The Cities We (I) Don't Talk About Enough

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One of the most frequent comments I get is, "You don't talk about (insert name of person's home town) enough." Today's video is an attempt to rectify that and bring Balance to the (urbanism) Force.
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Patreon - a way to directly support continuing CityNerd output! Thanks to all who have signed up so far.
/ citynerd
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Previous CityNerd videos referenced:
- Affordable cities with San Diego weather: • The Venn Diagram of Su...
- The 56 most important high speed rail connections in North America: • 56 High Speed Rail Lin...
- North America's best Union Stations: • Union Stations: The Be...
- The Lost World of US Passenger Rail: • The Sad and Awful Way ...
- City-destroying State Capital complexes: • Let's Shame the Awful ...
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Resources:
- City Beautiful's video on Fulton Street Mall in Fresno, CA: • Fresno is removing its...
- en.wikipedia.o...
- www.walkscore....
- www.walkscore....
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Images
- Omaha Union Station interior By Original uploader was Robertmoo40 at en.wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia, Public Domain, commons.wikime...
- Cleveland 1877 By A. Ruger, artist. Lith. by Shober & Carqueville. - Library of Congress, Public Domain, commons.wikime...
- Cincinnati 1841 By Klauprech & Menzel -- Printer Of plates - digitalgallery...., Public Domain, commons.wikime...
- Crosley Field, 1940s By Rob Lambert - Crosley Field, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikime...
- League Park 1910 By Unknown Author - www.digitalbal..., Public Domain, commons.wikime...
- Cincinnati Over-the-Rhine By EEJCC - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikime...
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[@CityNerd]

You know what else is completely underdiscussed on this channel? The fact that you can use my custom link to get 40% off a Nebula annual subscription. I also NEVER talk about how helpful it is for the channel, in multiple ways, when you do this! More membership options up in the description, but the main thing is here ---> go.nebula.tv/citynerd

[@jonathansykes4986]

nebula no.

[@adamsrankings8860]

you should have a video asking the community what they think the best way is to grow and promote this cause maybe we can merge all of the best ideas. For example: analyzing which messaging strategies work the best, and making sure different groups of people are represented in this movement (especially young people who are most affected by the housing crisis)

[@adamsrankings8860]

maybe we can reach out and try to get the more pessimistic youtubers involved in Yimbys for Harris as well

[@bearcubdaycare]

I've found some fun stuff on nebula, worth the cost in my view, but also hard to find what interests me. I suspect that other services put an enormous amount of effort into that discoverability, or suggestion algorithms. (Ugh, the algorithm, steering what you find, but then again KZbin has many times suggested things that turned out to be great... including this channel.). Maybe a public competition for algorithms that help people find stuff they'd like on nebula. Or a configurable algorithm, in which the viewer can choose the criteria of what videos are suggested, and tweak it to their preferences.

[@ChynnaBlue1]

Yeah, okay, you got me. I signed up. Thanks for the discount code!

[@mango6591]

boise cant even get mentioned in a video about not getting mentioned

[@Wunder.L88]

😂😂😂

[@jazzcatjohn]

Once it becomes a city, maybe it will. 🤣

[@samelmudir]

The void between Oregon and Utah

[@nabilnaserelliott1223]

Jacksonville FL tol

[@DocBriLove2]

Depending on what population data source was used, Boise might not have made the 750k metro area population threshold.

[@fabiomcmuffin]

I definitely think San Juan, Puerto Rico deserves a look. It often doesn’t get considered in lists of US cities

[@jonnycoolg]

That would be a fun one for sure to hear about!

[@kevinclark6934]

Yeah, being flattened by any hurricane is GREAT infrastructure.

[@AMPProf]

Sí

[@silverXnoise]

⁠@@kevinclark6934Hope your loved ones are healthy and safe, presumably far removed from San Juan.

[@RoadTripzz14]

Must be great. People are leaving in droves.

[@tod2450]

The thing about urbanism is that every single city has positives, negatives, and room for improvement. There is something to talk about everywhere

[@brianc5617]

Yesss, that's some grade A copium. Really hits the spot because it works for everything; literally everything has pros and cons.

[@tod2450]

@@brianc5617 Wow you're so cool and smart

[@MustraOrdo]

@@brianc5617 That reading comprehension though🤨

[@thomasdarling2553]

Good point!

[@Khronogi]

​@@brianc5617copium about what?

[@jerredhamann5646]

Rustbelt cities tend to fly under the radar cause rustbelt but having been built before the car and at least historically having significant transit networks means even if the city just does the bare minimium of having a usable bus network and some bike lanes u get a place that is far more urbanist than most places in usa

[@helmsgaming84]

They're flying under the radar a bit less these days, not least because of channels like this one drawing attention to their affordability and pre-auto urban fabric that, while in various states of intactness in 2024, does tend to give these cities good bones. It's probably a good thing, overall. Most of these cities are still rather hollowed out compared to where they were in the middle of the last century, and are struggling to generate the tax revenue they need to fund transit and improvements.

[@MaxwellWilliams42]

Even cities without functional transit like Cincinnati and Columbus at least have excellent walkable neighborhoods. Only issue is that you need a car to live in them due to a lack of viable bus service in those places

[@michaellewyn4099]

just hollowed enough that people are not as likely to praise them for their urbanism as the best coastal cities, yet just urban enough that people aren't going to criticize them as much as Sunbelt cities like Phoenix or Houston.

[@thedapperdolphin1590]

City Nerds mentions them quite a bit. Pittsburgh has gotten a good deal of attention on this channel, for example.

[@soastersoas5827]

Hi! Columbia, SC native here. Check out Greenville, SC. They are rapidly trying to become the most pedestrian-friendly city in the state, and the population boom of the last decade has made it possible. I read through their entire 20 year master plan, and it's a work of art.

[@saratemp790]

Greeneville SC is beautiful. But the population level might not be high enough yet for him.

[@bendyke1387]

Portland, Maine would be a great city to cover! It's the largest city in Maine, and it's going through a pretty drastic rental/housing crisis (like most of the country right now), despite its population being less than 70k (greater area included is more like 550k+). With that said, it has a great, walkable downtown waterfront that's very similar to Boston's historic districts, complete with cobblestone streets and lots of older brick buildings. It also has a minor league baseball team and ballpark - The Sea Dogs at Hadlock Field! The city's at a huge crossroads right now with regards to urban infrastructure (pun intended). There's no inner rail system aside from an Amtrak station (which is actually being moved to a new location in the city), but the expanding bus system is getting more and more developed each year; it actually reaches several dozen miles into the northern and western parts of the state for commuters. Bike lanes are gaining some traction here (pun also intended) but still aren't very well implemented; lots of low-traffic streets though. There's also a huge tourism industry here and it's becoming a very popular foodie destination, so there's lots of outdoor seating at restaurants in the city, and some streets are often shut down for pedestrian use only in the summer. Hope this doesn't get lost in the sea of comments! I'm a lifelong Mainer, but I just moved to the city in February and wish it got more attention!

[@samranda]

portland ME fucking rocks, would love a video about it

[@JaySmith-pv2mw]

I visited Portland in 2022 and loved it. I'll never forget an evening temperature of 57F in late June.

[@mattius459]

There is a streetcar coming to Omaha as well, a new Children's science center, and a very "density is good" Mayor leading the charge for Omaha. And don't forget the CWS!

[@BorisBoris-sl1sf]

Bless your heart

[@raleighsheffield841]

Don't forget our top ranked zoo!

[@emma70707]

Stothart is OK. She's very grudging afaik about public transit from used-to-live-in-Omaha vantage (may well have missed things!). A single bike lane she wants to rip out? Slowly rolling out rapid transit (that was imminently promised when I went to Creighton over a decade ago). Still a lack of airport transit unless you're a commuter willing to wait for absolutely ages? Big meh.

[@MatthewBakke]

How could I forget spending $6k a year when my team makes it to the CWS?

[@kevincosgrove4954]

Booking the uhaul now.

[@theskygod4522]

I would love a whole video about Worcester MA. The parking situation downtown is wild. Respect from MA for pronouncing the city right.

[@DutyDuty]

Add a discussion of how a single city councilor is holding up a lower city-wide speed limit for months on end too.

[@theskygod4522]

@@DutyDuty and the city’s inability to respond to the road fatality epidemic.

[@keepstake]

getting Worcester right and then immediately saying gov paw-lis is wild.

[@shaun9901]

Wormtown Rocks! 🙂

[@ecurewitz]

Wista! Love this town!

[@thibaultlibat368]

“I’m prepared to be pleasantly surprised” I love this about your channel, openminded and positive, not dogmatic and negative. Keep it up!

[@zachperkins688]

I'd say the reason Columbus is growing so much is that it was never really a rust belt city. That allowed it to avoid a lot of the baggage that came with deindustrialization

[@Matt-pi2vc]

Exactly. It’s always been an engineering and research city more than anything considering both OSU and Battelle are present in the city. Sad Cbus doesn’t play into that fact more

[@MbisonBalrog]

@@Matt-pi2vcwhat is Battelle? I never heard. I almost enrolled at OSU.

[@fixpacifica]

@@Matt-pi2vc I grew up in Columbus. Never really thought of it as an engineering and research city. It's economy was more centered around being a state capital and Ohio State University.

[@spad1782]

​​@@fixpacifica Good amount of software/engineering stuff in and around Columbus. Nationwide, JPMC regional HQ, Honda R&D Center, and more that I've probably forgotten. Not to mention Battelle. It's a really big city when it comes to those things. Of course OSU being there doesn't hurt but it's not the only drawing point.

[@NewYorkNevada]

​@@Matt-pi2vcThat's interesting. I really never knew or considered this. Thanks!

[@iTzDritte]

Watched on Nebula. Commenting here to appease the algorithm and complain how Philadelphia is perennially undervalued.

[@nintendoguy66]

Don’t complain let it stay that way

[@gekquad116]

Philly is a great city. I’ve moved away but I will always miss it.

[@joehopfield]

😂 me too!

[@chrisbartolini1508]

Philly is the bomb, I’m glad I’m a NYer so they’re always within arms reach.

[@williamerazo3921]

Undervalue?? It’s talk the most

[@GarrisIiari]

Providence Rhode Island is absolutely under discussed. It has all the pros, problems, and potential of urbanism in the US. Long overdue for a deep dive.

[@thadsoule7129]

Coffee milk

[@kevincosgrove4954]

Promenades are under-discussed on this channel

[@kevincosgrove4954]

We need top 10 promenades!

[@KevnFsk]

Yes totally!! I think right now providence is worth a visit for City Nerd. He would be able to get a whole understanding of Providence in a weekend because it is so small. He would also understand the drama the city holds in its urbanism. Rhode island is also in general a very fun topic to discuss when comparing it to any other place in the USA

[@christophermiller867]

Columbus, Ohio has no natural boundaries and can sprawl in all directions. We are also home to several major corporations and research facilities/universities so we didn't die from lack of manufacturing, just suffered for a while and have reversed the shrinkage of the 90s.

[@SL-vy8ue]

Columbus is bland, generic, suburban sprawl. Zero charm, little character

[@niaengd6089]

@@SL-vy8ue No, it's very unique. It's one of the largest cities in the US without any passenger rail transit.

[@stevengordon3271]

@@SL-vy8ue More healthy economically than the other two for all these reasons, but definitely less urban.

[@briandewyre9446]

It seemed that Columbus kept annexing most of the outlying suburbs in the early '00s or 90s- which pushed the population higher and higher relative to Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus does have some very cool areas. Cleveland in particular has had to battle back from loss of manufacturing and the tendency for people not from Cleveland to believe negative stereotype of the city since the late 60s. It has had a lot of revitalization especially over the last 25-30 years (yes I am from Cleveland). Cincinnati was the city to move to in Ohio in the 80s and 90s, seemed to slow down but is again attracting people. What they did with Over the Rhine and the Banks on the river is astounding- took a very long time but really wonderful.

[@sethland]

Having lived in Columbus... it was a late bloomer due to lack of water transportation or not as optimal of a location to center the manufacturing industry of yesteryear. But the knowledge economy driven by Ohio State has allowed it to catch up and be one of the bright spots economically. Late population growth ensued mostly in an unbounded sprawl into flat farmland. It either suffers or thrives because it's not known to have a distinct culture driven from the 19th or early 20th century immigrants when it was a more sleepy "cow town". It suffers because leaders have lacked imagination for what Columbus could be: a thriving, dense, and diverse urban core with charming neighborhoods. Thus, they have overbuilt the freeway network and continue to balk at both passenger rail and transit improvements. COTA is a functional bus service for students and carless households that need it. But it thrives because local neighborhoods and neighborhood leaders have stepped in the void to create some of the most amazing urban neighborhoods, especially German Village. German Village is a neighborhood you need an excuse to go visit. It also thrives because the "middle of the road" culture has created one of the best test markets for corporations who want good intel on how products, particularly food, will do nationally. A lot of service industry jobs in Columbus.

[@hgman3920]

Growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, I used to refer to Omaha as "the big city back East". I'd love to see City Nerd visit Lincoln sometime. For a city of it's size, it has a disproportionately large core of walkable/bikeable neighborhoods before you hit more recent urban sprawl

[@emma70707]

Yeah, Lincoln should be on one of the small cities list. It's probably better than average, though the bike path network is so disappointing in that it could be great with actual transit that came frequently (as a backup/multimodal link) or with proper connected bike lanes. But instead, at best, in the suburban parts you get extra wide sidewalks next to 45 mph roads that are so wide cars for 50+ and there's rarely enough traffic to slow them down. In the more dense parts, you get 35-40 mph streets with no bike lanes and cracked sidewalks that literally sent a cyclist off the sidewalk in front of my car one time (barely avoiding maiming/killing him and only because I thought he looked a bit shaky with the heat as a bike commuter myself so I was going 10 under after the light turned). It's so much better than a lot of other suburban-focused cities--all neighborhoods except a select few have sidewalks. And they've increased bus access from my childhood there. But compared to actually dense East Coast cities or Seattle where I live now, it just feels oppressive coming back and HAVING to drive everywhere because nowhere is set up for you to ride your bike. (I did still as a teen and was distinctive/unique enough that each time would get reported to my parents by friends, lol, driving past.) We needed to buy something a block away when I was back last year and my suggestion to walk was shot down because it would have meant tramping through a couple of parking lots with zero connecting sidewalks. Anyway, it's just infuriating that everything is in car scale and bikes, even with better than average trails, and walking are treated as only recreational for all intents.

[@hgman3920]

@@emma70707 I haven't lived in Lincoln for over 30 years, but I absolutely loved growing up there. Almost all of the inner neighborhoods have schools within walking distance, so I walked or rode my bike to school through 11th grade. I walked or rode my bike literally across town whenever I needed to go somewhere. The grid network of street made it easy to ride down one of the side streets parallel to the major arterias. I lived near 33rd and O and it was a pretty easy ride to visit friend who lived out past Holmes lake. During the summer, I was rarely ever reliant on my parents to shuttle me around when I wanted to see friends or go do things. My own kids grew up in the burbs of NC, and there was no walking or biking *anywhere* from our neighborhood.

[@9to5Drone]

That's funny, I went to UNL for college and I thought their bike trail network was actually pretty good ​@emma70707

[@John_Hudson_922]

As far as Atlanta, I think it would be an amazing place for you to feature, specifically Midtown probably, really anything inside the perimiter. Please don't go to the burbs, just ignore them. They are huge and far away and honestly, many of us who live out here an hour away from downtown really are independent of the city of Atlanta. We just happen to live in the metro area at large, but aren't really connected to the city in any way except maybe the airport or the aquarium etc, or the sports teams. But for minor league ballparks, there is the Gwinnett Stripers

[@MrFolton17]

They have that one loop trail over there right? Seems to be an shaving feature that almost every city could benefit from

[@totalcaresolutions6344]

@@MrFolton17 yes, the beltline.

[@TheRealAtrocity]

@@MrFolton17the beltline is amazing!

[@Afitts00]

​@@MrFolton17 The beltline is great! It was designed as a light rail line and the trail has been built with provisions for that. They're supposed to start construction on the first segment of rail next year!

[@rummy522]

Gwinnett County’s Master Trail plan should connect most of the county with walk/bike paths and will connect it to the rest of the metro area as well. Please take a look into the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Trail Vision. Plus a number of Gwinnett county’s cities (Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Snellville, Duluth, Buford, Norcross) have been revitalizing their downtowns to give people a place to go without having to head downtown because of the traffic.

[@Maznhaden1]

I don't know if Richmond, Virginia has ever been mentioned despite having these attributes: -Eliminated parking minimums citywide in 2023 -Busiest Amtrak station in the South -Bus ridership that matches Charlotte's despite having 1/4 the population -One of the most successful BRTs nationally by ridership per mile -Adding a new BRT lane in 2030 -One of only a handful of cities that has exceeded its pre-COVID transit ridership -Nearly all the new housing is infill high density or missing middle along existing BRT and high transit corridors -One of the few legacy cities that has added population since 2020 -Center of the under development 43-mile long $450 million Fall Line Multiuse Trail -High density walkable neighborhoods that don't require a car including the largest Victorian Historic District in the US (check out the Fan, Museum District, Carver, Jackson Ward, Shockoe Bottom, and Church Hill) -City is investing hundreds of millions in complete streets and road diets. Hundreds of speed tables, curb extensions, PHBs, etc have gone in in the past 2 years. -One of the most accessible park systems in the US -Several neighborhoods such as Manchester and Scott's Addition upzoned to TOD-1. -Pedestrian/transit oriented master plan developments like the Diamond District and Center City on the horizon. -The most used long distance multise use trail outside Northern Virginia (the Virginia Capital Trail) I live in the Fan and sometimes weeks go by before I drive again and often forget where I park. Biking to work downtown is safe and convenient along low stress roads and the Franklin Street cycle track (which often has more bicycle commuters in the morning than cars) and I can bike to work 5 minutes faster than driving. Taking the bus into work takes 15 minutes by BRT. Everything I need from movie theaters, grocery stores, bakeries, neighborhood grocers and shops, parks, restaurants, transit, art museums, etc all within a 15 minute low stress walk.

[@jmlinden7]

3:09 angled parking takes up more sq ft per spot (slightly) than 90 degree nose-in, but is much safer and keeps traffic flowing predictably compared to parallel parking. It's useful for streets that have high pedestrian traffic and need a more consistent traffic flow, which is the case in many downtowns

[@TheDeadbone1961]

Agreed! I've noticed that our newest grocery stores and even fast-food places have angled parking, so there must be some logic to it.

[@jennydude9852]

Anecdotally, it feels worse for bike safety than parallel parking. Less visability and the layout means cars feel safer going faster, like with wider vs narrower streets. Still better than 90°, but Ive never seen 90° outside of an explicit parking lot. Again just anecdotal tho, would love to see some data on it.

[@kriserts]

it's terrible for a cyclist. Drivers dive into those spaces really quickly--they don't have to pull over and carefully parallel park--and it's hard for people pulling out to see bikes oncoming. I cycle frequently through a downtown with angled parking on a fairly regular basis, and I have to be super careful, more so than passing parallel-parked cars.

[@maumor2]

Parallel parking is the way to go. 75% of Americans dont know how to do it

[@kenbrown2808]

@@kriserts the solution to that is to have hard barriers in front of the cars and the parking between the street and the bicycle lanes.

[@rymcmanus]

Atlanta native here. Interesting places to visit: Midtown (Georgia Tech, Piedmont Park)- heart of Atlanta's densification Eastside Beltline (Ponce City Market, Old Fourth Ward, Inman Park, Krog Street Market)- further along in the gentrification/redevelopment process West Midtown (Westside Provisions District, Westside Paper, Chattahoochee Food Works)- earlier along in the gentrification/redevelopment process Downtown (Georgia Aquarium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, World of Coke, HBCUs, Underground Atlanta if it reopens)- city center still struggling from history of white flight Decatur, Virginia-Highland, Buckhead- relatively affluent "Old Atlanta" suburbs Buford Highway- massive stroad home to many immigrant businesses Stone Mountain Park- prominent reminder of Atlanta's confederate past Atlantic Station- former steel mill, shows what industrial redevelopment looked like 20 years ago

[@xandocommando]

I think the neighborhoods and cities in the southside ATL metro should also be included in this discussion. It’s worth looking at how development differs in more affluent vs less affluent parts of the city. Like why certain projects are being fast-tracked while others are broadly overlooked, and the obstacles that Atlanta has to making much needed changes.

[@scpatl4now]

No trip to Atlanta would be complete without a trip to Little 5 Points just for the vibe and the slowly disappearing weirdness (the good kind). I'd skip the touristy stuff downtown, but Centennial Yards which is being built over "The Gulch" is worth a look. South Downtown is just starting to get some love and would be an interesting place to document.

[@sydneylittle4935]

Agreed with all of the above^^^ And if I suggest anything on this channel, let it be coverage of the proposed “The Stitch” development project looking to connect the two sides of a massive highway by building a park OVER it. Sounds nice in theory but hard for us to picture and probably comes with consequences. Would LOVE to get your read on it

[@thomashoff1668]

Native Atlantan who has been gone for the past four years. I think it'd also be worth talking about summerhill and how GSU has transformed it in the past few years

[@calvinhosworld]

Can you believe we actually got mentioned!! I thought it would never happen. 2 years of watching waiting to get a random mention to seemingly be overlooked every single time!! bwhaha.

[@ryanmiller6605]

7:58 San Diego does have some streetcar suburb gems! I'd recommend taking the 2 bus from downtown up to North Park; there's some great pre-war urbanism there.

[@deblackmon3]

I grew up in Columbia, SC. It’s built as a grid, due to its initial planned design after the American Revolution to serve as a capital between the Low Country (Charleston) and the Up Country (Greenville area). There is a bus system, but is heavily underfunded and is considered more of a nuisance by the majority NIMBY population. The walk score is helped significantly by the University of South Carolina being in very close proximity to Main Street (the first clip shown) and Five Points (second clip), which is the college bar area and a shopping district during the day. Once you get outside of that area, you’re mostly met with stroads and honestly pedestrian-hostile designs. There was a massive effort over the last 10 years to rejuvenate Main Street, as it had mostly been abandoned by locals in favor of shopping malls on the outskirts of town or even driving to Charlotte instead. There’s a lot of things I could say about Columbia, but it’s definitely known as “The Armpit of the South” by several neighboring states; even graduates of USC call it that.

[@wilhelmtomas4023]

On the plus side Columbia has affordable housing, decent public schools, a diverse and growing economy, a population that demographically skews young, and a mild climate. It does get hot i summer, but there is plenty of shade, and it isn't nearly as torrid as, say, Phoenix or Dallas or even Boise, Idaho. For a city of its size it has surprisingly much by way of arts, culture & entertainment. Likewise with outdoor sports and recreation, there is plenty to do in the city or within a relatively short drive. And for the Deep South it's a reasonably safe and welcoming city for LGBT people, and the city has a non-discrimination ordinance that includes protections for its LGBT citizens. On the minus side, well, public transport sucks. The bus system is barebones at best, seriously underfunded, and serves less than half of the metropolitan area. For anyone who needs to get around - which is almost all of us - a car is an absolute necessity Even the highway/street infrastructure is inadequate for its present traffic volume. Walkability is poor, outside the city center grid and some of its inner ring, former streetcar suburbs. And in most of the urban/suburban area, biking is downright dangerous, though bicycle infrastructure is slowly improving. One saving grace is that (rare among large and medium-size cities in the U.S.) no freeways cut through the city center.

[@cqholt]

Can't wait for you to visit Atlanta. The Urbanism here is underrated. Atlanta has a subway system and growing bike network.

[@calvinhosworld]

Can you believe we actually got mentioned!! I thought it would never happen. 2 years of watching waiting to get a random mention to seemingly be overlooked every single time!! bwhaha.

[@9to5Drone]

The urban centers would be great if they weren't separated by 45 minute drives and crazy hood drivers

[@coreymichaels9452]

I don’t even know if atlanta can be fixed. Sprawliest city in the world aside from maybe tampa

[@zachary2973]

Has Birmingham AL ever been mentioned? The city has great bones and is trying to be more urban. It’s the first city in the southeast to pass the no-parking minimum ordinance. It’s doing a BRT bus line and is doing g a lot of in-fill. I feel like you would be pleasantly surprised by a visit

[@codygeorge1786]

Excited for your Atlanta video, i live in Southwest Atlanta (which will only be featured as you depart the airport). Reach out to Propel, they'll get you what you need.

[@calvinhosworld]

Can you believe we actually got mentioned!! I thought it would never happen. 2 years of watching waiting to get a random mention to seemingly be overlooked every single time!! bwhaha.

[@johnrose651]

Interesting urbanist things about Atlanta: the Beltline, the history of the Streetcar and the general collapse of MARTA's ability to attract riders or expand capacity, the crazy recent growth of West Midtown with no corresponding plan for transit access (or even car access!), our tree canopy, the extremes of race and wealth inequality, the competing freeway cap proposals, or the successful revitalization of Old Fourth Ward, kicked off by the Historic Fourth Ward Park that was built instead of an underground water retention facility, enabling redevelopment of the surrounding abandoned industrial area.

[@scpatl4now]

You can also mention that MARTA is the largest transit agency that gets ZERO funding from the state (but they definitely like to exert their control a la MARTOC Committee). MARTA does ok if you add in that the state ties one arm behind their back and makes them hop on one foot by dictating the amount the can spend on operations vs capital investment.

[@calvinhosworld]

Can you believe we actually got mentioned!! I thought it would never happen. 2 years of watching waiting to get a random mention to seemingly be overlooked every single time!! bwhaha.

[@bluetannery1527]

they're not really competing anymore in all honesty - Midtown cap fellows withdrew their efforts, the Stitch appears to be full steam ahead

[@NineFigureNetWorth]

Excited for the Atlanta video. I'm in Roswell, when you visit the suburbs make sure to visit the Roswell / Alpharetta / Milton area as they're building the cities out in a more walkable manner than other suburbs. Beltline will be very interesting and continues to grow, excited to see it finished for a full loop. Happy to show you around the North Atlanta suburbs when you're in town.

[@ULTRAOutdoorsman]

And then compare it to the rest of Fulton County

[@Doomer253]

You trying to bore the man to death? lol jk

[@calvinhosworld]

​@@Doomer253😂😂😂😂

[@PapasBlox]

DFW resident here. I'm going to assume you don't bring us up that often because of our urban form. If you like tollways, this is your spot.

[@TripleEye_Josh]

Me: "He's finally going to mention Charleston!" CityNerd: "Columbia" Me. "Son of a b--"

[@calvinhosworld]

bwhahahahahah

[@Mr_Vertigo]

Literally thought the same 💔

[@kevincosgrove4954]

Actually that's surprising! Seems very walkable

[@archlab007]

Atlanta: People who don't live here don't know about the perhaps, a couple hundred miles of trails which keeps increasing every year. These trails connect a lot of the surrounding suburbs & smaller towns. Included are the ever increasing mileage of the Beltline & the Siilver Comet Trail. Both of which, just got connected so that you could walk or ride from about 35 Mi outside the city to downtown & south of the city. Not to mention that you can easily ride a bike from Decatur, GA to Piedmont, AL - that's all almost 100 miles of paved, well-kept trails through the big city & into Some beautiful hills & mountains. There is so much that is under-reported about how good Atlanta is for getting around without a car, for commuting or recreation. The walkability & bikeability is a lot better than is often reported.. Atlanta is a Hidden Gem if you are a biker or a hiker.

[@willp.8120]

The silver Comet goes all the way to Alabama. I think Alabama has plans to connect with a trail from Huntsville.

[@archlab007]

@@willp.8120 Yes, it does. what's the Silver Comet hits the state line, it becomes the Chief Ladiga Trail which goes to Piedmont, AL. If a trail comes down from Huntsville that would be even more cool. That's some pretty Countryside. Plus. being able to ride all the way to Atlanta!

[@willp.8120]

@@archlab007 Yes, Piedmont, but the plan is to connect it to Huntsville.

[@JosephLopez-dd1rl]

You mentioned Cheyenne to ELP!! My heart is full and happy!

[@TimeTravelingBunnis]

When you come to San Diego, the uptown area is a must visit for you. We do have some strode like crap with Washington/El Cajon Blvd. However, University Heights (my home), Normal Heights, North Park, Kensington, City Heights, Golden Hill, Mission Hills, and Hillcrest are all neighborhoods 5 minutes north of Downtown, that are walkable and fun and full of things to do. And Cheesecake Factory is a bus ride away in Fashion Valley. Less than two miles so a quick ride share away.

[@samborinsky6251]

Don't forget about Seaport Village Cheesecake Factory

[@TimeTravelingBunnis]

@@samborinsky6251 I haven't been to seaport since the changes a few years back. A cheesecake factory? Huh.

[@DaDrummer98]

@@TimeTravelingBunnis It’s by the Manchester Hyatt, not quite “inside” Seaport Village, I think it’s been there for a while

[@mb_1024]

In fact, you can take the green line trolley between the two Cheesecake factories (Seaport Village and Fashion Valley)!

[@alexhaowenwong6122]

I'd highly recommend visiting University City and Mission Valley. Mid-Coast Trolley ridership is exploding, UCSD just finished two 23-storey towers next to their LRT station, UTC is newly renovated, and has perhaps the best mall-station integration of any LRT in the US, beating even MSP's Mall of America. Mission Valley is turning a 27-hole golf course into Riverwalk (4,300 units + 1M sq ft office). Grading/streets for phase I is done. It's going to be next to two LRT stations, and it's a larger, denser version of Denver's failed Park Hill redevelopment proposal. Riverwalk's even the same distance from Santa Fe Depot as Park Hill golf course is from Denver Union, except Riverwalk is next to a mega-mall/transit center and Park Hill isn't. Then there's SDSU Mission Valley, which is connected to SDSU Main campus via an 8 minute, one-seat LRT ride, and will contain 4,600 units and 1.6M sq ft office/lab/classrooms on top of a 35K-seat MLS stadium.

[@hilarymoonmurphy]

San Antonio's River Walk rocks. It's pretty and walkable, and historic enough that it does not have the 'lifestyle center' vibe.

[@downtowndan9091]

I like the riverwalk, it feels very genuine. Unlike the Bricktown Canal in Oklahoma City which feels like a cheesy suburban shopping center with a cheap water feature. Bunch of chains and shady looking places. Way better neighborhoods to explore like Paseo.

[@hilarymoonmurphy]

@@downtowndan9091 I know! I truly have great memories of it.

[@adjsmith]

speaking of El Paso, they're trying to put a park/lid on the giant scar -- er, car sewer -- uhm, "freeway" that cuts through downtown.

[@tranquil14738]

I was there last year for my brothers high school band stuff and it is a really unique and interesting place and I really liked it. I stayed at the Hilton garden inn downtown and I could literally see Juarez from my hotel room

[@e_squareed]

I somehow knew Atlanta would be the top of the list! Can’t wait for you to dive into the whole streetcar on the beltline debate 🙃

[@reverietapes]

It's in the thumbnail

[@ULTRAOutdoorsman]

They're thinking about putting streetcars on the beltline? Is it just turning into the "everybody else" highway? Will it use that little pedestrian bridge over Ponce? "Scuse me, comin through"

[@ab8817]

@@ULTRAOutdoorsman yeah it will take you from one bar to another bar just in time for the World Cup. can't really see how it will be used for anyone doing a daily commute, considering that people drive to the beltline and treat it like a boardwalk more than anything eles.

[@blakeaschultz3235]

@@ab8817this view is very limited to just a very small section of the beltline. And yes, that’s the section the beltline rail will initially be going, but the full light rail plan is far more than that.

[@scpatl4now]

@@ab8817 You know, people use transit for more than commuting...in real cities.

[@EdgarDizzlewicz92]

I'm a Brit and strangely, Columbus Ohio is the place I've spent the most amount of time in the US. Maybe not strangely, my soon-to-be-wife is a born and bred central Ohioan. Nothing could have prepared me for the culture shock though. At one point, panic consumed me as I thought Ohio was going to be stroad after endless stroad. I didn't even know what a stroad was at the time! Where's the walkable downtown? Why is it so empty? Why no train station? I never feel more European as when I'm in Ohio. I do enjoy the metro parks in Columbus though. The arches in the short north just beckon for some trams though!

[@edwardcharlesworth9679]

Ohio and most of the Midwest was established for farming and ranching via ‘manifest Destiny’. As such the model centered massive tracts of farm land around small market towns that were also designed to send produce and meat on to major commercial centers like New Orleans, St. Louis, and Chicago. During the American Industrial Revolution some of these areas industrialized but were still clients to larger, better connected centers. So trains between towns were only necessary if terminating at those major centers. The economy in the middle US is almost mercantilistic and ‘frontier’ like in maturity. Contrast that with Britain where market towns were centered around a diverse world economy which included capitals in mainland Europe similarly well connected to Asian markets.

[@gridley]

European cities have experienced centuries of wealth, beauty & maturation, whereas US cities are mainly only a little bit more than 125 years old. When I find myself becoming a reverse snob (or an American more impressed by Europe), I have to remind myself this has long been true. Yet the US somehow did very well, in spite of itself, if not because of itself.

[@zweifel8]

Spoken like someone who has never been to China or India.

[@Michael-rr7um]

@@edwardcharlesworth9679 If you want to see our train station look up the Columbus Union Station Arch on google street view.

[@douglasbaker9663]

Pretty sure those arches HAD trams back in the 1930s.

[@jonathanballoch]

As a proud urban ATLian, I would def like more ATL attention. Happy and unsurprised to see it be #1 on a list of "underdiscussed cities." Do NOT just look at "Downtown" Atlanta. This is the most common mistake of outsiders. It is confusing because (a) There are a lot of Atlanta cultural and tourist staples in downtown (Olympic Park, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, State Capitol, World of Coca Cola, Aquarium, Mercedes Benz Stadium) and (b) its in the middle of the city, both geographically and by transit. However, it is only just beginning to be revitalized, so few locals spend significant amounts of time downtown, and downtown lacks residential staples (not unlike Times Square in New York) so few live there. The cultural center of Atlanta right now is *Midtown* Atlanta and the surrounding neighborhoods that are on the Belt Line (with an honorable mention for Buckhead). ESPECIALLY do not forget to talk about/learn about Decatur. Not really a suburb, outside of the ATL city limits, but more like a "twin city:" there is basically no urban separation between them. Super walkable interesting little city. If you want more information reach out/respond here, I'd be very excited to be your Atlanta-whisperer.

[@calvinhosworld]

Can you believe we actually got mentioned!! I thought it would never happen. 2 years of watching waiting to get a random mention to seemingly be overlooked every single time!! bwhaha.

[@Doomer253]

He need to hit up Sweet Auburn Ave, Edgewood, Magic City and Krog Street tunnel and Kirkwood. That's where the fun at in ATL.

[@John_Hudson_922]

@@jonathanballoch agreed

[@polarbearoughey]

If you were about to work at the CDC where would you get an apartment?

[@Doomer253]

@@polarbearoughey Smyrna/Vinnings GA The area has some nice neighborhoods and isn't far from the city proper.

[@garretthoie6542]

Yay Omaha! And you’re quite right that car traffic in the Old Market is pretty slow and calm. It’s an easy neighborhood to just cross the street safely in at any point, not just crosswalks.

[@brianroskelly2177]

Would love to show you the development around the BeltLine when you're in Atlanta!

[@socalcruzer]

For the "Tobin Hill" area you mentioned in San Antonio, you're actually looking at the Pearl. Tobin Hill is an actual neighborhood and the Pearl is more of a bustling commercial development, kind of an outdoor mall that happens to have some very expensive housing.

[@abedozier4212]

@@socalcruzer the actual tobin hill area actually is a pretty neat neighborhood that’s not entirely gentrified like the pearl area

[@jonathanstensberg]

Columbus (and it’s near-identical twin Indianapolis and little cousin Madison) initially grew more slowly than its rust belt neighbors due to a decent but less favorable location for industry. Being the state capital, however, guaranteed a durable employment base and strong infrastructure investment over time. Thus while it’s neighbors suffered greatly from deindustrialization and subsequent depopulation, Columbus could more easily take the punch and pivot to other sectors with much less loss. This combination has enabled Columbus to capture a lot more reinvestment activity than its neighbors, which still carry a lot of disinvestment baggage. In broad terms, at least, this is why Columbus, Indianapolis, and Madison have been on a much different trajectory than most of their neighbors.

[@antiarcus]

Columbus is the Applebees of cities. Sincerely, an OSU grad and current Columbus resident

[@ibrett9912]

Not even the Wendy’s of cities 😢

[@Michael-rr7um]

I don't know what this means and yet I completely understand at the same time.

[@mack.attack]

when I can't sleep I think about Columbus and drowsiness sets in right away

[@briandewyre9446]

@@antiarcus that’s just funny.

[@jumpman366]

@@Michael-rr7umbecause you know what it means lol

[@Ryan-on5on]

Glad to hear the underrated city that is Omaha, NE was given some love by my favorite urbanist KZbin channel! I live some three hours away, amidst the cornfields of central Nebraska, and, besides (IMO) the equally underrated state capitol of Lincoln, it's the only city within a two-hundred-mile radius of my home worthy of the name. The Old Market is truly a gem of quality urban redesign in a historic commercial zone, the turn-of-the-century converted warehouse and manufacturing lofts, plus old brick street surface, giving off a vibe pleasingly reminiscent of Brooklyn's DUMBO and the Meatpacking District in New York. The Durham Museum now housed in the Art-Deco former Union Station is also a great example of putting to good use a grand old station long since abandoned by trains. However, the public transit advocate in me is hopeful that, one day, Omaha will play a vital role in a rebuilt, high-speed regional railroad network in the Midwest (*doubtful short-term prospects for that, I know, but a man can dream!).

[@zenbonimusic7308]

One day Des Moines will get mentioned. Consistently just a little too small. Wonderful capitol building and great capital in general.

[@krakken-]

Den Moines is a nice city, but it feel more like a suburb than a city proper:).

[@mr.croissant3537]

A suburb of itself?​@@krakken-

[@michaellewyn4099]

Generally Atlanta's suburbs are pretty bad from a walkability perspective. The main exceptions are Decatur (which has a nice little neighborhood centered around a MARTA rail stop and a town square) and Avondale Estates nearby (nice downtown but about a 15 or 20 min walk from MARTA)

[@calvinhosworld]

Can you believe we actually got mentioned!! I thought it would never happen. 2 years of watching waiting to get a random mention to seemingly be overlooked every single time!! bwhaha.

[@sri-kaushalramana437]

a lot of the northern suburbs are building nice downtowns like Alpharetta and Duluth. the overall suburbs still aren't walkable tho

[@KyleQPants]

Yess come to Atlanta!

[@calvinhosworld]

Can you believe we actually got mentioned!! I thought it would never happen. 2 years of watching waiting to get a random mention to seemingly be overlooked every single time!! bwhaha.

[@tigersonthetown]

Tucson AZ gets ghosted again. 😭 I’m still holding on to hope for a full City Visit someday. 🙏

[@kiosk5595]

Good point, Tucson is far from perfect but I find there to be marginally better urbanism than PHX

[@RoadTripzz14]

AZ local here and I hope to never go to Tucson again. Most ppl I speak to in PHX feel the same.

[@tradtwink-jhbfkjsdf]

@@RoadTripzz14 Good, keeps our rents down 😂😂

[@SavageArms357]

​@@RoadTripzz14 What made you not want to go back?

[@cubersanonymous5180]

Hey citynerd! I live in the Atlanta metro and take the train around the city all the time. I would love to give you a cycling tour when you get down here!

[@calvinhosworld]

Can you believe we actually got mentioned!! I thought it would never happen. 2 years of watching waiting to get a random mention to seemingly be overlooked every single time!! bwhaha.

[@donnst]

I think Sacramento has been mentioned in passing once or twice, but I would have thought it would appear here. Nope! Perhaps unsurprising, as our latest best T-Shirt slogan is "Sacramento: it's alright, I guess"

[@kiosk5595]

Maybe because Davis is mentioned so frequently it was counted in the metro area? But in other videos it’s considered separate so idk

[@alexroselle]

lol I moved to Sac 6 years ago after living around other parts of NorCal and the Bay Area and this is some local pride I can fully endorse. It’s a step up from the bumper sticker I see around town calling our city “a sunny place for shady people” 😂

[@sympathetic_crustacean]

The less Ray talks about Sac the better; our real estate prices don't need additional pressure!

[@jimcarrubba2419]

Inductive proof that all cities are important: 1. If it's mentioned in a City Nerd video, it is by definition "important." 2. The largest city not yet on the list of "important cities" is, in its way, important. So it gets added to the list of "important cities." Repeat step 2 for each city not yet on the list of "important cities." QED

[@thommustdiet]

An Omaha mention! Moved here from LA a few months ago. The town has enjoyable recreational bike trails but no casual bike commuting east or west, especially after yesterday’s closure of the Harney bikeway for streetcar construction. Now we wait til 2028 for the replacement bikeway to open

[@mrxman581]

How's the public transit compared to LA?

[@scvnc]

Yeah getting past Saddle Creek stroad is a pain on bike commuting west. Sometimes easier to do grocery shopping in Iowa 😊

[@alquinn8576]

best zoo in the US, and has a claim to fame of having been bombed by the Japanese in WW2 (there is now a gyro shop at the bombing site)

[@SwiftySanders]

San Diego was amazing downtown. I too was pleasantly surprised by San Diego. It’s still very car centric but not as much as I would’ve expected.

[@StrawB0ss]

How is New Orleans STILL not getting any attention??

[@brendan5235]

Seriously! Is this like a long-running joke or something?

[@calvinhosworld]

I know exactly how you feel. but today we ATLANTA were lucky enough to be blessed by citynerd. but you know it got to the point where i started making my own chart 13 weeks of data. and New Orleans was tied with Atlanta on my chart for least mentioned city of comparable size. it's going to happen tho. keep the faith. @ some point somebody's city will become the new least mentioned city and he will have to recognize it. LOL.

[@PresentGenGamer]

I was thinking the same thing!

[@rolfjacobson833]

Omaha is also the Blue Dot in Nebraska that may give the election to Harris with their one Electoral vote. It could be the tie breaker in a 269 to 269 Electoral College result.

[@Earth1218]

🤞

[@bibiijaz6238]

That would be awesome!

[@AMPProf]

Omaha It's a City.. But right outside..

[@PittsburghRocks]

Definitely worth a City Nerd visit.

[@the937chef]

Yep! Just like ME-2 might give 270 to Trump if he flips Georgia and Pennsylvania (unlikely but...)

[@exoplanetarydev]

Denver is so mid we can’t even make the under-discussed list lol I will say, Colorado Springs is a neat place but for the reduced cost compared to Denver you’re sacrificing a pretty large amount of urbanism, it’s a small city but also full of NIMBYs and very sprawling. There’s a reason us Denverites always complain about it haha.

[@kaileebailee23]

Came here to say exactly this. Denver always seemed like the big city growing up but I guess it's still just too small. Colorado Springs has bright parts but it really is barely urban from my experience. I-25 also really disconnects an already hilly city that struggles to feel any level of dense.

[@AaronRClark]

Denver isn't even mid. It's like emotionally challenged money.

[@christianschwalbach7561]

Why would you be in Co for urbanism anyways?

[@exoplanetarydev]

@@christianschwalbach7561 Because I grew up here and the job market isn’t in a place where I can pack up and move immediately. We don’t get good urbanism by just ignoring cities that don’t have great urbanism already

[@gregorriusadolphus2729]

Denver is VERY mid lol. The only thing it has going are Rocky Mountain views (when the air is clear) and a ton of old Victorian brick houses. When I lived there I lived in a townhouse built in 1892 and loved it. So it's either the cool Victorian houses or a plethora of those god awful plain AF 1950's "Hutchinson homes" that are all through the rest of the city and suburbs. Odd people, bland food, zero culture, and sterile urban environment...without the mountains it should be ranked down with Omaha or Cedar Rapids lol

[@Davidgon100]

One of the reasons for Columbus's growth is the large amount of job opportunities in the area. There are lots of big employers in town such as PNC, Nationwide, JP Morgan, Microsoft, and more. Intel is also building a new chip manufacturing site in the neighboring town of New Albany, about 20-40 minutes away depending on where in Columbus you're coming from. OSU is also huge and gets students from all over the country.

[@edwardconley5250]

Indianapolis has 2 whole Cheesecake Factories, but never gets any love. Granted, it's a nearly completely car-dependent city in a state that's essentially outlawed light rail. So...valid point not mentioning them.

[@misteriknow2069]

Poor Jacksonville FL. The Continental US’s largest city by land can’t even get a mention on cities that never get mentioned. Especially surprising since City Nerd has a recent fondness of St Pete & love/hate relationship with Miami. If you ignore the lack of public transit (cough, the monorail to no where & a recent push for automated cars to the Stadium), there’s surprisingly a few walkable neighborhoods in the core area like Riverside/Brooklyn/Murray Hill/San Marco/etc. But yeah it’s mostly a big ol sprawl suburb with a beach. But still worth a mention.

[@Declan_Payan]

Neptune and Atlantic beach are also somewhat walkable!

[@misteriknow2069]

@@Declan_Payan true. The beaches are walkable. It’s such a pain to get to them unless you live on the Southside of Town. But once you’re there & park, I guess it is pretty easy to walk to restaurants & bars. All they have to do now is move Publix directly on the beach and it’s a 5 minute city 😂

[@realemmyrossum]

The thing with the walk scores being high in city centers of like houston or San Antonio or Dallas is that despite that people living down there are still either ubering or driving their car for everything. I've lived in SA and Dallas and met a lot of people in and near the city centers who almost never "walked" anywhere. Like yes maybe strolls around their neighborhood but never walked to actually get something done or go to a restaurant or something. Living downtown was just a way for all the friends to drive and meet up there and then uber together to wherever you wanted to go.

[@lizcademy4809]

I also don't think that "downtown" is all that great for daily errands. Can you walk to a supermarket (ideally several, not just Whole Paycheck or a single bodega), a dry cleaner, a pharmacy, a hardware store?

[@tann_man]

Just because you can walk doesn't mean it's pleasant. Plenty of high walk scores areas are surrounded by parking lot hellscapes

[@pushytub]

@@tann_mannot to mention the weather.

[@spookyshark632]

Kinda hard to get in the habit of walking when the weather is hellish for nearly half the year.

[@realemmyrossum]

@@spookyshark632 could use a lot more shaded cover, awnings, trees. But that’s part of the walk ability. It’s not great having to cross big roads in the down town area with zero cover

[@DeusEx.Machina]

12:19 I swear, as soon as you said International cities, I was like “he never mentioned my home city Cairo 😢”, then you hit me with the news. Imma resubscribe to Nebula just for that.

[@calvinhosworld]

bwhahahahahahah!!!!!

[@Michael-rr7um]

I'm not really sure why Columbus is growing so much and I live here.

[@ULTRAOutdoorsman]

I guess young people in the Great Lakes have to go somewhere

[@samelmudir]

One of the biggest colleges in the country. Big insurance. Great Lakes and rivers. In the middle of many major cities. Most average city in America. That’s why most companies test out their products there first.

[@DoomPlague]

I have a disturbing thought: maybe the Columbus area is growing because it is so American in terms of its lack of walkability and good transit. A good chunk of the country is increasingly hostile to any sort of city-living and anything that improves cities other than more suburban sprawl. Currently a couple BRT lines are proposed for the city, in part because the city isn't dense enough to get funding (from the Infrastructure bill) for light rail. It could be okay but BRT-creep is a real concern.

[@Michael-rr7um]

@@DoomPlague Also the fact that the city is so fractured with pockets of townships in it that those areas that aren't Columbus proper can block transit going through them (read Whitehall not allowing a dedicated BRT lane).

[@diodelvino3048]

Jobs and education

[@elijahharrison4164]

Frick tracking thank you. On behalf of all of us down here in Atlanta it is a relief to no longer be uniformly gaslit by the same KZbin urbanist community that has made me so passionate about making this city a better place to live!

[@Ember-Rodriguez]

Good place to ask the question, has he ever covered Tucson? Not gonna be glowing as our streetcar system doesn’t have a dedicated lane and the route sucks but largest city to have free public transit.

[@jackbeal2503]

If you ever do come to Columbus, make sure to visit Dublin. Not a perfect suburb but certainly one that's trying.

[@nipo2540]

Trying what? It's still terrible. There's the Bridge Park area that's fun, but for the rest it's a hellhole

[@estherdwyerdebusk540]

@@nipo2540bridge park is just a shopping mall of all the popular social spots in downtown columbus, moved to Dublin for all the folks who complain about parking in the city.

[@JoshuaFagan]

re: Colorado Springs: First off, thank you for mentioning us. The city's not great, urbanism-wise, but there have been a lot of efforts to improve the urban fabric of downtown. There's a beautiful new Olympic museum there that opened a few years ago. Also re: Front Range rail, there was supposed to be a ballot measure to raise taxes for funding it this year, but it was delayed to 2026. Alas.

[@alexroselle]

Maybe if the Front Range rail could go not just to Cheyenne but up to Billings MT and then Calgary?

[@everydayengineering]

Angle parking is such an interesting topic to dive into. It’s reminiscent of a typical historic main street which i’ve found a surprising amount of people actually like, but when thinking about complete streets, it does take up a huge amount of space in the cross section. However, because of the parking manuevers required, it can have the effect of making a popular shopping street for example feel almost like a parking lot, which is a place many people inherently drive super slow and expect pedestrians crossing everywhere - could be a political sleeper tool for shared streets

[@fallenshallrise]

Agreed. I personally think that the best solution for a walkable high street is to widen the sidewalks out or add bus/bike lanes until there are only 2 narrow car lanes, and add angled parking on every side street so that you can tell any backwards thinking business owners that "no parking has been lost". But what a great idea to turn parking, which is usually a bone of contention, into a weapon for traffic calming. Business owners can not possibly complain about doubling the amount of parking on the street.

[@josephfisher426]

@@fallenshallrise There probably aren't a ton of situations where those side streets have the room for angled parking. I would prefer it to carving out a bike lane on a commercial street though...

[@evanonline8409]

Little Rock actually did have a terrible freeway loop downtown but it was demolished last year to make room for something even better, more highway lanes! the project is going to free up close to 20 acres downtown though. There's big talk about making the majority of it a park. We'll see lol.

[@lwpdhofgh]

You had me there for a second

[@Humandriver5280]

Little Rock is the most class and race conscious place I have ever lived. One side of Markham Street is nice the other is a rotting crime infested hell.

[@evanonline8409]

@@Humandriver5280 lol not even close to being true

[@callahanhirrel535]

⁠​⁠@@Humandriver5280 how much time have you spent in Little Rock? I grew up just south of Markham, lived in various neighborhoods there for over 20 years and never once viewed any area as a “rotting crime infested hell”. Like all cities, areas are underserved and there are clear class divisions. It doesn’t help that Little Rock is absurdly car dependent, which further entrenches poverty. But calling south of Markham (or any neighborhood, in any city) a “rotting crime infested hell” doesn’t seem like an informed, thought-through take.

[@Humandriver5280]

I lived there in the early 90s. I lived near Allsop Park when Hillcrest was semi affordable. I could hear the gunshots coming from the south too frequently to count.

[@Reatha-zj2lw]

Been subscribed to your channel for a while, keep it up!

[@zacharyalfaro]

rio grande valley (mcallen and other cities) mentioned!!!! it is nowhere near an urban paradise it’s actually so car dependent, no rail (including amtrak), BARELY a bus network, and massive stroads

[@kevincosgrove4954]

Definitely did not see that coming

[@billding9297]

I’m in Columbus, it’s growing due to OSU, the state capital, affordable land for development, and a lack of dependence on “rust belt” industries. It has great potential for urban development and regional rail.

[@jimmyraconteur2522]

When I lived in San Diego, it was simple to hop on the light rail and bus system and get around town. There are 'bad areas', but they are kinda hard to find. If I remember correctly, we could even take the tram to the border and spend a day or two in Mexico.

[@MarshallMathers3000]

There’s not much about Omaha that you’d consider an urbanist paradise, but the new parks built on the downtown riverfront are really something, and we’ve got our first streetcar line getting built in the next couple years. Not much, but it’s something!

[@hairharbor5080]

Happy San Antonio gets a mention. Might be worth your while to take a trip out there in a couple years when some of the major development projects currently ongoing are finished.

[@joeydryoel3866]

The Quad Cities is an interesting area with a lot of history and at least some levels of transit (considering it's small/medium size). It's also finally supposed to get it's amtrak connections back with the new Illinois infrastructure laws. Their downtowns are old and working their way up. I'd love you to touch on the location someday!

[@troyka86]

The Columbus area is growing quickly because of available employment. Ohio State does play a large role as well. Many go to school from the NY/NJ area and tend to stay. The suburbs also have very good public schools; Dublin, Olentangy, New Albany, Upper Arlington and Grandview to name a few.

[@GarrisIiari]

I have also read that Columbus is disproportionately succeeding because it has more sprawl availability then other Ohio cities for things such as call center, factory, warehouse, and other business construction less expensively that has been generating jobs. True?

[@ibrett9912]

Columbus is mostly populated by people from other parts of Ohio. Columbus is growing because people are leaving the rest of Ohio.

[@drewholland7347]

@@GarrisIiari Yes thats true. Multiple massive data centers have gone up, and Intel is building a chip factory close to the city. You can go a hour in any direction away from Columbus without hitting a geographical blocker or another metro >100k, so the city keeps sprawling.

[@Josiahpapayas]

Love the San Antonio, Pearl shout out. Maybe a future video discussing it, and its plans to triple space, southtown is another great area.

[@toddcain553]

I grew up in Columbia, SC, which has a lot of stroady, cruddy bits, but also has some things going for it - three rivers right in the heart of the city, a top-notch zoo and gardens that straddle one of the rivers, some crazy (really crazy) Civil War history, a pretty decent food scene, one of the most unique and amazing national parks (Congaree Swamp), a large, for SC, LGBTQ community, and a large, for SC, progressive community. On the downside, very little transit and horribly humid weather much of the year.

[@HomeWorkouts_LS]

As someone from TX, It’s not that surprising to me that Dallas, Houston & San Antonio are not discussed that much on this channel haha a lot of sprawl for their population 🥴

[@clamato54]

What about top 10 cities with the most car-free livable suburbs?

[@thetrainmon]

I mean, is it even a fair fight? 🤔 Just follow the Northeast Corridor: Boston, Providence, New Haven, NYC, Newark, Trenton, Philly, Wilmington, Baltimore DC. You could swap out Providence or Wilmington for Chicago.

[@clamato54]

@@thetrainmon True, and the remaining cities are surrounded by Walmart-nation

[@saratemp790]

I've seen some videos on downtown Richmond, Virginia, and it looks like a pretty good place to live.

[@iamvirginiarise8936]

If you ever do another series on small cities with decent walkability, I'd love to see you cover Portland, ME!

[@samul7531]

you should consider Canada! Ottawa is building quite a bit of transit rn, not to mention Toronto, Vancouver, Quebec city, Edmonton, Calgary and others!

[@christopherradel3965]

I feel like Indianapolis never comes up in your videos either except for the odd mention here and there

[@helmsgaming84]

The fact that it's in a state which has outright banned light rail systems probably doesn't help.

[@DaDrummer98]

I’ve already seen multiple comments recommending Uptown San Diego and neighborhoods along the El Cajon Blvd corridor and I agree, they are some of the best. Just to add a little variety I’d recommend University City. The Trolley was recently extended to reach UCSD and the surrounding neighborhood and it’s a beautiful ride up to the area (the UCSD campus itself is beautiful too). The neighborhood was clearly built for cars with wide streets and plenty of parking; despite this it is actually one of the densest in SD and will continue to change in the near future. There’s two BRT-ish lines making loops in and out of the university and other interesting dynamics at play that I’m sure someone like you will appreciate. La Jolla is nearby and it’s also worth a visit. Transit connectivity to the beaches has always been an issue here but once inside, beach communities feel like their own little town and are fairly walkable. Further south, Ocean Beach, despite its grime, can be really charming and retains some of the spirit of a different time. Finally, hopping on the Coaster is a nice way of getting to know some of the North County coastal cities while enjoying a nice ride in a very decent commuter rail.

[@alexhaowenwong6122]

Mid-Coast Trolley ridership is exploding, UCSD just finished two 23-story towers and an amphitheater next to their station, and UTC recently renovated and has great integration with its station. San Diego's busiest bus line loops around University City. And did I mention the Mid-Coast Trolley is fully separated from car traffic?

[@TomReichner]

I am glad you finally talk about Fresno! (starting at 5:55). I stayed in Fresno twice, each time on my designated R&R break from firefighting duty on the Creek Fire in 2020. The area I stayed in was very "walkable", and had a LOT of street entertainment available right there within a couple blocks of my motel. I loved my time there and would like to return someday.

[@faris_wilde3943]

DFW mentioned! When you eventually make your way down here try and swing by Richardson and Addison! Two suburbs here that are starting to get the hang of TOD.

[@WETs3rgullioni]

Went to Creighton in Omaha. Lived near Gifford park. It’s too small for my liking but it has such an amazing charm. Cool neighborhoods and not terribly spread out. Worth checking out. Super slept on.

[@swayne1441]

Nice tobin hill shout out! I live there and almost never need to drive.

[@josealvarado2483]

FYI, San Antonio appears to be committed to BRT, maybe exploring their design process might be a good case study.

[@seth_deegan]

Ray. Please stop using walk score. It's such a bad evauluation of whether walking is actually *reasonable* to get to places. If there's nobody walking around in street view, the city likely doesn't even deserve a walk score over 50.

[@TF417]

Columbus mentioned 🥳

[@warhawk638]

Need to talk about DART of course in Dallas.

[@briansieve]

I was in Santa Fe last weekend and remembered how nice gallery sidewalks are, and how sightline ruining on street parking is in a historic district.

[@briansieve]

I'd travel once a month of the train connected from Cheyenne to El Paso

[@TF417]

A few reasons for Columbus’ growth: in addition to a large university and the state government, banking and insurance play a factor into the local economy. IT/tech is also bigger than you’d expect for a city our size plus there’s a good mix of other employers/industries. Add in the relative cost of housing compared to elsewhere in the US and you get 1 million additional people moving to the region by 2050

[@rustyshackleford9498]

I really don't see that happening. I don't think Columbus is that much cheaper than other cities, especially when considering the amount of driving required and the high taxes. I also feel like Columbus doesn't have much diverse housing. I have family in Hilliard and they moved back to cbus after a few years in Seattle. Their budget was pretty decent and still they had to move to Hilliard to check even half of the boxes on their housing needs list.

[@John_Hudson_922]

Columbus is kind of weird metro, in a weird state. I think its upward trajectory can be explained by it having the state government, ohio state (and a highly educated workforce due to many other area universities), central location with 70 and 71 running through it, some large companies headquartered in the area like Scotts, Big Lots, Cardinal Health, as well as a lot of tech in the area with data centers from Amazon, Intel, Google, etc. It has great parks, some good downtown neighborhoods like Short North and German Village. Its just kind of a sleeper community with a good cost of living etc. In terms of your likes, it probably suffers most on transit (rail anyway).

[@enriquemejia9641]

With border cities mathematically underrepresented on your channel (and likely considering only half the binational metro population on each side of the border separately), I'd love to hear your thoughts on binational metropolitan areas, and the challenges to urbanism in these locations.

[@scpatl4now]

I guessed Atlanta would be right up there, but not #1. It seems like you talk about issues that Atlanta shares a lot, but I guess it hasn't been talked about directly. I have lived in town for 30 years.

[@calvinhosworld]

Can you believe we actually got mentioned!! I thought it would never happen. 2 years of watching waiting to get a random mention to seemingly be overlooked every single time!! bwhaha.

[@gabrieldomocos7570]

Looking forward to the top ten CityNerd snarky remarks per capita for metro areas over 1mil

[@juddpth]

9:30 the Pearl is worth a visit in San Antonio. The CIA Texas Campus is there so the food (I've been told, only stopped in for a beer) is quite good

[@randy4903]

I was absolutely NOT expecting my city (Colorado Springs) to not only get a mention on this channel but actually a surprisingly positive mention too lol

[@joshuakarar3594]

Well apparently you’ll have to check out Fort Worth, if for no other reason than that the Cheesecake Factory is only an 8 minute walk from Central Station!