan925]

Goddamn NIMBYs.

[@GriffenDoesIt]

Every time I see that express lane hovering completely empty over 75, it *kills* me that they could have built a rail solution, or hell, even a BUSWAY with the same money, with better revenue generation and better traffic outcomes. It's stupid as hell urban design.

[@Johnny.Fedora]

I lived for a year in the Old Fourth Ward, and I second everything you said. Sadly, I had to work regular business hours, and the I-75/i-85/i-285 commute was absolutely horrendous. Miami is worse, but there is some relief during off-hours. In Atlanta, it was near-gridlock all day long.

[@thesharinganknight9859]

Nah bro we need the Blue Line to extend to Stonecrest more, I'm tired of commuting to Kennesaw State for school with only 3 lanes on 20 gridlocked everyday at all times of the day. They're finally metering the ramps even in the East Metro where I live and it's still not doing anything at least make it like Cobb that has at least 6+ lanes since people are moving out here. And we all know for a FOR A FACT nobody in Cobb and Gwinnett is ever going to vote for it bc of the "crime and bringing in lower income"👎🏾 And gas is +4

[@shivtim]

The baseball stadium isn’t in the city of Atlanta. The residents of the city have voted multiple times for more transit. GDOT built those express lanes, they’re not in the city, and the city has no control over it.

[@Skydog6301]

As an SF native, I gotta say most of the price-related problems are because of huge gentrification and nimbys blocking every attempt to build denser housing along transit corridors
Edit: It’s also because the city government might as well be 3 corporate landlords in a trenchcoat

[@sillymesilly]

I am starting to think gentrification is a scapegoat to government solutions that raise the costs of cities

[@Sly88Frye]

Damn that sucks! I'm born and raised in Santa Rosa which is an hour north of San Francisco. I've been to San Francisco a lot and it's just a nice place to go on a tour and see cool places like the planetarium and the academy of science or whatever it was called. But even just driving in San Francisco is a nightmare. Traffic never gets that bad in Santa Rosa although to our times at least on the freeway when it slows down a lot But a lot more predictable in my area than down there.
One thing that's really infuriating though is that because San Francisco has become so expensive a lot of people from San Francisco have actually moved up here to Santa Rosa and have raised the rents here too. It used to be much more feasible to just afford to live in a one-bedroom apartment here. Nowadays it's actually really expensive here. Not even half as expensive as San Francisco but still nevertheless it's gotten expensive here now.

[@skonka8503]

London Breed is fucking terribile

[@davidneman6527]

​@Sly88Frye Santa Rosa might be one hour from San Francisco at 4 AM. Usually, two hours gets you from the Golden Gate Bridge barely to Rohnert Park.

[@dis1d31]

I'm also annoyed about the "self inflicting this on yourself" comment about San Francsico. Couldn't you make this argument for literally every city in this country? Yes, NIMBYism is out of control in San Francisco, but thats not an issue of the majority of the city voting for policies. It's the wealthy few who can own property who have too much political sway. Also, about "liberal" policies. I would argue the opposite. You have lot of tech millionaire/billionaires who have A LOT of influence just because they have so much money to throw around, and some *cough* Elon Musk *cough* have a personal vendetta against public transit and urbanism at large. I would hardly call that an issue of "liberal" policies.

[@mrr9636]

With weather it seems like you’re primarily concerned with coldness, but the heat in places like Atlanta makes biking and walking dangerous for significant portions of the year, and NYC and Philly also experience significant heat stress.

[@maverick9708]

Yeah, for me the weather scores would be flipped completely. I can always layer up but I can't just walk off some heat stroke

[@lukejones2929]

Dangerous? In no way is Atlanta heat damgerous unless you are morbidly obese and dehydrated. Does it get hot and humid in the summer? Of course. But the city has more tree cover and thus shade than any other major city in the country. Theres no more than 10 or so days a year that you honestly wouldn't want to be outside. Its not at all comparable to cities in south Georgia, Mississippi, or Louisiana. Those areas can get very very bad.

[@proghosterone]

EXACTLY
I've lived in/around Atlanta most of my life and given my health conditions it literally isn't safe to be outside for more than half an hour or so for 5-7 months out of the year. Especially with people struggling with post-COVID health conditions and lingering symptoms (AND CLIMATE CHANGE MAKING THE SUN BELT EVEN HOTTER) I feel like Atlanta's a really poor choice if you're concerned about heat at all.
Sure it isn't Nevada, but you also have the humidity to contend with. Anybody planning on moving to the southeast desperately needs to know about the genuine health concerns; genetically predisposed to melanoma? Don't move here. Heat intolerant? Don't move here. Care about not paying out the ass for AC? Don't move here. Before anyone calls me a weenie for not sticking it out, I've lived through 110F Georgia summers with no AC and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
There are obviously plenty of concerns with living in a cooler area (snow and ice being by far the most impactful), but in the long term I feel like most people are going to find it more affordable and safer to deal with a moderate or colder climate. If you're a warm-weather person and understand the risks and costs of living in the Sun Belt, absolutely go for it. But it pisses me off hearing other people say stuff like oh well it isn't dangerous "unless you are morbidly obese and dehydrated". That point of view is incredibly ignorant of the millions of Americans who don't have the economic mobility to just pack up and go somewhere else, and are struggling with health conditions exacerbated by the heat. 10 days a year? WTF? The Atlanta area frequently stays in the high 90s/low 100s into October, and the oceans of pavement blanketing Atlanta (and every other Sun Belt city) are /not/ helping.
Atlanta desperately needs to build affordable housing and actually useful public transportation, as well as increase vegetation in downtown areas. It's gotten bad, y'all. Real bad.

[@deserteagle4745]

It doesn’t get dangerous stop lying

[@deserteagle4745]

@@proghosterone grow a pair

[@caseydamiano269]

You haven't yet delved down to Denver. But there is an interesting phenomenon. One of my "bus Buddies" IE: people who frequent the same buses Made the point that she was raised in NYC and noted that Denver's bus services are great during the morning & evening rush hours, but nearly disappear in off hours. Not great when you stumble-out of your favorite bar at 0230AM. How serious are we about preventing Drunk Driving? Get this guy on a bus & on his way!

[@GeneralLiuofBoston1911]

We should buy a mini bus fleet that just goes around at 2am and drops people off. But the interior uses plastic seats and the driver has a plastic shield. Then when service is done, just hose the entire intierior and have it ready for next evening's trip. Nothing major, maybe like 2 or 3 of these will do the trick and just get the same model without fabric or faux leather seating.

[@charlesrodriguez7984]

@@GeneralLiuofBoston1911 we already have a large network of school bussing but no public transportation :(

[@GeneralLiuofBoston1911]

@@charlesrodriguez7984 School bus rapid transit 🤔

[@charlesrodriguez7984]

@@GeneralLiuofBoston1911 could be possible. Just need more buses.

[@AssBlasster]

@@GeneralLiuofBoston1911 Gainesville, FL used to have a "Later Gator" bus service specifically for getting drunk students to/from downtown bars and the apt complexes. I remember it being a life saver on many occasions.

[@jonathanstensberg]

Can confirm Philly: $800/month studio in a safe, walkable, amenity-filled neighborhood, a block off of a lovely park with excellent transit access to literally everything. And honestly, we barely even have winter most years.

[@Yogkog]

Which neighborhood?

[@Jsd8675]

715, block from El, hipsterland.

[@75aces97]

My brother had an apartment in Philly years ago, while working in Camden across the river. Which sounds backwards, but it was actually a pretty good setup. Well, the part about having to go to Camden.

[@seamusmckeon9109]

Sounds like a joke

[@daemondesiree6935]

A studio you could get for 1000 and under sure, but not a 2 bed.

[@Konghulio]

One of the issues with Miami is that many people think “Miami” is just the downtown / Brickell area. Outside of this relatively small area there is nearly zero walkability or bikeability, especially because of how far everything is. To compound this issue there is a very inefficient public transportation system, if you can even call it that. Busses are infrequent and the [sparse] light rail is built around a park-n-ride system so without a car really nothing is possible in the city. On top of this, the entire public transportation network is set up around getting you to and from the downtown area, to go anywhere else you’re stuck with an expensive Uber. Miami is a shining example of urban sprawl even within city limits. The housing market in Miami has gone up 20% in the past six months so owning any property is unrealistic for most for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, rent has also been expensive even before this issue and will surely only worsen because of it. The weather is dismal: there are approximately only 4 or 5 months where the temperature is moderate but from late March to early November is hurricane season. During this period it rains, in no insignificant amount, everyday and is accompanied by near-constant 90 plus percent humidity. The climate in Miami makes it even less walkable than it already was. The city oftentimes gets mistaken for a resort / clubbing town, which there is plenty of in the tourist-centric / downtown, but day-to-day life in what constitutes the vast majority of the city limits is far from many other cities on this list. Unless you are wealthy and can afford to live in the [tiny] downtown area: life in Miami is a flat, humid, and rainy unfortunate example of urban sprawl and increasing inequality in the US.

[@camouflaging6090]

Yo, thank you! I was gonna comment exactly this cause living in areas like Kendall, Pinecrest, and Coral Gables easily negates all that he said about Miami

[@xoxxobob61]

@@camouflaging6090 These are suburbs of Miami which he wasn't ranking. Most of the areas you listed are also affluent so the residents there don't concern themselves with things like walkability or public transit.

[@ACE3CGL]

Glad to see this comment because it saves me from having to shit on Miami as a Miamian.

[@shiny_teddiursa]

Don’t forget that there’s high rates of poverty and wealth inequality in miami-dade and families often have to pay an arm and a leg to rent/buy in a relatively safe area.

[@cherrylindo3917]

How did Miami even get on this list of the largest cities? Population under 500,000. If you mean Miami-Dade County forget about public transportation and walkability.

[@rabbbirumba2397]

Chicago's weather does suck in the winter, but as a lifelong resident I can honestly say Chicago is the greatest city to visit/live in during the summer. Chicago's lakefront, specifically the ledge, is so nice during the summer it's no surprise Chicago has the "Summer Time Chi" reputation.

[@waspsandwich6548]

While snowstorms are terrible, I still think they're a very important part of living somewhere, especially if you're raising a family. It's such a unique experience. It does such though, but it forms memories. Plus it allows you to solve problems and expand in other areas. And a tropical paradise vacation means so much more.

[@Mateo-et3wl]

Wtf is the ledge?

[@rabbbirumba2397]

@@Mateo-et3wl The ledge is the nickname for all the concrete along chicago's lakeshore. People jump into the lake directly from there and it's the sport where most chicagoans usually hangout during the summer.

[@phobospotato]

@@Mateo-et3wl Since the beach would erode normally, the city put up a barrier to not have any issues with the water, there are large beaches, but they're typically protected from the violent waves. by a shallow wall a half mile out

[@zaydansari4408]

It's good to see a transit/ urbanism channel giving Chicago the love it deserves

[@VestedUTuber]

Yeah, a lot of them tend to dunk on Chicago, obsessing over its high raw numbers in regards to crime, the delays and other issues with Metra, and the rushhour traffic solely within the financial district and on the Kennedy interchange while completely ignoring CTA and the fact that even with its issues Metra is still the most extensive commuter rail network in the US, its ease of navigation and its general walkability, bikeability and housing availability within the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. It's refreshing to see someone give Chicago credit where credit is due.
I get the feeling that some of the other transit and urbanism channels either ignore or downplay Chicago because it's such a blatant exception to the whole "typical US City" situation.

[@jequirity1]

Hell yeah Chicago stans. Weather sucks but otherwise it's a gem.

[@troyarrington5492]

@@VestedUTuber let them hate lol they don’t need to be here

[@honeycomblord9384]

I feel like for people looking at things from an urban design perspective, Chicago tends to be pretty highly regarded (especially for the cost). It's the mainstream media that magnifies the high crime parts of the city.

[@Mateo-et3wl]

The weather sucks and the people are worse. Otherwise it's a gem

[@DanielFranquiz]

I'm surprised Miami got ranked so high in walkability considering it's one of the deadliest cities in the country for pedestrians. You could say downtown Miami is walkable but the downtown is a fairly small portion of the city. Most of the city is very car dependent with no trains going west/east.

[@matthewmenendez6981]

Yeah this Miami rating is pretty flawed. Ignoring that the city will be underwater within my lifetime, the sprawl is insane, super deadly for pedestrians as you pointed out, and while the housing price might not be as bad as other cities, wages in Florida are low relative to the rest of the country which makes the available housing stock unaffordable.
I think a common issue for people from outside Florida is that that Miami proper is a very small city but it’s still connected to all of the other smaller cities in Dade County that don’t enjoy the dense downtown skyline.
As a lifetime Floridian his initial instinct is correct that in general Florida has badly designed cities.

[@xoxxobob61]

@@matthewmenendez6981 I've been hearing that Miami will be under water since the 1970s and it hasn't happened.

[@SHFMIA]

@@matthewmenendez6981 And California under fire, Boston under snow...

[@JohnPrepuce]

@@matthewmenendez6981 - Why do you think Miami will be underwater in your lifetime? There is literally no evidence of that and, in fact, the flooding problems of years ago have been mitigated. I remember as a child in the early 80s, after every rain, streets would be mini-canals. Now things are much better. Please do not spread misinformation about this beautiful city.

[@adambubble73]

@@SHFMIA most educated floridian

[@toadscoper4575]

Boston has an incredible amount of transit potential with a huge transit oriented population; but as you mentioned, the biggest issue is funding that causes good transit projects to take decades. Because of this, Boston has some of the oldest and most antiquated rolling stock in North America. This may change, as there is an overwhelming amount of political backing for transit and especially for a s-bahn style rework to the regional rail

[@staycgirlsitsgoingdown2]

They’re fixing a ton of those problems, every single subway/tram line is getting it’s fleets completely renewed/just got it’s fleet renewed between 2010 and 2025, the busses are slowly moving to all electric, and the commuter rail has plans for all day service and electricification. Weather the last one is gonna be implemented is another thing because the cost estimate for electrification is 1.4 billion$, but hey, having an official plan drawn up and a cost estimated is better than most American cities can say. Plus there’s a MASSIVE bus expansion plan to add/extend routes to reach tens of thousands of new riders, and the go Boston 2030 plan to have everybody in Boston within walking distance of frequent transit service by 2030.

[@drjustino]

don't believe what you read/hear...I live in Boston and they did their fleet contracts with a crappy Chinese company and they keep having to pull the new trains out of service because they are constantly having problems. the commuter rail is not going electric... they are dragging their feet and now they are proposing "hybrid" diesel/electrification

[@staycgirlsitsgoingdown2]

@@drjustino yeah I live in Boston too. They’re not going electric for the trains because it costs 1.4 billion $ and they don’t have that much. And the new trains keep getting pulled out but that’s pretty normal for transit projects, almost every single time a transit agency orders new trains there’s some new problem that eventually gets fixed

[@themutable5684]

It's less funding, per se, and more corruption and waste. The MBTA is pretty infamous for graft, brazen manipulation of job code and OT rules, and misallocation of those funds that remain after the scumbags have taken their cut. Back in 2005, there were promises that the first Green Line extension stations would open in 2008. By 2006, that had been punted to 2014, then 2015. The first stop on the extension line ultimately didn't open until 2022. Don't get me wrong, as a life-long Bostonian I have a soft spot for the T, but it's the sort of soft-spot one has for one's irascible, drug-addicted uncle.
Boston kicks the crap out of my almost any other US city for walkability and transit, but that's a low bar to clear.

[@cooltwittertag]

@@staycgirlsitsgoingdown2 not really no. Here in Berlin we had a way bigger subway car oder with stadler for our previous trains and it went very smoothly. Boston cheaped out and bought safety hazards due to corruption

[@rpk675]

So glad you went by metro area rather than city limits when counting the populations for top 10. So many people don’t seem to understand the difference.

[@liguy181]

I like this format! One criticism I have is that I think your ratings are weighted too high. For example, you would rag on something like Houston's walkability, and then give it a 5/10. For me at least, a 5 means it's average: not good, but also not bad. Judging from your description, I'd give Houston a 2 or 3 out of 10, and not a 1 because of those 2 neighborhoods you mentioned where walkability is alright.
One suggestion I'd have is to switch to an out of 5 format. 1 - fucking sucks, 2 - kinda sucks, 3 - average, 4 - kinda good, 5 - fucking awesome. Imo it makes the point a bit clearer. Obviously you would explain the rating, so not all 3s would be exactly the same, but I think it would be better. Also, thank you for not doing .5's. Those are always annoying lol

[@33up24]

I mean if he plans to rate European cities (like Barcelona, Prague Ámsterdam), he needs to update the rating method since no american city comes close to be as healthy as your typical big European city.
I used to live in Barcelona for 5 years, it rules. While I was 3 months on NYC, while it wasn't as bad as I expected a big American city to be, it doesn't comes close to Barcelona.

[@jumbo_mumbo1441]

I totally agree with your first paragraph. There were a lot of times I was expecting him to say "2" and then he's like "and for that reason I'm only giving a 5" lol

[@druiz012]

Houston really does suck for walkability. How it gets a 5 and San Francisco gets an 8 is beyond me. San Francisco has gone to shit in a lot of ways since I moved 12 years ago but I doubt it became less walkable. I'm not saying S.F. doesn't deserve an 8 compared to say Barcelona but Houston doesn't deserve to be anywhere close with a 5.

[@chazzbranigaan9354]

do you seriously have a Digimon as your profile pic 🤣

[@Rainbowrobb]

@@33up24 Because the perimeters of those cities were developed before automobiles. As for Barcelona, it's one of the most xenophobic regions of the western world lol. NPR and Reuters have both done extensive writeups on how toxic it is an how it is rapidly devolving. But yah, the trains are cool.

[@GeneralLiuofBoston1911]

21:36
"MTA is underfunded and you know it"
Literally every transit system in North America is underfunded from my knowledge. The real question is, do we have one that IS proper funded???

[@qjtvaddict]

Nope

[@austinneice3813]

DC metro is pretty immaculate ngl

[@Armored_Ariete]

@@austinneice3813 over funded and behind schedule
its a money hole

[@dantecata8780]

@@austinneice3813 it'd be nice if they could finish the silver line extension at some point in our lifetime

[@davisyewell1795]

@@Armored_Ariete overfunded is a joke

[@matthewsommerville88]

Chicago in a decent neighborhood in the summer may as well be a utopia. Loved my years living there. Hugely underrated

[@75aces97]

In the "other" category I'd like to include restrooms. It's part of walkability and livability. One thing NYC has never been adequate at is flush facilities, and you really notice it when you travel to some of the better cities on earth.

[@romeoarryn6526]

Absolutely true. I remember being there for a middle school trip years ago (like, 5 years ago now to be fair). We were at the Rockefeller Center and literally just could not find a bathroom for the love of anything holy. One kid ended up crapping himself because the bathroom situation was so bad.

[@misanthrope8803]

@@romeoarryn6526 Jesus what a story…

[@sonicboy678]

Yeah, but I'd argue it's not necessarily limited to NYC. This country simply doesn't value public amenities/services nearly enough.

[@rolandtours8404]

It's terrible, especially for us old geezers. I look for (psst psst) hotel restrooms. But some hotels have gotten wise to this.

[@jwaj]

Just shit on the streets no one will bother

[@adamt195]

I have made it work in Atlanta without a car by living in Midtown. A bike is really key, and feeling comfortable riding on roads without bike lanes. Although around the core area theres usually a route that avoids the largest roads.
Actually getting out to the suburbs to visit my parents requires a car though. Zipcar used to be better here. Or just ubering places is sometimes necessary.
I live outside the core downtown area now, but near a MARTA train station. I share a car with my GF, and it works just fine. Biking isnt always super safe, but its doable with some planning and sometimes sidewalk riding. Being an introvert and just not going out to the suburbs also helps. Who the hell even wants to drive out to the suburbs anyways, and for what? The traffic sucks here. I'm not going to drive an hour to go to some BBQ restaurant in the burbs, when theres a BBQ place in walking distance.

[@nunyabidness3075]

I’m always amazed that more attention isn’t paid to cycling using side streets and neighborhoods. Where I used to live there was a failed bike lane project on a road with lots of traffic which had a parallel neighborhood street a few blocks over that was beautiful, quiet, and shaded. Why would anyone want to use a bike gutter when there’s a full road with barely a car on it?

[@rudinah8547]

Yeah I know he's the armchair urbanist but it's clear he's never left the armchair for Atlanta if he doesn't know that Atlanta bike infrastructure at least exists and has a ton of room for growth

[@rudinah8547]

Almost 500k daily riders on MARTA, 200k on buses alone (prepandemic), with Atlanta proper having a population of 500k (metro is ~6M) that's pretty significant

[@rudinah8547]

Dude doesn't even know how to research a city before just making some unfounded claims

[@adamt195]

@@rudinah8547 to be fair, marta does suck and the bike infra sucks too. Cities of similar size, like DC and Seattle, have done a lot better.

[@street_ruffian]

I think Boston's housing problem stems from just an insane amount of NIMBY's in a lot of the suburban towns. There aren't enough apartments in the suburbs and many are fairly spread out single family homes. In some areas very close to Boston even the density drops a lot and there is a lot of push back against any higher density.

[@ohutchie]

Something to be said for Boston suburbs though, they're fairly walkable for what they are and generally don't follow the stroad format.

[@street_ruffian]

​@@ohutchie Yeah growing up I thought that most suburbs were like Boston's suburbs with fairly walkable areas and an old town center often having a transit connection. Only when I went to college in upstate NY did I find out what most suburbs were like. Just stroads.

[@DADRB0B55]

Nimbys aren’t a thing, those are natives who shouldn’t have To take a major sacrificing to their lifestyle just to accommodate more mouths, MA is like the size of a rich person back yard lmao Y’all don’t need more people maybe some remaining nature would be nice ?

[@street_ruffian]

@@DADRB0B55 first off NIMBYs do exist as you literally are one. Second, it's MA natives who can't afford housing and need more built for them and for a functioning economy it is good for new people to move here. Lastly, ya I want to save natural/rural areas so let's upzone where people already live so that we stop developing mcmansions and shopping centers further and further into remaining rural land.

[@bruhbutwhytho2301]

​@@DADRB0B55NIMBYs are a thing and mass does have a lot of nature because of how dense it is.

[@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand]

I get that the NYC subway system isn’t perfect, but it kicks the fucking shit out of any other North American city, and frankly any city on the western hemisphere for that matter. It definitely deserves a 10/10 in transit.
26 lines, a whopping 470 stations, all accessible for 2.75. No other American city is even close to close.

[@TorstenAdair]

Yes, but he delves into the inadequacies.
I rode the J train. Cars were new when color television was new. Chambers Street was like traveling back in time to the 1970s .
MTA needs to tap the Stock Transfer Tax and fund more subways. It's been proven that it's an economic engine.
I give it an 8.

[@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand]

@@TorstenAdair Your one specific anecdote experience means nothing.
The important part about transportation is to get from point A to point B. In 99% of the country, it's impossible via pedestrian pursuit.
New York City has miraculously made it possible for its 8 million residents.

[@TorstenAdair]

I used the system for 21 years. All hours of the day and night.
On the weekends, when you have to add an extra hour to your planned arrival because of repairs, it's not great. (Yeah, I get it, it runs 24/7, they have to do it sometime...)
When trains are so full you automatically take the train the other way so you can transfer at the terminus to get some space on the train going your way (the L at Union Square, the THIRD stop on the line!)
I'm almost a foamer.
I was plotzing over the virgin wooden benches when they opened the new station at Hudson Yards/Javits.
I spent New Year's Day photographing the new Second Avenue Subway stations.
I've photographed the mosaics and stained glass and even the naked advertisement niches that become abstract art after the baklava of ads are peeled off, just to share on Facebook.
I prewalk so I can get off the train and up the stairs at my final stop before the wave of straphangers gets in my way.
I know where the 8 train ran. And the K. I've traveled over the oldest part of the system, which predates the subway. I miss the skip stops of the 9.
I wish they ran a 2 express from Nereid Avenue to E 180.
I wish that guy would stop giving out sandwiches. I'd like to toss those Caribbean drums onto the Times Square shuttle tracks. But at least those DVD pirates and token vampires disappeared.
Yeah, it's the best system in North America, but it could be even better. That bar is lower than a train bed filled with litter.
There should be trains that don't require you to travel through Manhattan. And the subway lines should terminate at the Nassau County border.
There should be lines under every Avenue in Manhattan.
The Second Avenue Subway should have been completed in the 1960s.
The Hudson train tunnel should have been fixed years ago. (And not thwarted by obese Republicans.)
There should have been trains on the GWB. And never have been removed from the Brooklyn Bridge.
Like almost every New Yorker, I grumble at the small annoyances, but proudly support and ride it, and anticipate the few improvements that are made.
But geez... Go to Tokyo. Can you imagine a shopping center built over the train yard at Broadway Junction?

[@TorstenAdair]

@@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand For many commuters, it's Point A to Point E, transfer at C and D, perhaps detour to Point R, and then maybe walk extra blocks from Point G because Point B is closed due to a police investigation.
One coworker used an electric skateboard as part of his commute. Students have a two-hour commute so they can attend a specialized high school. Some commute via two buses and a train INSIDE NYC.
I love the system, but for the density even in the Outer Boroughs, it could be much better.
If it's a ten, then the closure of the L for repairs in Manhattan wouldn't cause concern, right? The system would be robust enough to handle the diaspora of passengers.

[@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand]

@@TorstenAdair It's a ten in this list comparing other American cities, yes.
To say that, for many commuters it's point A to point E etc etc is pretty funny. There isn't going to be a train that takes you directly to one guys exact house, it's not realistic.
I live in western queens, and the 7 Train is 5 minutes away. My anecdote may be meaningless to someone from say the Bronx, but I mention this to illustrate that the system is extremely helpful for large sums of people in the most populated parts of the city, which is the best that it can do with the small amounts of funding that it receives due to the "budget" humping Republicans.

[@WeTheMajority]

Wait a few years for climate change and watch chicago fly to the top of the list 😭😭😭

[@emilypetrie]

One push back on housing density in Queens - while there's more lower-density development in eastern Queens, it's largely past the end of the subway. While LIRR/commuter rail covers some parts of it, that part of the city would require better public transit infrastructure to increase density to anything similar to other parts of Queens so that fewer people need cars. (Conversely, I've lived in western Queens for a decade and haven't had or wanted a car in that entire time.)

[@bellairefondren7389]

The City could immediately change the single family zoning in Eastern Queens to allow quadplexes. There is good enough bus coverage for that to occur and adding bus lanes are cheap and quick. To increase density to western Queens though, would definitely require a good deal of subway expansions.

[@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand]

New York is a very good city, I think that a lot of criticisms of it are unfounded considering it's massive size.
It generally does a pretty decent job.

[@michaelf.2449]

@@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand Im so shocked he tried saying New York transit authority wasn't absolutely the most corrupt shittiest transit system in the USA... He's really reaching

[@IbeatHalo1onLegendary]

Drinking challenge: Every time Alan says something along the lines of "Walking is good, but once you get outside the city center" you take a shot. You'll be dead by the end of the video

[@scpatl4now]

...or every time he says "shit on"

[@edwardwilliams615]

Facts

[@blankface_]

LA has a 2 for housing but Boston has a 7??? Boston is more expensive than NYC despite having a lot less

[@FirebirdCamaro1220]

Boston has higher salaries than LA for most jobs. Which helps people afford the COL better

[@connection_ok]

I'd love to see a review on Minneapolis - when I visited recently, I wasn't quite as impressed coming in on their highway network, but absolutely amazed that they had a pretty great light rail service and a dedicated bus-only highway linking the UMN campuses. It seems like they care just a little bit more than some other mid-size American cities, and I wonder how much more there is to it.

[@katiem.3109]

If you think their public transit is great, you should see their bike infrastructure (arguably tied with Portland for being the best among major cities in the US).

[@charlesthrush8134]

Having lived in NYC, Chicago, and the DMV - NYC is the gold standard for what a city should be, obviously. The DMV is awesome and diverse, but the actually city of DC itself is insanely small and is rapidly getting gentrified and is losing its culture and character. Chicago as a city blows DC out of the water. Chicago obviously has its issues but it has a much larger urbanized area with just way more high quality housing. The CTA and WMATA are pretty comparable systems, I like how WMATA goes into MD and VA but I prefer the CTAs coverage of the actual city.

[@pelucheCR7]

DC is small but extremely dense though

[@nothing563019]

nah Tokyo is the gold standard. Everysingle thing that new york checks the box on except its actually clean, safe, polite and beautiful

[@dirtycommie2877]

There's this joke that everyone who was born in DC makes up the current population of Prince George's County, MD. I lived in DC until my family was priced out at the age of 16. DC is a shell of its former self. I don't even recognize it anymore. I consider it the most gentrified city in America.

[@charlesthrush8134]

@@dirtycommie2877 yup Maryland is where it’s at nowadays

[@john3260]

@@nothing563019 Do you really wanna be there when the Nippon Kaigi gets their way?

[@JoshuaFagan]

As a NYer, I love the MTA, but it's in desperate need of repair. There's no reason why the connectivity is so bad in Brooklyn and Queens. The problem is that everything is so expensive here, so it's impossible to build anything for a reasonable price on a reasonable timescale.

[@scorpion3128]

Thankfully it looks like we may finally resolve some of that Brooklyn/Queens connectivity if the plan Hochul is proposing goes through. Personally I'm hoping it'll be tied into the MTA/subway system so it costs the same as a bus or subway and also uses the MetroCard or the OMNY system. If it's completely separate I feel like people won't use it nearly as much due to it costing more and being more of a hassle.

[@metrocityrr]

I work as a T/O in the nyc subway Brooklyn and queens has a couple of gaps especially the southern and northeastern parts of queens they should build more subway lines plus the fact that they’re not gonna extend the N or the W to laguardia airport is insane plus they shoulda never torn down the elevated lines that once ran in Manhattan

[@bellairefondren7389]

A good place to start would be to upzone south Brooklyn and more of western Queens next to the subway and work with affordable housing builders to build a lot more housing there.

[@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand]

I like how New York is so much higher than any other city that we're disappointed with the best metro in the country, as we should be too because the rest of the world kicks our ass.

[@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand]

@@scorpion3128 Which plan exactly?

[@garthbartin]

A note on LA: I've spent a fair amount of time there and the public transit is surprisingly passable. However, I've noticed in the last 1-2 years the homeless have really taken over the public transit (or at least the gold line, the one I've taken the most) to the point where it's driving away all of the ridership.
I'm generally not one to whine about feeling unsafe (I've been to a lot of cities with bad reputations in the US and abroad and basically never feel scared and have never had anything bad happen), but LA public transit makes me feel unsafe. Lots of homeless with severe mental illnesses acting out violently (screaming, repeatedly punching inanimate objects, etc). The SF Tenderloin is famous for it's homelessness and crime and I go through there regularly and it feels dramatically safer than what I've seen on LA public transit.
Ideally LA should loosen zoning and build way denser more affordable housing. CA should also be opening up tons of mental health institutions, but in the meantime LA needs to get the homeless off the trains or no one but the homeless will be riding them.

[@ezyryder11]

Hopefully SB9 makes a difference and we get Care Court. Best wishes from the Bay Area.

[@atm1947]

Part of the reason why Bay Area public transit doesn’t also suffer from this issue (at least not as badly as Metrolink) is because BART police and SFPD do sweeps through trains throughout the day and physically remove any homeless people, especially at night.
This process is pretty jarring and surreal, especially if you’re just trying to get home late and there’s cops screaming at the top of their lungs for some poor kid to get off. It has contributed to BART feeling safer over time, but it’s an unworkable and shitty solution. Unworkable shitty solutions are the hallmark of SF politics now though, so it’s not like this is out of the norm

[@garthbartin]

@@atm1947 yep that doesn't sound too great.
Though I am worried that we are in an unworkable situation because those who don't care want to enact monstrous solutions and are unwilling to spend money to actually help but those who do care are unwilling to enact the fairly shocking and fraught actions it's going to take to do something.
For example, most on the left are heavily in favor of rebuilding the pubic institution system dismantled by Reagan, but are they prepared for the human horror of physically detaining the mentally ill and forcibly relocating them to institutions? Because one of the most challenging things about severe mental illness is the symptoms make you hostile to help to the point where elective services have extremely poor uptake. You can't meaningfully help many of the severely mentally ill population without violating their sovereignty, and are we prepared to do that?

[@brianmiller5444]

@@atm1947 better to have a 22 year old grad student in Sociology work the trains at 11 pm. Cops are automatically evil.

[@Slaythehippies]

Same problem in Philly. Specifically the Market Frankford line

[@jaredpr704]

I’d love to hear your thoughts about the smaller west coast cities such as San Diego, San Jose, Seattle, Portland, Honolulu, etc.

[@thelonelyphish]

The weird part is San Diego's metro area is the 8th most populous in the US and the second most in California with over 3 million people. That's because they consider most of the county to be the metro area. It's a weird quirk of our zoning and I think it would be interesting in this sort of list because our downtown is walkable, bike able, and has fairly good transit but when looking at the entire metro area that all gets thrown out of the window.

[@federicomadden9236]

San Jose is bigger than SF lol he straight up got the list wrong

[@katiem.3109]

As someone who lives in Honolulu let me give my own subjective ranking:
Walkability: 5
(it's quite walkable in terms of distance to amenities, but walking is dangerous as the city is covered in high speed stroads and sidewalks are either too narrow or nonexistent)
Bikeability: 1 (extremely dangerous. Watch the Shifter video on this if you want to see the BEST case scenario to what it's like to bike here)
Public transit: 4 (only buses, low frequency, unreliable, constantly stuck in traffic)
Housing: 1 (Utterly terrible, expect to spend 1,800 a month for a sketchy concrete block studio with no air conditioning built in the 50's that's not up to code. In a city where the minimum wage is 12$ an hour.)
Other: 8 (Literally paradise. Paved paradise, granted. However, points taken off for extremely high cost of living outside of housing, especially for groceries.)

[@stephentomaszewski8501]

@@federicomadden9236San Jose is not a city metro though. It’s urban sprawl. It’s void of any culture.

[@stephentomaszewski8501]

As someone who has often visits Seattle, SF, and San Diego and lives in LA, I expect them to be marginally different. I’d rank their walkability and biking as 8/10, transit as 7/10, housing 3/10. All these cities besides LA are very small and only have light rail or buses. They all deal with rampant NIMBY and homeless.

[@mattbalfe2983]

Problem with WMATA is that you have Maryland, Virginia, DC government, and Congress all involved. You can imagine the problems that creates. I'm honestly fairly astonished it works as well as it does.

[@thetechnician5080]

Native DMVer here. The main issue is also that each state must pay for its own infrastructure. So with that out of the way because Maryland has its own very successful and well used commuter rail the state tends to be focused on removing reliance on metro by building out its own infrastructure. So less money goes to helping metro with more stations and expanding lines. Compared to Virginia which generally has more money to spend on expanding lines. As an example Maryland is focused on building out the purple line which the government has stressed that it is not apart of metro but indeed an MTA service so people can't use Metro cards to ride and can't transfer to use the metro if you don't already have a metro card, also the purple line is built on existing metro stations going to places that metro already serves. Then you look at northern Virginia and see they getting station after station built. New Alexandria station at the Yards. New stations to Dulles and then potentially Haymarket/Greater Herdon. Not to mention the money capitol one put into building Tyson's Station. It will be a long uphill battle before Metro gets better.

[@mattbalfe2983]

@@thetechnician5080 I didn't know that about the purple line, that's silly bc at least the ride on bus in Moco takes smart trip cards.

[@dirtycommie2877]

@@thetechnician5080 It's interesting you mention this. I grew up in PG County and moved to Baltimore about 2 yrs ago. The complaints up here are that ALL the Maryland infrastructure dollars are being spent on WMATA and not nearly enough on MTA and improving the general public transit in and around the Baltimore area. I do agree though that I was frustrated a lot seeing endless Metrorail expansions into NoVA while there was just as much demand for the Green Line to be extended from Greenbelt to Laurel. Orange Line could have been extended from New Carrollton all the way to Bowie. The demand and need was certainly there. But it seems all the attention was given to NoVA.

[@mattbalfe2983]

@@dirtycommie2877 Not to mention commuter rail to Frederick and up 270. They could also extend the Marc line beyond laurel to connect up into Columbia and the Baltimore region.

[@blowtorchhonor]

Yeah there was no dedicated revenue stream until last year

[@harrison5280]

“The top five cities are New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Chicago” …. Uh I don’t think that’s five Alan.

[@misteryA555]

I'm honestly surprised that Portland and Seattle aren't on this list. Excited to see videos on them!

[@olachens]

That's because it's the top 12 largest US cities; Seattle and Portland are #18 and 25 on that list. But I would agree that it would be quite nice to see some videos on them.

[@misteryA555]

@@olachens Yeah, I know, I read the title lol
I never looked up city populations before and thought Portland and Seattle had more people than they did. Now I know otherwise, because I watched the video

[@pyrotechnic96]

@@olachens well it's based on metro area (sorta) which puts them at 15 and 25

[@r.pres.4121]

Seattle and Detroit should have both been on this list in addition to these 12 cities that he cherry picked.

[@Begeru]

@@olachens he skipped other higher populated cities like San Diego

[@mrhappy623]

The weather part is pretty unfair. Weather in Atlanta, Miami, TX, and Phoenix sucks 75% of the year. In Boston and Chicago it only sucks for like 30% of the year at most.

[@FirebirdCamaro1220]

You must like cold, I live in Phoenix (originally from NY), and I would say late September to early June is great, while I agree summer sucks. I only considered early May to late September tolerable in NY, a much shorter portion of the year

[@mrhappy623]

@@FirebirdCamaro1220 yeah I’m from Maine so I guess I’m pretty biased. Anything above 80 is too hot for me and I’m perfectly comfortable down to the mid 30s.

[@c_rob1]

As a lifelong Texan, I can attest that it's hotter than I would like from about May-October. We've already had record heat days in April lol. On the flip side, we never have to worry about shoveling snow 🤷🏿‍♂️

[@johnappleseed8146]

Have you ever been to atlanta lol the weather in the summer is very hot sure but so is almost everywhere in the east coast.... Like I'm from dc so I check the weather app alot to see what it's like back there and Atlanta is usually always within 5 degrees of dc outside of the fall and winter where dc will be around 40 to 20 and Atlanta will be around 65 to 45. The weather in atlanta is awesome. I just wish it was a bit more humid, and had a sea breeze but it's not a tropical island you can't get everything. Now those other cities you named I don't disagree with you but those other cities have significantly worse weather... seriously how tf are you comparing phoenix which has 110 degree days, or dallas which gets hail, regular tornadoes, and overall worse weather?

[@nathanielthrush5581]

DCs burbs aren’t *as* bad as you’re saying. A surprisingly high proportion of people take transit here, even if they have to take their car to a park and ride(which isn’t ideal). The main issue w the DMV outside of DC itself is that there really is a missing middle. It’s almost entirely single family zoning or apartments, home to few duplexes and practically 0 row homes. But transit oriented development is generally pretty good, especially in a place like Silver Spring or Arlington.

[@cameron_o]

Silver Spring is a prime example of a transit oriented place. Lots of high density near the metro station there, and purple line will be built soon to connect silver spring with the other suburbs like college park or Bethesda

[@qjtvaddict]

DC has excellent buses to the metro rail

[@TheDrEinhorn]

One transit downside is the vast number of different bus systems, each with their own service quirks. I live nearish Old Town North in Alexandria, and the large stop near me is served by DASH (Alexandria's service), MetroBus, and the Metroway BRD service. Then you have ART in Arlington, the Maryland busses, and a few less relevant bus systems in the other Virginia DC suburbs. It's pretty easy to get anywhere you need to go once you have a handle on the Metrorail + all the local busses, but getting to that point can definitely be a brain buster

[@jackcraig1634]

I like your take on Chicago as living about 40 minutes out from the city (near Gary) If you didn't feel like driving for me at least I can drive 5 minutes up to the dunes and hop on the South Shore Line, that will take you into the city. It's nice and its a great thing to have so close if you want to take a day to go to Chicago without worrying about parking.

[@Rallygrade]

I LOVE GARY WOOOOOO

[@ivy_47]

One of my friends went home from a vacation at our Gary lake house via the south shore line and then a short walk to union station. Seems to have been a nice system for that

[@whenisdinner2137]

The best part about Chicago for me is that I could just take a train up and have no issues walking anywhere I want to

[@alpaykasal2902]

SF bikeability has gotten amazing with these new protected bike lanes. I love biking this city. It's usually possible to avoid hills.

[@KP-us6be]

Yea I think the biking rating for SF is a common misconception. It’s trivial to avoid most major hills in the city. Also, e-bikes handle the really steep ones without issue. The amount of lanes and infra increases every year and the weather is always perfect for biking!!

[@Zach-kq2sy]

Philly is probably my favorite city I have lived in, but to put the housing at 9/10 is missing a lot of things in the city. The minimum wage in Philadelphia is still 7.25 and it has the highest poverty rate of any US city over a million people. So yeah, housing seems affordable, but it's not really in that context.

[@tourmii]

@Edward Will buying a home isn’t worth it here anymore. We’re worse than Chicago now with murders and poverty

[@DevilsRadvocate]

You’re not getting housing anywhere at minimum wage, anyway. Salary is still on par, but you probably know better lol.

[@stephentomaszewski8501]

What does minimum wage have to do with affordability? It was never intended to be a long term wage and you shouldn’t be expecting to buy a house on it. And with how much poverty north Philly has it proves you can actually get by with minimum wage albeit in a slum. But I’d rather have a poverty problem than need to make more than $82k to not be considered in poverty in SF. Philly and the suburbs has plenty of opportunity to not be in poverty and has a robust and diverse work force

[@jodajoda2863]

​@@stephentomaszewski8501 you need to learn the history of minimum wage. The original intention was for 1 person to support a spouse and kids. It wasn't just meant to get you by, it was meant to get you and your wife and your kids by. If the minimum wage kept up with inflation it would be almost $30 an hour today.

[@stephentomaszewski8501]

@@jodajoda2863 if you convert 1978’s usery vs National leagues $2.3 amendment to FLSA to todays dollars you get $14. If you want to go back to the beginning of FLSA in 1938’s 0.25$ rate and convert it to current dollars you get $5.

[@UniquelyUnseen]

As someone who lived around DC during college, the frequency of trains was just.. too slow. Most national capitals get extra money or investment for transit, and while you're right it has a good layout, 30 minute off-peak frequency in some stations is just crazy. Not to mention endless single-tracking on the orange-silver lines due to fires. Otherwise, its pretty damn great for North America I guess?

[@Jack-sq6xb]

It got a lot better from 2017-2020 when they did a large amount of repairs but then they took the 7000 series off now its about 10-15 minute headways on most lines

[@qjtvaddict]

It’s still terrible

[@Armored_Ariete]

@@qjtvaddict its still terrible

[@eduardoramirezjr4403]

My favorite towns (mentioned): NY, Philly, Chicago and the Bay Area. Favorite towns (not mentioned): Twin Cities, Montreal and Toronto. Honorable mention (also not mentioned): San Antonio, Nashville, and New Orleans. Have been to Houston and Miami during the summer. Nearly died from the humidity in both locations.

[@tabarnakdecalisse]

Montreal would literally be 10/10 for all these categories its insane except other (bc reallly bad winter)

[@xoxxobob61]

In Miami's defense at least it has a Sea breeze unlike Houston.

[@aderi31415]

Leaving out San Antonio was a weird choice since it's the 7th largest city in the US.

[@xoxxobob61]

@@aderi31415 He was going by Metro Areas instead of actual cities so the title was a bit misleading.

[@r.pres.4121]

Montreal and Toronto don’t belong because they are not American cities. This is strictly for US cities.

[@abhishekaphale116]

You are so right about SEPTA being frustrating. And you are also right about Philly being awesome!!!! I love walking around in Center City! So much beauty, beautiful architecture, amazing history, etc.

[@kevinbennett2477]

I 100% agree with your take on DC. I used their public transit just the past weekend and saw it all. Metro line (Blue) got majorly delayed bc of construction to the point where I would miss my Amtrak train leaving from Alexandria. I eventually got off and said to hell with the stopped train and biked 6 miles to Alexandria on a Lime eBike. I will say, the bike infrastructure in Crystal city, pentagon city, and Alexandria is superb. Lots of protected bike lanes and new development. Felt ~almost~ European in some areas. All in all, greater DC (especially Fairfax) can use a lot of improvement, but certain areas are fantastic and already on their way to being ideal transit friendly developments.

[@ReliableDragon]

Loved this episode! I hope you keep going with this, would love to see some of the next cities down the population list like Denver, San Diego, San Jose, or Seattle.

[@Ronniezim]

San Diego is larger than almost all of the cities he reviewed here (8th in US)

[@Begeru]

Yeah I’m not sure what criteria he chose to make this list because Seattle and San Diego are bigger that some cities in this list.

[@arnoldgarzajr1164]

San Diego,Denver,and Seattle are humongous cities.San Jose hum it's a medium city tryin to be major.Really San Jose was suppose to be a suburb to San Francisco.

[@proftobes]

Great stuff, the only thing I'd disagree with is that the scale doesn't seem to be linear. For example, NYC is miles ahead of Chicago or Philly in terms of transit access, but from your score, it would appear they are "almost on par". It's also miles behind cities like Paris or Berlin, but from your score it would appear it's almost "as good as it can get"

[@sonicboy678]

For the US, it's pretty accurate.
That's not praise, by the way. As a lifelong Brooklynite, it's actually pretty damning.

[@fuchsia02]

I think he was comparing North American cities to other North American cities. I agree with the you about the transit scores tho.

[@gialovesjesus8350]

Absolutely not! having lived in Nyc and now in Chicago the transit in Chicago blows New York out of the water. NYC trains are smelly, old and unreliable.
Chicago transit is cleaner, on time, plentiful in most cases NOT underground so you can enjoy the scenery. Love many things about NYC but transit is not one of them. Develop strong legs for walking or Get an electric bike. You’ll get there faster.

[@Begeru]

@@gialovesjesus8350 being underground is overall superior though

[@alexhaowenwong6122]

Never thought Dallas would score higher than LA on Transit, walkability, and bikeability.

[@Armored_Ariete]

LA must be pretty shit

[@jc3drums916]

LA has small scattered areas that have good walk/bikeability, but for the most part, it is god-awful, and you're likely going to be spending time driving from one walkable area to another. I was actually surprised Alan said LA has decent transit. IIRC, locals feel the bus service is garbage (although perhaps it's garbage in ways that have nothing to do with urban planning), and the light rail system doesn't go to enough places.

[@edlee9432]

Totally agree San Francisco problems are largely self inflicted. We keep electing terrible politicians that inflict horrible policies.

[@mapor4705]

The only thing I can really disagree with in this video is the transit score in DC. I live there so I'm biased but DC has the second most metro ridership in the country, and while there are many issues with WMATA, I think it deserves an 8/10

[@Scotter4536]

Agreed. I've lived in both Dallas and DC and there is now way that their transit access scores should be close, let alone the same.

[@cbrucrew88]

Also, the buses in DC are fantastic. You can't just look at the metro.

[@GreenLine4444]

DC's metro system has the second most ridership, but Chicago has more overall riders in its metro area. That's because Chicago has commuter rail Metra which had about 74 million riders in 2918, before the pandemic. It also has South Shore Line with about 3 million riders. That's about 77 million riders annually, and that's not counting the additional millions of riders on the subway/elevated system. DC's combined 2019 ridership of its subway system, and all its commuter rail from the suburbs doesn't come close to Chicago's combined ridership of its CTA El system and the commuter rail lines. If you slice them up individually, then DC's metro comes in second.

[@TheAnomics1]

Thank you for giving Dallas the credit it deserves.
Dallas walkability is really not that bad as people think and it's only improving each passing day.
Not to mention the constant street diets and the new $2billion Sidewalk expansion Study and program.
Dallas is also In the midst of building several new Commuter and lightrail lines and subways like the D2, Silver Line, and other suburban lines.

[@LaneThePlane]

Honestly. I’m able to ride DART all the way from north Dallas to my community college. Saves me so much on gas!

[@AnphongBristol]

I'm very hopeful for this and TXDOT needs to be stopped for Dallas to do this. I live in a DFW suburb and it's insane for me to drive to a DART station.

[@LaneThePlane]

@@AnphongBristol Now it’s time to clamp down on the corruption in TXDOT (and ERCOT) and hope Texas’s political attitudes change…

[@hexelcolorado6275]

Yes! I'm glad there's finally a video giving Dallas the credit it deserves. I've started living car-free since January this year and had been using the bus and rail network extensively both before and (even more so) after the full revamp on January 24th. Making ALL rail lines run past midnight and increasing frequency to 15-minute intervals has made a HUGE difference.
Recreational cycling is great because of all the urban trails and parks. Commuter cycling still isn't great because of the road conditions. I have an electric bicycle with fat tires, which makes torn up roads bearable, but it still gets super bumpy and precarious at times that I can't even imagine how much more difficult it is to cycle commute on a conventional bike with thinner "road" tires. All that said, an expanding bicycle network is making this better.

[@highway2heaven91]

The DFW area as a whole is probably the biggest example of suburbia in America, even more so than cities that are better known for it such as Houston and Los Angeles. However, once you get closer to the city proper it really looks like its getting better to live car-free. The extensions and hopefully the Texas Central will help for sure. The Fort Worth side really needs to step up its game on the transit department although its bus service is fine and its decently walkable and bikeable within parts of downtown.

[@MultiCappie]

Title: "Ranking the 12 Largest American Cities on Urban Planning"
Narrator: "weather!!!!"

[@jennifertarin4707]

I have lived in NYC, the DMV and Charleston, SC (not mentioned in this video). By far, NYC has the best of just about everything except for the cost of living. Within a mile of my apartment, I had shops, bars, restaurants, subway access, bus access, colleges and just about everything a person needs to live in a major city. The biggest issue was that the subway, while inexpensive, sucks. The stations are super hot in the summer and freezing in the winter and sometimes a person has to wait through several trains before being able to get on one because they are so crowded. DC on the other hand, is much quieter, cleaner and a smoother ride. I also lived in a neighborhood where I had access to many things that I needed, but they were considerably further away (I'm talking to you Georgetown!) and more expensive. I loved being able to buy alcohol in the grocery store and not having to make a separate stop at a liquor store. Charleston is a city that requires one to have access to a vehicle unless they live on the peninsula because their bus service is extremely limited.

[@AlexCab_49]

San Francisco is my favorite city in California (and I'm from Los Angeles) but c'mon get it together. The rent for a studio apartment shouldn't have to be $2900 in some areas.

[@IanSeabrook]

In midtown Atlanta there is some great (older) missing middle housing units. 4-6 unit apartments that look like SFHs that blend into the surrounding houses. The beltline is one of the few bikeable/walkable corridors in Atlanta but we are getting better.

[@cheeseborgors]

Agreed, live near the beltline and hardly use my car.

[@GriffenDoesIt]

If only they would have started the streetcar extension onto the East Beltline sooner! It's such a great idea! It kills me that the soonest we'll see it is 2030(?)

[@cheeseborgors]

@@GriffenDoesIt seriously! the original idea of the beltline was to be a transit corridor, not a walking/biking path. disappointed that won't be a reality for 10 more years even though i do enjoy the beltline now. it'll be so much better with transit!

[@shivtim]

I live in midtown and walk or bike pretty much everywhere. Beltline and the new cycle tracks are a game changer.

[@IanSeabrook]

@@shivtim They just put in a pedestrian staircase between midtown promenade (trader joes) and midtown place (home depot). Finally some connectivity!

[@your_sweetpea]

When you said "it's impossible to live in Atlanta without a car" I had to laugh because I lived in Atlanta for two years without a car, I just lived about a 2 minute walk from the Arts Center MARTA station.
It certainly wasn't nice to travel out to farther out areas (often involved walking alongside and crossing stroads when the buses didn't quite reach my destination) and I often felt disconnected from my friends who were typically off into the surrounding suburbs that were prohibitive to access as the transit system didn't reach out into them, but it was doable and I feel I was ultimately happier than I would have been actually driving in Atlanta, widely considered to be one of the most miserable experiences imaginable.

[@your_sweetpea]

To be clear, this isn't typical. Being able to rent an apartment so close to a MARTA stop was certainly indicative of my economic class and I work from home so I didn't have to commute to work, but it was just such a close-to-home example that it was funny to me.

[@grelymolycremp7838]

Fellow LA here, nobody wants to use transit because 90% of the time there are just creepy people on it. And yes, the amount of time you waste driving, AWFUL. I think LA is an example of how horrible building flat (single family homes too) and a MASSIVE population is.

[@gman7497]

Some of this is true (I've lived in LA area all my life) for such an absolutely enormous city its pretty new and built completely around the car. I just think looking at LA as 'one' city is the wrong way to do it, it's really a bunch of city centers connected by freeways.

[@piemadd]

atlanta's weather isn't good when you work 6 hour shifts in 90-something weather with 100% humidity and then a few months later get showered with freezing rain for 2 months straight

[@DevalDiamondProductions]

I find it funny how Sacramento and Atlanta both have a green line that doesn't do anything. Could this become a curse?

[@Hochirin]

Los Angeles' Green Line (now C) also doesn't really do what it's meant to do - doesn't reach all the way to LAX on the west end, stops a mile short of a commuter rail station on the east end. The former issue is getting fixed a little, at least.

[@DevalDiamondProductions]

@@Hochirin that may be, but Sacramento and Atlanta have nearly identical green lines, where they both start at one station that is a branch of the network and end in the existing tracks of the other line(s).

[@justsamoo3480]

Well Atlanta’s green line is there for a really terrible reason. Basically a majority black community of Perry homes was promised a marta extension so that they voted for a transit expansion. Perry homes was also mostly made up of social housing, had a high crime rate and was generally low income, but it was also very dense. Despite the promise MARTA wasn’t expanded there, instead they extended it into low density suburbs. Eventually residents of Perry homes had enough and they demanded the line. At the time MARTA ceo said “My white self rides the train and your honky black ass rides the bus”.
Marta gave residents two options: one was improved bus service and the other one was that one stop extension that stopped like 3 kilometres away from Perry homes. Residents voted on what is the current green line. Residents chose the green line, but that really didn’t improve the connectivity.
Perry homes now no longer exists. It was buldozed late 90s, because of high crime in the area. It’s a shame because that Marta extension would have probably resulted in the better outcome for that community and Atlanta is now also stuck with a pointless spur line.

[@andrewdiamond2697]

Conversely, Boston's and Philadelphia's green lines are used by smaller trolley/trams, are only underground for a bit, and then fan out on the southwestern sides of each of those cities.

[@DevalDiamondProductions]

@@justsamoo3480 both lines were planned to be expanded greatly, but ended up as a one station, highly useless branch of the existing system.

[@soundlyawake]

New Brunswick! I grew up in Middlesex so that was my closest going out city. I live in LA now and yUP the distance between everything here is v annoying

[@Avionicx]

I visited DC recently, and although I didn't venture outside "proper" DC, I really loved it. Walking there was great, although not as good as NYC. Biking, although I personally didn't, looked fantastic, with almost pseudo Dutch style seperated bike lanes, really nice. Transit was pretty good, although I agree with you, frequency is pretty bad. It helps that a lot of lines run parallel but still, it's kinda ridiculous. The stations though are phenomenal. Very helpful, clean, and just look fantastic (take notes MTA!!!). The busses are nice and I love the circulator, although again, I wish they were more frequent and also added more shelters. Honestly, I personally rank DC in 2nd below NYC and above Philly bc honest to god, SEPTA's subway makes the NY Subway look clean af and Philly is (personally) just not as pretty as DC is.

[@GenericUrbanism]

DC is mostly suburbia outside of the square.

[@TorstenAdair]

DC suffers a little for walkability in the L'Enfant areas. Some blocks can be long, and then there's the Mall...

[@onurbschrednei4569]

@@TorstenAdair Yeah, very good point. I think the major problem of DC compared to Philly is its ridiculously wide streets. Like Pennsylvania Ave has 8 lanes !! This makes walking, especially in the center, terrible.

[@g0g0sag0]

Good video overall, but I have a hard time believing LA scores lower than Dallas, Houston, or Atlanta. Generally, LA has way more dense housing and walkable older neighborhoods compared to these other newer sunbelt cities. I still wouldn't rate it's urban planning high by any measure, but it's certainly some decent bones that could be improved by more urbanist-minded policy.

[@maverick9708]

Sounds like Cali cope to me, he might have even been a little charitable with LA 'other' category imo (ex, giving Miami lower scores because of climate change and not putting that into LA even though the drought and other climate issues there are massive). So many issues compounded to make them the roasting stock of the west coast

[@brianmiller5444]

@@maverick9708 humidity, giant bugs, storms every day just as you get off work and want to go outside, and hurricanes are pretty serious. Plus, the crime rate in Miami is sky high.

[@freddy2B]

It seems like you judged housing in Los Angeles too harshly compared to other cities on this list. There is definitely a shortage there, and prices are ridiculously overpriced, but cities like New York and San Francisco suffer from very similar issues. Plus, San Francisco's housing prices are much higher and choices are much more limited. Just giving my two cents here.

[@chrisabella2780]

I think he also judged a little too harshly on walkability and bikeability. It’s still bad put I think placing Houston and Atlanta higher than LA in that regard is a little absurd

[@KrishnaDasLessons]

@@chrisabella2780 Yeah LA is literally a thousand times more walkable than Houston and Atlanta lol.
Also, it has way more of the "missing middle" housing than those cities.

[@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand]

He judged L.A. too harshly all around, but I don't care because he rated New York highly. LMAO

[@maverick9708]

At least you don't have water police in those other places lmao

[@robhallifax]

Public transport to airports in NYC is embarrassingly bad.

[@tortellinifettuccine]

I'm glad Chicago made it! As a European, I despise nearly every American city thanks to how poorly all of them are planned and made, but Chicago has always been an exeption considering its one of the most planned cities in the world. The Cta has pretty good coverage, but suffers from the classic American public transportation recipe, gross, dangerous, old in a bad way, etc. The thing I think I loved most about Chicago was the size of the sidewalks, I mean they're fucking massive. I've seen resurants use it as seating while there's Also people walking, biking, and skating, all on the same sidewalk because it's just that fucking big.

[@choonblaze]

Have you been to NYC? Everything you mentioned here NYC is a level above

[@alegsb3943]

@@choonblaze tbh I think nyc’s subway is cleaner than chicagos

[@GreenLine4444]

@@choonblaze Not true. New York has piles of garbage on its sidewalks waiting for the trash man once a week. And the garbage shares those sidewalks with everyone else. Chicago does not have that routine; and Chicago overall is cleaner than New York. Any real traveler can tell you that. Also, Chicago ALWAYS had clean subway/elevated rapid transit rail cars. In the 70s, 80s, and part of the 90s, New York had subway/elevated rail cars covered in massive graffiti. New York took a cue from Chicago and finally cleaned its rapid transit cars, freeing them of any graffiti, which it still does to this day, like Chicago. And the underground subway stations are not hot and stuffy in Chicago in the summer. They are hot and stuffy in New York in the summer. Just saying.

[@michaelimbesi2314]

I suggest that you visit Washington DC sometime. They call it the Paris of North America. It’s also much cleaner than either NYC or Chicago, and the Metro actually feels like something you’d find in a rich, first world country. It’s not filthy and overcrowded like NYC’s.

[@alegsb3943]

@@michaelimbesi2314 ain’t nobody I know calls it the Paris of North America

[@kazzajaxon7566]

I'm excited for this to be a longer series. I definitely want to see Rochester NY, but by population that ranks 121, so it might be a while...

[@soyb3andorman528]

Same Id like to see buffalo

[@TheJonMead]

Rochester crew whatup!

[@ClaudiaNW]

Eh, I'm looking forward to the 2024 comparison of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Schenectady, New York. Two towns that I'm proud to be able to name, considering that I'm British.

[@r.pres.4121]

I live in Buffalo, this city has gotten better somewhat but still has a long way to go. Our biggest problem are all these militant NIMBYs and radical preservationists who try to stop any new ideas and development and who want to live in the past. Our economy has stabilized but we still need more business. Downtown is still quite stagnant compared to other cities. The city also remains deeply polarized politically. We need new younger leadership.

[@bryanCJC2105]

As far as Chicago's weather goes, I will say that the winters have really moderated in the last 10 years. They aren't as cold. If it snows, the snow is usually gone in a week. Snow doesn't stick around like it used to. Subzero temperatures are rare now and when they happen, it's only for a few days. Summers are also moderating. We don't get as many humid days. It rarely gets above 90 anymore. So, Chicago's weather is getting a better.
For you mid sized cities review, please consider Fresno. Fresno has been an urban renewal disaster. Everything they're tried in the last 50 years has failed. Fresno's last glory days were the 60s. Crime, poverty, air quality, and weather are all miserable. Employment opportunities are bleak and they have become addicted to distribution centers. The rich-poor divide is stark. You can draw a line across the city between good Fresno and bad Fresno. It's very noticeable. But, they keep trying and that's worth something. They recently updated their general plan to include denser central city infill housing and business corridors. Their airport is quite impressive and they started a BRT-light service. It is also ground zero for CA's high speed rail and that has such promise for the city once it's built. It has good bones but it really needs dynamic and strong leadership to bridge its divides. Fresno is an interesting case study.

[@Lzrdman91]

I can’t wait to move to Chicago.

[@gst508]

I'm very bullish on Chicago. All you hear about are it's problems, which are not insubstantial. But in many respects Chicago is the best city in America and super affordable. I suspect we'll see an uptick in net migration to the city

[@brianmiller5444]

Is there anything GAUDIER than the “feudal lords of subsidized but still small gubmint Republicans mega agriculture” neighborhoods on the north fringes of Fresno? Although Clovis is nice.

[@r.pres.4121]

You want to see urban disaster areas go to both Austin Texas and Orlando Florida. Both those cities are way too big for their britches and cannot handle anymore rapid growth but both Austin and Orlando just keep on growing and cannot keep up with it.

[@VineethSudhir]

Came back to this video just to ask for its sequel

[@Damarco4u]

I really enjoyed this video. As a city watcher, this is right up my alley, and I'm glad that someone is pointing out how so many of the Sunbelt cities aren't cities but sprawls. I think you weren't hard enough on some criteria in some places, though. I went back over your scoring and did my own for fun. My list with my adjustments:
1) Philadelphia - 38 pts [+1 walkability, -2 points for housing, which isn't as affordable as everyone posits]
2) tie:
New York - 36 pts. [+1 transit access is the best in the world, -5 housing is ridiculously expensive in all boroughs]] and
Boston-36 pts. [no changes]
3) Washington, D.C. - 34 pts. [-3 for housing, which is also absurdly high here. If you'd had a category for personalities, Washington is the only one I'd give a 0]
4) Chicago -32pts. [-3 for transit access. The L is iconic but it is not only lousy but it leaves a lot of the city uncovered; -1 for housing]
5) tie:
San Francisco - 30 pts. [-2 for housing, leaving them only 1 point for simply offering housing]
Atlanta - 30 pts. [+1 for walkability and +1 transit; Atlanta’s transit is as accessible as Chicago’s and while you can’t really walk from one neighborhood to another, in their own self-contained way, the neighborhoods are very walkable. It isn’t Houston]
6) Miami - 27 pts. [-1 transit; -3 for its expensive housing]
7) Dallas - 26 pts. [-2 walkability; -2 transit access-it’s a bigger driving mess than your score suggests]
8) Los Angeles - 24 pts. [+2 housing -yes, it’s pricey but it isn’t the worst in the nation]
9) Phoenix - 23 pts. [no changes]
10) Houston - 18 pts. [-4 walkability; -2 bikeability]
You didn’t give out any 1s and they are deserved. If the housing markets of New York and San Francisco aren’t worthy of a 1, then what is? If you go to the burbs of these other cities as you did for NYC and SF, their housing scores would shoot way up. And if Houston isn’t a 1 for walkability and bikeability, then nothing is. No city hates pedestrians more than Houston!
Thanks for the great video!

[@briuiwnw7229nurjwnqoaakne]

Pre-watching guess for rankings:
12: Houston
11: Atlanta
10: Phoenix
9: Dallas
8: Miami
7: LA
6: Philly
5: Chicago
4: Boston
3: SF
2: DC
1: NYC
Edit: I was very off xD

[@alanthefisher]

Hey everyone, this episode is a very different format. I don't have much time on my hands because of moving so I had to squeeze this video in. Its almost more of a podcast format, either way I hope y'all enjoy. Also if you want to jump to certain cities, timestamps are marked.
Also if you like city lists, go check out CityNerd too:
ruclips.net/user/CityNerd

[@GenericUrbanism]

You never miss. Your content is incredible.

[@tomothan]

I actually love these longer and podcastish videos, i dont think im alone in saying that I put these types of videos on in the background to listen to or fall asleep to, just because they're so engaging. If i had more long videos to listen to in this urban planning genre i would 1000 percent binge them

[@red2theelectricboogaloo961]

rank south bend, IN and richmond, VA

[@c_splash]

I see you're trying to subtly one-up CityNerd by making a top 12 list instead of top 10

[@alanthefisher]

@@c_splash I mainly did 12 so I could shit on San Francisco

[@Konghulio]

One of my only issues with D.C. is that I wish the proposed “purple” line that connects the outskirts of the city. Also if the metro ran more frequently and didn’t close FRUSTRATINGLY at 11:30 PM it would be hard to complain about. Rent in D.C. is insane, it’s like NY prices and there’s a big inequality issue between different parts of the city, just look at Anacostia compared to Foggy Bottom or even Adams Morgan. There are so many unhoused people in the city it’s horrible that nothing is being done to fix such big issues.

[@chrisobrien3671]

WMATA suffers from having to serve 3 masters. If you can get DC, VA and MD to agree on something it's a miracle.

[@AlexLowe]

"Other is mostly the weather, it gets an 8/10 for that..."
Tell me you haven't been to Atlanta in the summer without telling me you haven't been to Atlanta in the summer...

[@wwsciffsww3748]

July and August certainly suck. But, the winters aren't too bad, and spring and fall are both incredible. And with the risks of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters being relatively low, I'd say 8/10 is justified. I may be biased though as I've lived most of my life here and like it a lot.

[@ianlindersheldon4176]

Miami has some crazy stuff in the works. TOD, several new right-of-ways, new bus map w/ focus on frequencies, and big big roadway changes from FDOT.

[@bellapoi]

where can i read about this i want to have some hope for our city

[@staycgirlsitsgoingdown2]

The blue line in Boston has pantographs and 3rd rail because it goes RIGHT along the beach/seaside for the outdoors portion, and 3rd rail would get destroyed by ice in the winter and salt water spray in the summer so it’s easier to use pantographs on the outdoor portion, not much you can do about it.

[@jjazman1234]

I live in the Phoenix metro area and it does have problems like a lot of other places. But I thought I would answer the question you asked: “why is there a city here”. I know it was rhetorical but you asked it five times and a lot of people don’t know the answer. There is a river through Phoenix called the Salt river. It appears dry through most of the city because the water is diverted into canals that flow through the city. The canals were originally built by the Hohokom Indians about 2000 years ago and they had an extensive irrigation system and large thriving civilization. The canals were rediscovered by settlers and put back into use again. The River is not as big as the Colorado River but flows about a million acre feet per year which would sustain about 3 or 4 million people just by itself. During World War II Pilots trained at an Air Force base nearby (Luke). Many of those associated with the base decided they liked the sunny, warm winters and moved here permanently. Opinions about weather are subjective but if you consider 60s and 70s to be nice weather, Phoenix actually has more days like that in an average year than most other US cities. So there are some reasons to explain why it’s here. It is bigger than it should be, true, but it had a long history and the area was settled long before many other US cities.

[@onomichio7797]

As someone who also lives in Phoenix I was looking to see if someone already said it. The original main draw was the river and the free aqueduct system that was basically already here. It's free real estate!!! A shame that it has sprawled so much and focused so hard on far flung golf course suburbs where every house is massive and has a huge yard and pool, since I grew up on the east side I'll specifically complain about Gilbert (so much grass for no reason), San Tan and Queen Creek.

[@jackbalter4288]

Don’t forget the light rail is only 14 years old too

[@waldobrown9265]

Huge cope.

[@jjazman1234]

Not sure what the point is since I wasn’t making a pro-Phoenix argument and only answering the question about why it is there. But I did find this online and I thought it was pretty funny:
Cope: A word to be used when you disagree with someone but don't want to think of an actual argument

[@InternetLaser]

The upside of Boston is that it's old
The downside of Boston is that it's old
Imagine an apartment with 200 years worth of layers of white paint from an endless series of idiot landlords.

[@zoppp621]

You should do a case study on Cobb county/Marietta. It's a textbook suburb/car dependent town with huge stroads/parking lots and the main street, Cobb Pkwy, is lined with car dealerships and auto shops basically telling you that you have to buy a car to live here.

[@Max-sd7hn]

Same here in Forsyth

[@wwsciffsww3748]

The Cumberland area (Truist Park, Cobb Energy Centre, 75/285 interchange, etc) has been rapidly improving bus service and walkability. There are tons of great walking/biking trails too. If they keep that up, the area will get even better. There is also talk of extending MARTA's green line up there which would be incredible, but Cobb County voters hate transit with a passion and would never allow it

[@gabrielrussell5531]

You vastly overrate weather in LA and Miami while underrating the nice cool weather of the northeast.

[@arisumego]

As a former Miami resident, you’re overrating Miami by a lot I’d say

[@nicksanchez9142]

I think the weather category isn't that useful considering anyone can just look up the weather and know whether or not they'd like it, it's super subjective and it's easily accessible info. The other categories are much more helpful, if I want to know how good Boston's metro system is, for example, then it's gonna take a while for me to read through people's opinions and research statistics about it. I appreciate your opinions on city planning but I don't really care what kind of weather you prefer. Not trying to be rude or anything, just trying to communicate how I feel about it.

[@LrdZanny]

Weather is more than just mean temperatures though. Honestly going along the Northeast corridor can be a huge swing, DC is basically a subtropical swamp while Boston is an arctic wasteland half the year. I've taken Amtrak between Philly and DC before and felt like I was getting off a 2 hour flight to Miami or just flew to Canada in reverse, its pretty jarring, and a lot of people don't know what to expect environmentally from it.
Dallas can feel stifling from the heat in the summer as much as Boston can feel frigid in the winter.

[@nicksanchez9142]

Yes humidity, inches of precipitation, and spf are also very important but again, very subjective, so when he says the weather is good or gives it a high rating for weather, how does that help me judge the city? Does that mean that it's a mild winter with summers in the 80s or is it like LA, does it mean humid or hot? The rating of good weather is based completely on what kind of weather he likes. I find it to be confusing.

[@raney150]

I feel like weather is justified. Especially on how brutal winters can be. Also, how brutal summers can be in some areas, but usually winter is the bigger killer.
And Chicago winters are no joke. The worst winters on this list.

[@r.pres.4121]

Not everyone likes warm weather and sunshine. There are many people who like cool cloudy weather and those who love the winter.

[@CaradhrasAiguo49]

And also he exaggerates the winter difference between PHL and NY (Central Park), per the latest 30-year normals they are the exact same mean (average of high and low) temp in January and February, in fact Central Park is 0.5 *F warmer in December.

[@encoreempire4038]

So, your just going to talk trash about LA? I know it’s not perfect but it’s not all bad. There are more walkable areas than just Downtown and those include Hollywood, Koreatown, Los Feliz, Westlake, Westwood and Echo Park. Walkable suburbs include Santa Monica, WeHo, Long Beach and Pasadena. No hate but do your research before you just make assumptions about a place you’ve never been to.

[@bills.prestonesq.5905]

$1700 for a bedroom *in Atlanta* is not bad? Nah. Landlord heads should be rolling for that.

[@jo2832]

Yay someone who finally doesn't say chicago sucks also pls make a part two.

[@filthyredpunk]

I was in Los Angeles all last week (I plan on moving there next year), and there were definitely some issues. Yes, it's true, in theory you can walk because everything is so flat and it's mostly a grid, but everything is still so ridiculously far away from each other. I did see bike trails, but I didn't see much in the way of any other kind of bike infrastructure (not even bike lanes). The legibility of street signs was a huge issue for me at night, as I didn't see too many signs that were illuminated or even reflective. LA drivers are still California drivers, but I'll take them over Sacramento drivers any day of the week. Housing? Yeah, that's something that's gonna be a real challenge for me. But I definitely love the fact that they do have an extensive bus network, as well as a Metro network.

[@notthemama9986]

Oh yeah, Sacramento drivers are the worst!

[@chrisabella2780]

Depending on the neighborhood you can be able to walk to places like the grocery store or shops, sure you can’t walk to every interesting part of the city, but in a lot of areas you can do a lot of daily activities by walking

[@ghost21501]

I used to live in Sacramento and my favorite thing to do when I visit is shit on the drivers.

[@vavin6927]

Imagine if South Hampton roads got combined in the early 2000s(there was a failed proposal) and made it on this list with all the sprawl and transit issues it has.

[@r.pres.4121]

Are you referring to Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach?

[@vavin6927]

@@r.pres.4121 There was a Very controversial bill to combine Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach. The bill was proposed because of feeling that competition between the cities kept them from becoming a regional powerhouse. It was proposed but immediately received condemnation from local state rep’s. Comedic jokes about finally getting a pro sports team was the only positive news that spread in the coverage. It did start a conservation on increased regional cooperation.
Source for bill(sorry no links): “HJ 139 Study; consolidation of cities in South Hampton Roads.”

[@heretolevitateme]

Phoenix weather: you nailed it. Now please tell your friends to quit moving here. Housing costs are actually awful. Also, since this will be under the fold: weather is wonderful 9 months out of the year.

[@pax6833]

Pheonix needs to have its population deported and the city razed to the ground, returned to the desert. Las Vegas and Palmdale too.
Stop. Building. Cities. In the desert.

[@MySlenderGames]

I don't follow Alan that closely but seems like he's from the North. Even if not, Northerners always think Southern weather is better and I've never understood it. I'd much rather deal with 0 degree weather compared to a month of 100+ degrees. You literally cannot be outside during the summer unless you plan to sweat all day and not shower till the sun goes down. NO ONE is outside enjoying the day unless under the shade or in the water

[@commie7325]

Great video man! You could also later add Canadian and Mexican cities (i.e. the rest of North America). I feel that this series has a lot of potential.

[@JamesLeatherman]

You might want to check the housing prices in Phoenix again - it is really isn't affordable anymore.

[@exiron0202]

Mostly agree, but I wish the weather rating meant something other than how warm a city is. A lot of us like the cold!

[@paulstewart11]

Glad you mentioned TxDot's corruption. It's currently taking them 6 *years* to rebuild the ramps at the 59/610 interchange in Houston, which is the busiest intersection in Texas while they've simultaneously torn up and been working on the 288/610 interchange for years as well, plus other major construction projects on the Gulf Fwy and Grand Pkwy.
For reference, it took about the same time to tear down and rebuild a 23 mile stretch of the Katy Freeway and make it the world's widest freeway with a toll road in the middle of it. They also had to redo the ramps at 610, the Sam Houston Tollway and the Grand Pkwy...and they did all of that in the time frame it's taking them to redo the ramps (a couple of which were built in the last 15 years or so) alone at the busiest intersection in the state.
It's also the way they've approached this project...they tore up several ramps at once in different parts of the intersection, causing completely unnecessary delays for as long as they work on those segments. They have currently shut down the 59 SB to 610 SB ramp for *2 years* while the 610 SB to 59 SB ramp has been torn up, but not completed for at least 2 years. I understand they need to repair the 610 north and southbound bridge span over these ramps (and others), but this is about as inefficiently done as they can do it without people literally showing up to their HQ with pitchforks. Okay, I'm exaggerating that...people are way too distracted and accepting of the bullshit that consumes our society on a daily basis to do that, but you get my point.
They've also changed the configuration of multiple ramps at this intersection (and many others around town lately as well), and now there's only one lane (the farthest right) to exit from 610 SB to 59 NB...which is going to make traffic worse when the intersection is complete than that part of the intersection was before they started construction. It's been an absolute nightmare since they started construction there even though that ramp has been complete for several months now.
I've spoken with TxDot representatives on this project, and when I asked them why they don't work on one ramp at a time and put like 200 workers on that ramp to finish it *much* quicker, their response was...put your seatbelt on for this...they didn't want workers working on top of each other. When I told them that my concern automatically takes that into account, they told me we were running short on time and ended our virtual appointment.

[@vishnureddy3977]

You could live without a car in Atlanta in Inman Park. It’s a decently walkable neighborhood right on the Beltline, so a lot of things are easily accessible by bike including a Kroger. There’s zipcars nearby too.

[@shivtim]

I also know people without a car in Midtown, Old Fourth Ward, Sweet Auburn, and Edgewood.

[@wwsciffsww3748]

@@shivtim Once the Beltine is completed, it will be much easier to live without a car on the Westside, South Buckhead, Summerhill, etc. They just need to finish the damn thing lol

[@Shtoops]

The thing that makes walking in Boston great is that you know drivers aren't going to stop for you unless you force them, so you have to constantly walk into traffic in large groups. Also if you are driving into Boston, 10 miles is at least an hour. Very proud to have the statistically worst traffic in the country.

[@Shtoops]

Wait, the pandemic made us only the second worse. That's a shame.

[@saybanana]

You got LA all wrong. Most neighborhoods and suburbs are walkable. Sidewalks, trees. Similar to Chicago outside the loop where businesses are major streets, residential on minor streets. Every LA neighborhood you can walk to most daily amenities from church, school, bank, library, post office, many food places, shops, grocery store. Many older pre ww2 neighborhoods were built with businesses built facing the street versus a parking lot. Anyone who visited LA likely went to Venice, Melrose, Beverly Hills, Hollywood Blvd, old Pasadena, Downtown, Koreatown, studio city. Why does LA get low housing scores compared to NYC when apartments are bigger and cost less?

[@modalmixture]

Absolutely agree, if you choose the right neighborhoods, you can create a very walkable/bikeable lifestyle. I walk five minutes to a gold line stop and ride it 15 mins to work downtown everyday. One thing I will say tho is there’s not enough shade to make walking pleasant in many neighborhoods. And the homeless situation is making it increasingly difficult to have any public amenities like transit or parks.

[@amsd1231]

I disagree whole heartedly. LA is not even remotely close to walkable. You cannot get anywhere without a car. I tried going from Silver Lake to Glendale and that experience scarred me for life. I had to broil in the unrelenting LA sun for 30 minutes and when the bus finally got there, despite the sign on the bus saying it's going to where I wanted to go, didn't go there and instead headed to Downtown. I asked the driver and she didn't think it was her responsibility to change the signs.
And the neighborhoods you mentioned do have small pockets of walkable streets but what happens when you want to go from one of those neighborhoods to another? Pasadena to Torrence? Fuck that's gonna be a painful and day long journey.
And what trees? LA has no trees. Maybe some in Pasadena or few enclaves near the mountain range but finding shades in the city is and impossible task. And what little shaded area the city has is often occupied by the homeless and their tents blocking any passage.

[@troyarrington5492]

What?😂 we must be thinking of too different cities lol

[@gman7497]

​@troyarrington5492 yeah, lol.LA can be a pain at times during rush hours but it's not that bad. I think alot of people just have no patience for city living.

[@bobuhnitza]

Regarding Los Angeles, it’s really hard to make a proper assessment without addressing the fact that LA is bipolar. Yes, rent and traffic on the west side are really, really bad, but 10 minutes east of downtown, rent is (relatively) affordable.
It’s a tough sell to rate LA below SF on housing when the rents are not even in the same ballpark. Nor does it make sense to dock LA’s walkability on distance when Houston’s sprawl is far worse (check the map. LA isn’t as big as most people think). I’m not saying LA is cheap or walkable- it’s not. But both of these are pretty obvious and egregious ranking errors.

[@osmanjeffrey]

Great video. One picky point is using climate/weather as part of the mix. Government, economics, etc. isn't responsible for Nature, so I think that metric is really non-applicable for this scorecard. But all in all, I really enjoy your work and we are on the same page. Thank you for your work.

[@heartache5742]

location was up to the people building
and climate does influence the way a city has to be built to be comfortably livable
density and infrastructure and whatever

[@DNRY122]

Obviously the weather is what it is, but it can influence whether someone wants to move to another city or not. My wife is from New England, and she likes to go back there to visit (and eat lobstahs that aren't jet-lagged), but at soon as the calendar gets near November, our mental jukebox cues up "On my way to sunny Cali-for-ni-ay" by the Beach Boys, and we head back to my native land, LA County.

[@sihplak]

Christ living in the Midwest makes me feel out of touch. When you said Atlanta rent wasn't that bad, and then said the average for a 1bed is $1700, I nearly choked. Average rent in my city is $800 or so, and it's the most expensive city in my state not counting rich suburbs of the capital. Jesus.

[@brunhildevalkyrie]

same

[@aCycloneSteve]

You're saying my 3-bedroom-2 bath with three off street parking spots plus a one car garage for $725 is not typical in Atlanta?

[@alex22153]

@@aCycloneSteve that seems like a dream in Los Angeles😩I wish

[@bobwalsh3751]

As a Chicago (area) native, I agree 1000% that our winters do indeed suck balls.
EDIT: Also I also LOVE the CTA...except for the Red Line subway. That ride is a train line from Hell.

[@FlyingOverTr0ut]

Coming from the DC area, you're right on about the problems there. Plentiful metro stations to get around, but the frequency of trains meant you could easily be standing on a packed platform, and I've been there when someone was blocking the doors and the train operator told everyone to get off the train back onto the platform, where we'd have to wait another ten minutes or so for the next train.

[@25usd94]

I dispute your ranking of Boston, esp. relative to Wash DC.
-it has buses (that should run more often but they cover areas not covered by the MBTA)
-Boston’s interconnected T lines functions like a metro, and the differences between the various old lines is largely unimportant because you can catch a train every 5 mins or so.
-Free airport bus
-separate commuter rail
DC on the other hand
-becomes Maryland suburb hell as soon as you get out of the tiny dc zone
-absolutely bafflingly stupid fare system
-long wait times for the train

[@IaHarbour]

Counterpoint: the green line

[@dunkey7739]

DC is big compared to Boston lol

[@davisyewell1795]

Maryland “suburb hell” is full of transit oriented development and most of the suburbs have amazing local bus networks (see ride-on in moco). Not to mention the great metro bus system. And he didn’t even mention MARC which is a pretty good commuter rail system (at least the Penn line). Lastly the wait times on metro are a recent issue, during the back to good initiative they had great headways and most of the issues now are related to the pandemic and 7000 series trains taking about 60% of trains out of service at once.

[@alegsb3943]

How is the fare system stupid? is that because it is payed based on how far you went? Also, being a Maryland suburbaner myself, it’s actually pretty amazing. Sidewalks everywhere, restraints close, dozens of little urban pockets everywhere, (e.g. Bethesda, silver spring, college park) only downside is that there are a lot of deaths on bikes. At least on old Georgetown near Bethesda.

[@petalchild]

FYI the busses are still part of the MBTA.

[@cycloid2326]

5:59
1. The lines being incompatible really isn’t much of an issue since they run separately, even great systems like the Singapore MRT and the London Underground run a large number of incompatible lines.
2. The blue line uses overhead wire on part of its route because it runs right next to the Atlantic, so third rail power wasn’t an option due to excessive corrosion from sea spray.

[@qjtvaddict]

Plus the blue line can takeover some of the green lines

[@OhTheUrbanity]

Great video!! Makes us want to book some trips.

[@22817hm]

In regards to the light rail to LAX, It was originally supposed to open in 2018. Due to a few construction errors made along the way and a slow down of construction due to the pandemic it is now scheduled to open in fall this year. I've been following this project closely for years now and cant wait for it to open.