Urban Geography: Why We Live Where We Do

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Rich Americans live in the Suburbs; Rich Europeans live downtown. Why do cities on the two continents have different structures?
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[@Ttales]

Important factor for European cities is that many of them were built before XIV century, when fortifications and city walls defined where people could live safely. Larger cities had several circles of walls and a citadel in the middle, but even smaller villages usually had a fortified church that acted as a storage for provisions and became a shelter in case of an attack, so the closed to the center = the safer.

[@cupriferouscatalyst3708]

just like in Minecraft

[@ronan5228]

I live in a really small city on the border of England and Wales (population of ~70,000 - 80,000) and we still have parts of our old city wall up. It surrounds our town centre and cathedral and surprisingly is was still mostly up by early 18th Century, when most of it got removed.

[@kg9266]

Bruh just say 14th century

[@wert2789]

That comment is absolutely ridiculous these medieval citys are only a very small part of modern metropolitan areas One of the biggest medieval cities in Germany is Nördlingen Have you ever heard of this place?

[@cek4_80]

@@wert2789 yes

[@aladin0095]

Public transport in Los Angeles: get in your car and drive

[@connorenriquez1635]

I live in Santa Monica and have to use public transportation to get to Glendale 😤

[@scipioafricanus5871]

That is literally the opposite of public transport. So try again. s/

[@RJT80]

A car is freedom the way that being beholden to public transportation is not. Chill out. Put o. Some music or an audiobook. Not everything is as bad as people insist on making it.

[@edgarwalk5637]

@@scipioafricanus5871 Technically, ALL transport is public transport. Roads are shared and public.

[@jibb1es]

ExpertEskimo oof

[@Ennocb]

It'd be interesting to have the same comparison with Tokyo.

[@TheSystemaSystem]

Tokyo grew organically, so it'll be like the European cities, or so one could assume.

[@GerLeahy]

Apparently Tokyo is a bit of conundrum for city planners. Historically it has had almost no structure whatsoever. Yet, it is curently the largest city on the planet. And the place works, for 37 million enhabitants. I'd say this guy could do a great video on Tokyo.

[@tomasr.2945]

Central Tokyo (roughly inside the Yamanote line) is highly connected with commuter trains, subway lines, and highways. In there, the population is densely packed. Outside of the Yamanote, it's still very urban, but with not as many skyscrapers. The very outskirts of Tokyo proper (like Okutama) are actually rural, and connected with the terminals of train lines.

[@thejackbox]

@@TheSystemaSystem no, it was burned to the ground in WWII like much of Germany. They chose to make it the way it is now the same as the Germans.

[@mvalthegamer2450]

@@IEEEE50 You really don't know, do you. Search firebombing of Tokyo.

[@wilhufftarkin8543]

Fun fact: Berlin is one of the few major European cities where rich people tend to live in the suburbs. However, this trend is now reversing just like in the US.

[@ryanscott6578]

Same in Glasgow, Scotland.

[@babyblooddistilleriesinc3131]

The same is the case in Athens, kind off.

[@fatherfountain1906]

London is kind of a mix. The closer you live to the centre the more expensive house prices are, and the people who live right by the centre are very rich. But most people in the inner-city are working class and live in dense terraced/row houses. Once you get further out to the suburbs the houses are a lot bigger and that’s where you find a lot of mansions. But also there are many low income council estates in some areas of the suburbs. So it really depends.

[@tomasbeltran04050]

​@@fatherfountain1906 what's council estate?

[@Chelsea_3034]

hon gang

[@KHRrocks]

US cities tend to have worse public transport than European cities too.

[@joelandrew7330]

KHRrocks I am American and I can confirm.

[@alanhowitzer]

Yes, worse just about everything, except we have cheap water and electricity.

[@TalesOfWar]

A lot of the traffic problems stem from the grid system too in US cities. They're fantastic for order and efficient use of land space, but they're a nightmare for traffic thanks to so many intersections. Constant stop and starting every block.

[@rjfaber1991]

+TalesofWar - You say grids are fantastic for efficient use of land space, but that only really rings true if you're building a city on a perfectly flat plane, and you don't have to follow the contours of the land. I'm not entirely sure it helps with order either; it sure looks like it would, but I would probably get lost all the time in grid-style cities, because literally every other street is laid out in exactly the same way, with no real way to know your location without looking at street signs or prominent landmarks. European cities, with their ring roads, tree-like road structures in suburbs and old, steadily developed city centres are much easier to navigate in my opinion, as you'll be able to tell from the very shape and size of the road where you are.

[@justintrella9820]

Jo Shi I can agree with that fact. I live on the Northwest side Chicago. The grid is a blessing and hell at the same time. While we do have angular streets such as Milwaukee ave, Elston ave, Clark, and NW Highway, all get clogged fairly easily.

[@adamjamesburnett]

"Rich Americans are therefore are beginning to return to the city." *cuts to picture of Vancouver, Canada*

[@phileasfogg5785]

More like rich Chinese 😂

[@RestingJudge]

Canada is our hat, deal with it

[@lameduck1690]

Canada is in North America.

[@ZeRo-bx7lp]

Vancouver is cheaper to film. That's why it's so frequently used for filming

[@kevinchen9308]

That is definitely not Vancouver

[@Yahoneart]

"Americans spent an average of 4.25h per week for commuting." Me: Laughs as she spends 12.5 h per week to commute in Germany

[@reegsgeer]

In Los Angeles is about 15hrs average per week

[@Daniel-jm7ts]

DEUTSCHE BAHN

[@programaths]

I though it was a typo. I am one of the rare to complain for a one hour commute (so, 2h per day. 10h per week). I never found that normal.

[@AtomicReverend]

I work in southern California all over the place doing construction and all of so Cal is a traffic jam during daylight hours. I easily spend 3 hours a day in a car doing well under 30 MPH (50ishKM). Just look at Google maps with traffic turned on and all of the freeways are red from 5AM to 10AM and 3PM to 7 PM and in between those hours there are still tons of red on the map... City streets are just as bad if not worse grid lock is pretty much real if the city is a grid pattern which is rare in Cali. The 1980s song nobody walks in LA is true. But so Cal is a giant urban center with little to no wild area or farming left in the 5 county area of LA, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino and San Diego with the exception of the national forest lands of Los Angeles San Bernardino Riverside and Orange County that pretty much cover the mountains. I can't wait to move away to a nice rule area

[@erdeneraytekin2879]

@@Daniel-jm7ts maaan u guys sayin deutsche bahn is not good that is hilarious. Well yes it can be better but just compare this with other countires. Our 90.000 populated city only has intercity busses...

[@ceshorty]

>an astronomical 2245 murders... [Laughs in Brazilian]

[@nestoreleuteriopaivabendo5415]

Take the average per city of our almost 70 thousand and we'll see how it goes.

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

Does laughing sound different in Brazil than the rest of the world? o.O

[@GJMEGA1]

@@EvenTheDogAgrees I'm guessing that you must not frequent many online forums. For a detailed answer go here: knowyourmeme.com/memes/laughs-in-spanish

[@davekent6023]

@@EvenTheDogAgrees Yes, it sounds like this: kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

@@GJMEGA1 No, I don't really have time to hang around on forums anymore. That kind of ended when I stopped being a student and started being an employee. ;)

[@miranda8636]

This was amazing with this good videos you should have way more subscribers

[@thepicturesoftheworld]

Its too bad you can't subscribe more than once...:)

[@miranda8636]

Pictures of the World Yeah I would wish that could be possible :D

[@wi_zeus6798]

Raoul Musché Well, it is. Just create another account. And another one, another one, another one and so on.

[@miranda8636]

Manuauto Ok yes that's a way I'm gonna have to start real soon cuz I want Wendover to have more subs P.S. prepare for the 1 million milestone ;)

[@BackSeatJunkie]

It is educational, not drunk idiots doing stupid stuff or cats falling down. The livestock class doesn't care about educational videos on KZbin. I'm surprised he has more than 500,000 subscribers.

[@georgearoyewun4016]

Makes sense, it always confused me when Americans used the words "inner city" to describe poor people when where I live you have to be rich if you want to live in the middle of a city.

[@GUITARTIME2024]

well, thats complex. in america, you can have poor areas near downtown, but you can also have very nice areas. "inner city" is an old term from the times when whites moved away from cities (50's-80's, mainly), and the city (the inner city) was mostly black or somtimes latino.

[@theuglykwan]

Fascinating. I wish you covered the super dense Asian cities and why they followed the European model on steroids.

[@skyrrmish868]

Asian cities are sooooo huge they make European cities look tiny

[@renz1013]

@@skyrrmish868 not onl that, there super packed as well some time making a city inside the city

[@wanitooo]

And they're still growing like mad

[@marcbuisson2463]

Tbh, they don't really follow us, it's more they follow the natural growth of their cities. The USA literally bombed their own cities in the 60's, with deeper traces of that than anywhere except eastern europe.

[@suryanshsingh4533]

Asian cities don't follow European cities. Whatever was said about Europe in the video you can apply that to the entire old world.

[@DavidTheScientist]

A pretty good video and fairly accurate from my knowledge of the issues I'd say, but you seem to omit the role that zoning has played in many American cities, creating massive areas with singular land use (e.g. business district) vs multiuse.

[@thedude4795]

"fairly accurate" lol, look up objective facts

[@aetheres5617]

@@thedude4795 It is possible to use your 'objective facts' completely out of context.

[@user-ed7et3pb4o]

Yep, this and segregation policies.

[@Theurbanmajor]

Wtf this channel became a million times professional when it already was...

[@hiteshreddy7136]

Urban Major with classic music added it sounds more professional

[@Theurbanmajor]

hitesh reddy oh actually i was talking about the content :) But music is important too !

[@philzrad]

Using that shutterstock film!

[@piguy3945]

ikr?

[@fredrikkarner4115]

why?

[@yellowfolder]

I don't remember subscribing to this dude, but glad I did. Fascinating shit.

[@MrNicoJac]

Same

[@snacksy7754]

lol me to!

[@antivorg1239]

it's like CGP grey, hardly ever uploads but when he does it worth it...

[@Pikminiman]

I don't think Wendover is comparable to CGP Grey in terms of upload frequency. I enjoy them both, but Wendover uploads far more frequently.

[@antivorg1239]

Pikminiman very true

[@thyhashbrown8298]

Damn gas is cheap in the us

[@stevejobs5488]

Poo Poo MURICA.

[@KILLERONROAD]

Yeah, we gotta drive to get pretty much anywhere though. I hate the idea of needing to own a car. My city has public transport but it's inefficient and slow. A 15-20 minute car ride takes about 1.5 hours on bus if you transfer twice. And transfer you will.

[@simplyincorrigible7708]

Now u know why we like oil so much.

[@kingdon5383]

Poo Poo it’s bout 58 cents per litre which is insane!! In my country it’s like $2 per litre 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️

[@obamasbestfriend3931]

The US government pays for like 3/4 of it

[@Reczack]

7:29 The best part of this video was hearing my roommate yell "bullshit" at the average price of a gallon in the US.

[@Brother_Piner]

The_Wolf where do you live? I was frankly shocked that gas was so much in Europe.

[@Brother_Piner]

@W0Y4K Yeah, he probably lives in California. Here in Michigan, gas is usually under $2.50

[@johnmininger7472]

He said gas was $2.20, which was the average price in the US in 2016 when this was posted. It was as high as $3.70 (2012) and around $2.60 to start 2020. The highest average recorded was a short period in 2008 when it reached $4.11. Of course where you live influences how much you pay. The states with the lowest gas prices are all in the south.

[@Toddoss5875]

Ohio here, Cleveland area specifically. Usually around $3.10-3.30 lately. Last year it dipped for a while to around 2.4. That’s the lowest I’ve ever seen it though.

[@hayden9802]

I don’t know how the average could be any lower that $2.00

[@olereidar1906]

2.20 USD per gallon = 0.53 Euro per litre 7 USD per gallon = 1.70 Euro per litre

[@sion8]

Farise​ Now, how do you do that conversation? I was in Canada and they sell by the liter but I live in the U.S. and I wasn't exactly sure how much I had paid in gas when over there.

[@olereidar1906]

Google: 2.20 usd per gallon to eur per litre

[@sion8]

Farise Thanks.

[@peterhansen6673]

Speaking of gas prices. Remember that in Europe most cars are diesel which are both cheaper (due to taxes) has a higher mileage.

[@TalesOfWar]

It's worth noting that a US Gallon is smaller than an Imperial Gallon. 1 US Gallon = 3.78L, 1 Imperial Gallon = 4.54L.

[@bogcom]

I live in Denmark, Copenhagen and went to Calgary on exchange. I was so suprised to discover the concept of "urban sprawl" which in my opinion ruins the city completely. The two cities have comparable populations, however, Calgary does not seem to have as a rich a cultural life due to everything being so far apart.

[@irama9520]

You havent been to NE then lol.

[@ligametis]

But if we live more spread out we have more personal space and more green areas. For example I personally would never live in a noisy, dirty and crowded city centre. I would better move to suburbs and have full cheaper house near a lake, forest or other natural environment.

[@Teddeskompest]

@@ligametis an inner city does not have to be noisy and full of concrete. My city for example does not have a quiet park or relaxing seaside more than a few minutes walk away.

[@cienealaevis8379]

@@ligametis The thing is that you see out inner city like yours are probably. I live in the 18th biggest city of france (Grenoble, around 158k), in the most "we don't have enought place" region, the Alps. And honestly, the streets arn't noisy, as a lot of the city center is pedestrian only, or will only allow one car to pass, and not the biggest cars. As for the crowdness, not much too. for sure, if you are in the street around the peak hours, there are a lot of peoples around, but as the whole street is litterally the pedestrian territory, we have place to move around. And for dirtyness, there are peoples living in city centers, so the municipality must clean. while some of the smaller, less used streets may be dirtier, the overlall cleanness is very good. I also have to say : i'd rather live in a dense city, and have nature (forest/lake and stuff) about 30min car out, than having to drive hours. In my current city, i can get out of it and reach the mountains in about 1h of walking.

[@hekipeki]

Come to iceland dane, we're the biggest "town" in the biggest state. 6k peeps live here

[@robinledesma2683]

"Americans spent an average of 4.25h per week for commuting." Try living in Manila. I spend 19 hours a week in traffic. And I'm already driving a car. People who commute spend probably 28 hours travelling.

[@Zei33]

never going back to that country as long as I live.

[@harbymastopia9635]

@@Zei33 Hope I can leave as well. Im stuck here 😂

[@succiboi4045]

@@Zei33 bruh If you go to the Philippines always avoid manila that place is a shithole

[@solomonz2821]

@@succiboi4045 Is it as bad as Mexico City traffic-wise?

[@luisbernales6336]

@@solomonz2821 i think so,the 7+ cities outside Metro Manila usually go to Metro Manila for work and Manila's the most densely populated city in the country

[@adrienlamotte3051]

You have an interesting claim at the start of the video, where you claim that Paris packs almost its entire population inside the city. Maybe we should find a common definition of the term city, because while Paris itself is rather small and very densely populated (with 2m inhabitants), it is the center of a very large urban area, with kilometers of suburbs.. And 12m inhabitants. This takes the population density of the entire Paris urban area to about 4.500 inhabitants per square kilometre according to the Wikipedia page "unité urbaine de Paris" (I don't have the figure in square miles, sorry). And these suburbs are very essential to the life of the city, they're not just there by happenstance.

[@changjonathan5211]

Adrien Lamotte Exactly!!! This problem has been there since the start of time but nobody seems to care 😂 Recently I saw people differentiate 廣域市 (broad-area-city) and 狹域市 (narrow-area-city) to describe two opposite ways how city boundaries distort statistics, but it’s not really a definition of city , which is pretty hard since we need to define it using data available for all cities, ex Japan keeps track of commuting matrix but I don’t think such data is available around the world

[@gordon1545]

Very true, the idea that Paris doesn't have a sprawling suburban commuter belt is nonsense.

[@dontevenlook]

Yeah most of this video is conjecture. He seems to make out we all walked every where before we had cars. Would have thought that horses, trains and bicycles were used.

[@n1thmusic229]

And then there is London that had its border drawn in 1960 to engulf all the suburbs and although the official boundary of London Engulfs only 9,000,000 people now consider suburbs to be much further out from the city centre that they were in 1960 as now more people are commuting and therefore the unofficial boundary was drawn to contain 14,000,000 people but unlike Paris there is nothing to say how big the city centre is

[@howiej820]

The metropolitan area of NY has 20 million people in it. Thats 12 million that live in suburbs around the city. Paris isn't special in that comparison.

[@mrd9534]

I love how you take an interesting subject and then make it super interesting and explain it so well. Keep up the great work 👍🏼👍🏼

[@_Super_Hans_]

4.25 hours in minutes is 255, ÷ 5 days a week is 51 minutes per day which is only 25.5 minutes to work and the same amount back. Not exactly what I'd call a bad commute.

[@jojojorik123]

Exactly what i was thinking. Daily commute in Europe is much higher, people tend to live about 1 hour of commute from their work.

[@jmiquelmb]

Mmh, I don't know about that. It really depends on where you live

[@billybobjoe198]

That's what I was thinking. Most people around me live within 15 minutes or less of work though.

[@harperscottmartin3197]

+Super Hans it's an average, so while many people people have 5 or 10 min commutes, tons also have the 1hr+ commutes that you may be more familiar with.

[@JonandEva]

Yep, I was thinking the same think. I know some people in Moscow, Russia who spend that much every day.

[@laserduck4238]

I live in a very small, compact, and relatively deprived city in the northwest of England, and I am always amazed by the size and wealth of the suburbs in Canadian and American cities.

[@KaterynaM_UA]

I think it's important to remember that US citizens often live in houses they don't own, paying mortgages, student and car loans all their lives, so basically living deeply in debt. It's a horrible way to live in my opinion.

[@musqul8566]

@@KaterynaM_UA would you rather pay everything at once or prefer a plan where you can play slowly and in your means or let me guess you want education and housing for free. You work for what you get nothing comes free you are nobody's responsibility and you don't owe the universe any debt.

[@bendubu]

Every video I feel like I’ve learned so much more than just what the title suggested, thank you for making these they are so good ❤️

[@ProlePatrolMusic]

it's really a matter of taste. I loved living in the european downtown cities they have. you can walk literally anywhere, from the downtown core to the central park to a cafe, anywhere. it is also nicer as you see people around you and it is much more social. where i live now, in canada, i need to drive to get to anything i need, and i rarely leave my house in the suburban area. it really is stressful and unnatural :(

[@Bamiyanbigasf]

Boost Beats Montreal is a nice medium if you brush up on your french :p

[@sawyersprott]

Boost Beats You’re saying living not in a concrete and steel jungle is more unnatural? That seems just... wrong.

[@micaelgarcia1576]

@@sawyersprott He... is saying exactly the opposite.

[@eechauch5522]

Dankinus Maximus well neither a suburb nor downtown is really natural. But also, Downtown in cities around Europe is rarely a concrete and steel jungle. It's usually the historic core, that was always intended to be lived in and walked through. Calling both downtown is pretty misleading, because the concept of a distinct downtown area doesn't really exist around here, it's just the center the city grew out of.

[@sarahm4669]

@@Bamiyanbigasf I live in the west island of Montreal (basically an on-island suburb that is technically still part of the city) and I don't feel like I truly live in Montreal at all, downtown is a whole different world that I am super unfamiliar with and takes 1.5 hours to get to by public transit

[@ScrewNickk]

Does anyone get tripped out seeing super old footage of people? I always think to myself, all of those people are dead now

[@dibbidydoo4318]

Like seeing an image of Albert Einstein and then realizing he's dead...

[@tallbeard7111]

Are you me :). I have that same feeling and wonder how they lived their average day life.

[@NoName-ms8jb]

Someday, someone will dig up your phone and find a picture of you and think the same thing.

[@Krackerlack]

*o h s h i t*

[@alegarbesnicofrederic7944]

I just feel uncomfortable seeing people that you know are dead.

[@ashgreninja7521]

Don't forget, European cities were not made for cars (remembers London...…..)

[@importedemperor4397]

London gets to learn the hard way what diversity will do to it.

[@Alpostpone]

@@importedemperor4397 Does that mean more or less car-oriented design?

[@Scouter98]

What makes it worse is the city councils always try to make it worse by having absurd traffic management, inflated parking prices or city entry cost. Not to mention the double taxed fuel. Hmm... Its almost like (they) dont want people to have their own means of transportation... I hate the bus. Its too small for me so its painfully uncomfortable. Its too cold in winter or too hot in summer. I dont want to be next to some smelly ... undesirable.

[@Sophiebryson510]

Well we have the tube don’t we?

[@russell4658]

@@importedemperor4397 Bruh what are you even saying

[@TheAlanmf]

I study Architecture and Urbanism and I find that amount of information about cities really amazing! Thanks for sharing ;)

[@riyuzu2674]

+ European cities have nicer downtowns. its Just true, No negative comments please.

[@brianstafford3969]

Prem Hoogenveen so true

[@Citiesinmotionplayer]

It's probably because many of the buildings are much older than in the US. There are buildings in Europe that were built before the US was even colonized. Back then they put a lot more effort into making the important buildings look nice. Today it's just steel, concrete and glass.

[@rkan2]

Depends if you have a car (and a driver) or not :P

[@spencerdias2417]

It is true, quite beautiful indeed.

[@thorr18BEM]

goff0103 , Europe isn't a country.

[@masonk9838]

I never understood why people drive their own cars in the city. You'd think with all the traffic and frustration you'd rather walk.

[@Jkrue73]

American city's were not built for walking. Things are spaced out so walking is a lot harder.

[@masonk9838]

Jeffery Krueger Just take a cab, or the bus, or the subway. I doubt the fares would equal the car payment. Unless you're driving a $300 shitbox.

[@Jkrue73]

***** Just from where I live, we can't have subways (too close to sea level), not may taxies outside of the airport and public buses are disgusting. Plus, if you keep a car for a long time it will be better compared to a taxi/uber every day.

[@masonk9838]

You're probably right, I was thinking of cities along the lines of D.C, manhattan, and London.

[@Jkrue73]

***** Ya those cities you would probaly be better off with a good bike or using public trans.

[@tefazDK]

"A gallon of gas costs as much as $7" LOL Try $10/gallon. at least for Denmark

[@General3Dvisual]

I believe it'd be liters of gas, not gallons

[@david2869]

But Americans buy their gas in gallons, that's how you compare price. If you gave a price per liter, it would be price/liter x 3.8 liters per gallon.

[@neverluckym8728]

12$ in France...

[@david2869]

@ಠ_ಠ Octane is usually the main component of gasoline. But we call it gasoline or gas or petrol.

[@AD_RC]

i can't believe it, i though we had it hard, but a gallon of gas down here is $2.80

[@Wave2680]

I loved the information in this video, please continue the good work!

[@joseantoniodepilares6509]

Great video. However I find it too economic and hardly cultural. As an European, I feel that there is also an emotional link that we have with our cities that does not seem to be as present in Americans. Europeans like to walk the streets and bask in the glow of our monuments and old buildings with which we identify ourselves culturally. Add to that the fact that European cities are built on the scale of the Human and the Horse; American cities are built on the scale of the Car and the Elevator. Maybe as American cities are not as old as European ones this emotional link between the people and the buildings is not as present?

[@rjfaber1991]

True, but then again, monuments and old buildings are just more prevalent, and more opulent, in European cities than they are anywhere else in the world. Let's not forget that most European cities were built or rebuilt in the colonial era, when an ungodly amount of money was concentrated in Europe; you certainly can see that when you walk around the streets of a European city.

[@joseantoniodepilares6509]

But curiously enough, as far as I know from personal acquantances and my experience living in Uruguay, in Hispanoamerica that is not the case. People in Buenos Aires or Montevideo know they descend from Italians, or Spaniards or whatever but they feel themselves to be 100% Argentines or Uruguayans and relate to their cities in ways a person from the US can only dream of.

[@joseantoniodepilares6509]

The thing is that I never met anyone styling themselves as italo-argentine, hispano-uruguayan, or germano-bralisian. Just Argentines, Uruguayans or Brasilians with Italian, Spanish or German grandparents... And you have to consider that those countries are "younger" than the US. I've never put much thought into it, but it is striking.

[@fcalvaresi]

sgtbuckwheat Latin countries traditionnally have strong national identities. I see that with Spaniards, Italians and also with Latino-Americans like Mexicans and Argentines. That's maybe because latin countries have a tradition of assimilation of immigrants. A way very different from the Anglo-Saxon approach.

[@demoniack81]

Yeah, they built a skyscraper in my city center which is hated by half of the city's population. The reason being the other half hates the other one they built slightly more to the south. It's not like they're bad per se, but they're eye sores that tower over everything else, don't match ANY of the architectural styles around them, and they're visible from literally everywhere in the city so you can never "get away" from them. Wherever you are in the city you can always see that square metal frame popping up from behind some other building.

[@Kleavers]

Interesting. I never realized that they built it in Europe because of walking distance. Interesting to see how technology evolves the way of life.

[@thatoneguy33198]

+mrbandishbhoir some US cities are being fixed to have walkability in mind, see Denver in Colorado... for some reason however, a small very stupid percentage of the population is against this.

[@thatoneguy33198]

mrbandishbhoir Apparently "it displaces people", which is misleading.

[@thatoneguy33198]

mrbandishbhoir they are payed, they aren't forced to leave

[@thatoneguy33198]

mrbandishbhoir The problem is the people lack initiative to get employment, they rather prefer to leech the welfare.

[@thatoneguy33198]

mrbandishbhoir I am aware, but that is their explanation.

[@BalancedEarth]

I like that this is like the 5th time I've been reccomended this video since it was released. I still enjoy the amount of work and editing put into it!

[@DustinFette]

Hello from 2020. Great video! I'm glad you kept up the hard work.

[@JoelReid]

A great example of this effect is in Australia where cities only grew large in the 20th century after the Automobile. Perth Metro area, for example, spreads 100km x 30km along the coast with only 2 million population. Australians tend to hav elarge blocks of land that spread over large distances Despite this, with the rising cost of fuel and a changing culture city centres are being more popular to save costs.

[@JoelReid]

By the way: Australia crime is reasonably insignificant. burglary is high, but everything else is low.

[@LikeABoss464]

Joel Reid Too bad that Housing prices are retarded, with not as much opportunity outside of the cities.

[@doggo2689]

@@LikeABoss464 bit late here but most people rent houses if you didnt know

[@KC-up7hf]

I live in a US desert city, and you have the urban sprawl. Then... Nothing.

[@sbalogh53]

Sounds depressing.

[@JaxTheCartographer]

K 9501 witch state are you from?

[@saleh1908]

You probably live in American Samoa

[@KC-up7hf]

SoCal

[@KC-up7hf]

It's nice, peaceful. (but then again, I live in the ritzy part)

[@fwcolb]

Well done. I have been working as an urban economist for 50 years and find you analysis spot on.

[@dzingishan640]

i live in a little medival city in Poland(Darłowo 16thousands citizen), i have plenty od friend in US and Canada. Except that we earn much less than in America, from that what my friends say i live in PARADISE, the standard of living is high, crime almost does not exist. I wanted to emigrate becouse of my earnings but i will never do it becouse my friends made me realize that if i will move to America i will lost a lot! and this is this moment when i am so proud of my country p.s sorry for my english

[@digitalfootballer9032]

Standard of living depends on where you go in the U.S., as well as crime rates and many other factors. Different states and cities are practically like different worlds here in the United States. I love my country and would encourage anyone who wants to come here legally and make a living to give it a try, and I like where I live, cost of living is low and crime is low, but the trade-off is bad weather in the winter, and wages below the national average. Of course if you love your home country and are happy there I have nothing but respect for that as well...and if you are happy there that is all that matters. I have never been to Poland, but I have heard great things about your people and culture. There are lots of Polish-Americans where I live. One thing I know is I love Polish food!

[@PeterAuto1]

I could recommend you to look in Germany for something. Because of similar living standard but higher earnings. And it's easy to visit your friends/family at home.

[@pewdiepieisstillabadyoutub4490]

Steve I know for a fact that the IRS is a scam, though. Also, the nation has such a crippling underground problem of nationalism, that it basically deters immigrants who know what this shows

[@wyqtor]

@@PeterAuto1 The crime rate is probably higher in Germany than Poland. Not everyone wants high earnings at the expense of personal safety.

[@imperialsecuritybureau6037]

Capitalism destroys nations, so often when nations have higher earnings and living costs they are hollowed-out shells of what they used to be.

[@chickendawg88]

Great video. Subscribed. We're screwed when we run out of oil due to poor planning. I chose to spend more buying a smaller house that is in the center of a sleepy New England town close to work. I can bike now :)

[@nader50752]

Not in Europe though.

[@chickendawg88]

Blackforest98 There are European suburbs, but we'll be screwed the most.

[@nader50752]

Scott Byer I meant countries in EU btw, there's the 20-20-20 rule, here: esmig.eu/page/20-20-20-goals ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strategies/2020/index_en.htm

[@hamcam97]

umm...burning it is way faster than making it, like a lot of things in life

[@nader50752]

hamcam97 We're very good at making oil, it wont run out.

[@cadr003]

Its important to talk about redlining in the cities during the 50s and 60s, and how the modern American ghettoes were formed. I feel like that and the rapid population growth would be more relevant to the topic of increase in crime rates in the 70s to 90s.

[@mattkomar7622]

And no conversation about redlining is complete without mentioning the practice of blockbusting!

[@andrewlikestrains4138]

cadr003 Yeah, and I’m surprised he didn’t talk about white flight when mentioning suburbanization in the US.

[@NickB1967]

Red-lining was finally *banned* by the 1960's. It was not new and went on for many decades before that.

[@EnhancedCognition]

@@andrewlikestrains4138 Who would've thunk that people generally prefer to live around people most like themselves .. Its not like it hasn't always been that way everywhere on earth or anything.. Its not like the black neighborhoods that arose after the civil war didn't prefer living around their own too right? Or did you think that only went one way?

[@partybots1111]

White mans burden

[@muhammadibrahimshah9627]

I came here because this is my part of the midterm exam at the University of Alberta but got hooked. Really explained well.

[@merttosya6391]

I recommend the video "How Zoning Laws Are Holding Back America's Cities" by "Institute for Humane Studies". The video shows that a big part of suburbanization in America was due to government officials imposing their view on how houses should be.

[@alexandragaudet]

Loved the video but agree that racial and social politics had a huge impact on how cities developed and how/where/for whom wealth was built up in 'merica. Ahem rates of crime and lead in car exaust? I can think of a few other reasons...

[@VishuddhaDas]

this channel has grown so quickly! much deserved. amazing educational content.

[@jaiguru9538]

I love how you gloss over the disgusting gentrification of US cities in saying people are returning to urban centers.

[@Wendoverproductions]

I know that that's definitely a huge issue. My original video had like 3-4 minutes talking about the issues with both suburbanization and urbanization, but it was just getting too depressing and I like to keep my videos more upbeat. I know that that's not a good excuse but it's just why I chose to cut it out.

[@whette_fahrtz]

Gentrification has more to do with income inequality than people moving around.

[@fatsamcastle]

Jai Guru how dare people try and improve the lives of the poor, they should just leave them to rot like they deserve. Right?

[@Distress.]

fatsamcastle watch them turn around and complain about inner city violence and poverty.

[@JustinMakesVideos]

You know what's actually disgusting? The disproportionately high crime rates for non-whites in the US. We should be able to walk around our cities more freely without being victimized. With the exception of Asian Americans, all other major groups are more of a liability than an asset. Look to Japan, while not a paradise, it has a tiny crime rate and a low unemployment rate without mass immigration. No permanent racial underclass. Absolutely everything would improve if these people were excluded. Teen pregnancy, STD rates, test scores [white Americans standardized test scores are equal to that of Belgium], ect. #no2marxism

[@connarcomstock161]

Man you've come a long way with your new videos. Great job.

[@dylanmorgan5589]

Honestly, my daily commute relaxes me. This was true when i took the bus, drove my car, or now on my sportbike. Its a soothing half hour with music and sensory overload that prepares me for my day. I also leave early. That might help with the stress.

[@hiimacrazyguy]

Public transport here in France is so good it's honestly insane, literally every bit of my city is covered either by tramway or bus, and even the nearby communities have bus routes that regularly go back and forth to those places... I also saw great public transport when I was in England and in Spain, but I guess all of western Europe has excelent public transport

[@Kmsfnd]

you should make a collaboration with Real Engineering you Fucking should

[@benedeknagy1]

They have done it but they should definitely do it again :)

[@elguero9279]

I'm a few years late to watch this one, but the content is as insightful as ever. Absolutely love this channel, keep up the good work.

[@sparklej1142]

Just subbed. High quality, thought provoking video. Lived for five years in Europe, native American. Different strokes for different folks, but for me...I love where and how I live in America. Giant trees you can't wrap your arms around are all around me. Forest creatures dance in the yard. The horses and cows...I love it. And I'm fifteen minutes from everything, and thirty from a major city. Don't get me wrong. I could wax on and on about the beauty of Europe, but yes, too many people cluttered together. Although I really really miss the neighborhood bakeries. Peace.

[@sergiothelifeguard1]

I grew up in Washington DC and I always found something wrong with it....as if is not like any other REAL cities, is like fake.....this video explains alot

[@Distress.]

Sergio Gutierrez it's still a real city

[@sergiothelifeguard1]

Ben Dover9:18 AM Reply Yeah I lived in Arlington which is a dense suburb on the Virginia side and our buildings we're much taller than in the downtown area. DC is definitely a sprawled out city then a densely populated one. I think the DC metropolitan area has 6,000,000 people but only 650,000 of that lives in DC proper. Its funny though because our public trans still sucks especially on the Virginia side (which is arguably the nicer side)Ben Dover

[@patm407]

DC is also a planned city. It did not develop naturally like older cities such as Boston, New York, London, Paris

[@jeremyud]

DC was a planned city for the government. Though they did think the Potomac River might have attracted industry, it never did, and therefore DC mainly developed along the lines of a government center instead of a place where people came for industrial opportunities like most Eastern U.S. cities. It also has very strict zoning laws which is why it doesn't have a lot of skyscrapers.

[@ShnoogleMan]

Yeah DC has a bs building height cap. As a comparison, no building in DC will ever be taller that the Washington Monument, which is not that tall for the modern age.

[@abdullahtshabal9522]

i spent well over 10% of my time awake commuting while in the US. sometimes, literally 1/4th of my day was gone due to commute alone.

[@onemanenclave]

I love this calm, matter-of-fact way of exposing!!

[@nick3xtremegaming212]

Ive lived in the suburbs my whole life and i like it, its quite, private, plenty of space, and its beautiful. Ive been to the city many times in my life and its a loud chaotic mess.

[@blista2]

in short: you are an idiot

[@nick3xtremegaming212]

@wagner1va wtf

[@nick3xtremegaming212]

@Brad Carter the fuck?

[@leiffang9412]

different scenes for different people. i've always lived in the city, which while chaotic, always teems with opportunities and people to meet. though i think race is a factor that heavily contributes to urban geography. I wish this video would have gone into this more: white flight, redlining, etc. And this isn't unique to america. The inverse can be applied to European ghettos in the suburbs

[@LuchianM1]

in EU even if we wanted skyscrapers downtown we can't build them on the same scale as NY or many other US cities because the soil is too soft, you can have skyscrapers in Manhattan because NY sits on solid rock, most big EU cities sit on clay or loose gravel.

[@TalesOfWar]

There are a lot of cultural and historical reasons too. Most European cities don't want these kind of buildings everywhere because it'll ruin the skyline. London and Paris especially have lots of rules in place to maintain the beauty of the skyline. Buildings are even designed around lines of sight. The "Cheese grater" building in London has that shape because St. Paul's Cathedral MUST be clearly visible from one of the parks further out from the centre for example. Paris has an entire district a good distance from the historic centre where all of the modern buildings are. Nothing is allowed within the area you traditionally associate Paris with. There are similar rules and by-laws in many other European cities too.

[@BlackGateofMordor]

"Nothing is allowed within the area you traditionally associate Paris with." With the exception of Tour Montparnasse, which is actually the reason the height limits of seven stories within the Parisian city limits was established.

[@99999myk]

DC has height restrictions but you are correct. When I was young, I was partying on the exposed bedrock in Central Park. It is very close to the surface but NYC still has to pump water out of its subway system everyday.

[@danielmartinezdowsett4776]

depends on the european country

[@nabboss4921]

A old City law of Cologne says its illegal to build a building which is higher than the Cologne Dome

[@IceSpoon]

This is the first time I suscribe to a channel after seeing only one video. You deserve it.

[@luminus3d]

Wow! Outstanding quality! Keep it! up!!!!

[@tomasklimes8612]

This was awesome! Got much new information and connection between facts about living in the U. S. and in Europe.

[@mardiffv.8775]

European dense populated cities offer another benefit: you don't need a car. People walk, cycle or take the public transport. 70 % of the people in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, do not own a car. If they drive a car twice a month, they rent a car. Amsterdam is so dense that everything you need is within 5 km/ 3 mile distance, so people take the bike or walk.

[@DefChurras]

this is one of a couple of channels that i never regret having in my subbox...

[@katsiashalmanava934]

Thank you very much for a concise and comprehensive video

[@frickinfrick8488]

I love finding a KZbin video explaining something I would’ve never thought to ask

[@aashaytambi3268]

I have a feeling that you live in Philly area.

[@Wendoverproductions]

Not even the right continent...

[@griffin3607]

Aashay Tambi oh no

[@G____________.]

Very likely Edinburgh

[@Bcarr122391]

California?

[@fisheatsyourhead]

+Brandon Carraway Philly isn't on the right continent so you guess.. california? fucks sake

[@martymcfly5423]

Great Courses Plus is just everywhere. i also see them on nearly all history-channels ^^

[@MotoHikes]

4.2hrs per week in travel time? Come to London. I used to travel 3hrs per day to work somewhere 8 miles from me.

[@xdeler]

That's 8 km/h... which is a moderate walking speed... If walking distance is shorter than driving distance, it's even slower.

[@chris9836]

Max Deler You don’t drive in London - there’s a charge to drive in the city, parking is phenomenally expensive and speeds average

[@MotoHikes]

@@chris9836 Correct. A large portion of Londoners just don't drive. Insurance is too high, congestion charges, and just expensive to run in comparison to public transport.

[@chris9836]

DareWolf Good point about insurance, I hadn’t factored that in. I just checked how much my insurance would increase from my address up north to a friend’s NW1 London postcode and it went from £500 to (the cheapest quote) £3300!

[@MotoHikes]

@@chris9836 Yep! And it gets even worse (i hear) if you go down to south London (Brixton, Lewisham etc). I live just south of Lewisham (SE6), and while i'm not sure how the insurance is, i'd bet it's even higher than NW1 due to higher crime rates

[@harleyb.birdwhisperer]

I enjoyed the insights very much. I would add a line to the narrative regarding the narrow streets and lack of parking (old buildings lack garages, narrow streets limit parking on-street) in old cities.

[@nuadarstark]

Love this video, pity everyone who has to commute hours by car to their job. I live in a midsized Central European city and I can literally walk to my office in 10 minutes. It's amazing.

[@MrUmeabdullah1]

You are lucky

[@Knight465]

So that's why Europe city more walking friendly

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

Most our city centers in the netherlands are car free zones.

[@alengrm7488]

@@baronvonlimbourgh1716 its same in most of Euroepan cities and towns

[@shamrock141]

Yeah the taxes for driving in London centre are astronomical. Much better to just take the tube

[@noahdeng9401]

I always come back to this video for studying

[@oldaccount3591]

Awesome video! Really get you thinking...

[@artugert]

0:11 "It probably seems obvious..." Me: Yeah, obviously Paris. 0:13 "New York." Me: No.

[@psyclone500tv8]

And that comment shows you didn't continue the video to 0:19

[@artugert]

@@psyclone500tv8 I did. At 0:19 it confirms that my answer was correct....

[@ice711real]

Same

[@benmm01]

In Australia, we have a mixture of both; We have suburbs that expand out, like the US cities, but richer people live closer to the inner parts of the city, like the European cities.

[@maxfi878]

Same in Finland, even though it's in Europe.

[@lewisscott5341]

MaxFI Also similar in the UK, probably because many UK cities grew in the industrial era rather than before

[@GUITARTIME2024]

In the last 20 yrs, we have more rich or middle class people living in the better areas near downtown and such, especially in condos or refurbished houses. It depends on the city. Gentrification.

[@gurkaransahota9785]

Damn, here in Canada it’s an exact copy paste of the US

[@VineFynn]

Mostly because of retarded council planning law

[@MrPhilEU]

Thank you, very interesting topic and presentation

[@theodoretourneux5662]

This is crazy interesting thank you so much!!!!

[@austint19]

Would love to see a similar analysis on countries other than Europe/USA. Very cool video though. Hell, I live in Chicago and I thought THAT was dense 😳

[@Jkrue73]

He uses NYC and not Manhattan, so it might be a bit off.

[@RussianSmacker]

calling Europe a country is a bit like calling England a city.

[@rianfelis3156]

There's a huge difference between the Loop and the vast sprawl that you get as you approach the suburbs. Most of Chicago by area is single family homes.

[@ZachariahWiedeman]

Great explainer. You should do one on the unique design of Los Angeles and how the early installation of a freeway system before the population boom caused the city to grow out flat and worked against the economics of installing public transportation. There are also a lot of interesting things to cover like how how the aqueduct allows the city to exist in the first place (est. 1913)... Los Angeles is truly a unique city from an urban planning perspective.

[@bonbondurjdr6553]

The beginning of the video was interesting. Thanks for that.

[@DanishCamp]

This video was a lot more interesting, than I expected.

[@kusalahind4353]

Yes!!! As a Swede I become so happy when a video like this has Stockholm on like a couple of pictures

[@digitalfootballer9032]

Swedish-American here...greetings from the USA! My ancestors are from Kalmar (father's side) and Jönköping (mother's side). ♥️🇺🇲🇸🇪

[@DefCon1Shooter]

Interesting video, don't forget that most european countries have a much higher density as a whole, compared to the US. Germany for example has a Density of 227 People per km² while the US only has 35 people per km², thats around 6.5 times higher. There is just not enough space in Europe for large, suburbans with single-family homes like in the US. And to be honest, I am ok with that as from my european perspective, the disadvantages outweight the advantages. The wide-ranging suburbs consume so much space and they make the distances much higher than they need to be. It's more difficult to set up a working public transport system and you basically are bound to your car wherever you go.

[@ok-wn5zv]

3:52 my town is on that map!!!! yay we’re almost never recognized lol. but my grandma lives in mclean and my dad grew up there!

[@BariSaxGod25]

This channel helped me with my AP Human Geography class.

[@reecefullerton4252]

Same

[@mayhuang8775]

Hong Kong: Am I a Joke to You?

[@HarryWessex]

London expanded because of the train, there's a place in West London called Surbiton which literally means "Suburban Town" same with Sutton meaning South Town.

[@marcob4630]

Very interesting, thanks for loading!

[@triplej755]

In my AP Human Geography class today we watched this video and took notes on it.

[@2ndskinmineral]

4.25 hr per week.... That is heavenly... Serious! I drive to and from work for 3-4 hrs everyDAY.

[@foreverdumb7381]

My parents walk for 15 minutes to work, a walk I can do in 7 because I am not on heels :)) And I live in the modern grid based part of my European city (built by the communists) , but still, everything is close and compact, most building being an average 4-5 stories. It is so interesting that Europe is more compact than the US while the total number of skyscrapers on the whole European continent is something similar to the number of skyscrapers in one single American city. LOL

that's just masochism with extra steps

[@nestoreleuteriopaivabendo5415]

I was going to say the same. I'm brazilian and our suburbs in cities are far (5 or more kilometers from downtown) and traffic is always a dump!

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

Time to move or find another job lol.

[@B_Cleric_Time]

The Philly income map is fairly wrong though. Much of Greater Center City is very wealthy(like European cities) which you marked as red(which I assume means poor.) Also you marked University City(where Drexel and UPenn are) and other gentrifying neighborhoods like Fishtown as deep red, which is very untrue. Mt Airy and Chestnut Hill are also placed as middle class, when they are some of the most desirable neighborhoods in the city. South Philly is also mostly middle class, with the northern side getting wealthier and some parts of the western being fairly ghetto. On the other hand, you marked much of West Philly and it's immediate suburbs(Upper Darby, etc) as middle class when they're some of the worst neighborhoods in the city. Same goes for SW Philly. I know I sound like I'm nitpicking, and you did put a disclaimer on the map, but it just looks very sloppily done. It's also probably a very Philly thing to get touchy about their city, especially when it's put down all the time. Interesting video regardless!

[@arugula2787]

It's an old map I think. Those places have gentrified very very recently, along with brewerytown, manayunk, and fairmount

[@williamcosgrove3552]

@@arugula2787 I still think that areas like Rittenhouse and Society Hill were very gentrified even a couple decades ago. The map looks pretty bad to me.

[@frisianmouve]

As a Dutchie I love my 10 min cycling commute in a compact city. Half of it is on cycle tracks, the other half in residential 30km/h zones in which cycle tracks aren't required. The parking area has about 50 cars on a weekday versus at least 100 bikes packed tightly in a bikeshed, the parking area for cars takes up at least 10 times more space than the one for bicycles, you do the math. This is for two relatively small (for american standards) office buildings. Focusing on cycling can aid the compactness of a city as they require much less space, they're healthier and more environment friendly as a bonus.

[@lonelyPorterCH]

0:40 I was in barcelona 2 weeks ago... I didnt notice, that so many people are living there^^ And pf corse, I was in paris too, but last year

[@alexanderisaac3767]

Fox Hall is DC had massive mansions but it is only 3 miles from the center.

[@Wendoverproductions]

That's definitely true. DC has some very high-income housing very close to downtown. This is pure speculation, but perhaps it's because DC was a planned city by a European dude (l'Enfant)

[@alexanderisaac3767]

Wendover Productions the interesting thing about DC is that the river really separates the rich and the poor

[@Norixciii]

huh. as a dual American and French citizen, this is interesting. actually it's why I live in France right now because I couldn't afford a car in the USA, and everyone keeps living out too damn far from the city center. here in France, I'm able to go to literally anywhere i want to without having to rely on a car like in the USA. in the USA, if you want to go shopping, to work, to school, to the post office, it's always get in the car. every time. here i've been able to travel to other cities, neighboring countries, and overseas without a car. getting to the train station or airport does not require a car. it's great here

[@jackshotguns8525]

Midnight Kyoto Snacks countries???? You mean to tel me you are traveling to other countries in one trip walking or biking?????

[@FilosofiadiCazzeggio]

I think he means he took a train or a plane to neighbouring countries, but not a car

[@itsmederek1]

+Jack Shotguns Public transportation my friend.

[@GUITARTIME2024]

umm, we have buses and uber and verious cities have subways or trams . u have been drinking too much wine, frenchie.

[@sustainable9182]

If you think France's public tranport is good, you should see the German public transport

[@Matandfun]

I grew up out in one of those railroad suburbs from Philadelphia and it’s so true

[@masonroberts2012]

Yo weird question but im going to visit philly soon... I need to grab me a cheesesteak. Any good local places you can reference me to?

[@joeflosion]

Hey Mr Wendover, I've got a feeling that you're a Philly guy. I've noticed you used footage of the Art Museum/Frankin Parkway in another video, and talked about the Cumberland Valley in another. And here you're talking about Philadelphia again and the Main Line. So I'm thinking you grew up in Montgomery County? I could be wrong, just thought it was really cool to see my city getting some love. Watching from Cherry Hill, but I'm still a DelCo guy at heart. Love your videos man, I come back to binge on them every now and then. Keep making them jawns ;)

[@LuddeVinje]

The 50s, 60s and 70s totally ruined the urban life of America. Most American cities are car centric and have a totally dead atmosphere. I'm glad to see this unsustainable urbanization finally turning around with the younger generations.

[@mariusbleek]

Agreed. The 1910s and 1920s were a hugely successful time for major american cities by contrast. There's a bit of an urban renaissance ongoing at the moment that I hope lasts. But the US is still very auto/sprawl centric, particularly in the sunbelt.

[@allancg1022]

6:10 "astronomical 2245 murders in 1990", my city has beaten that number in 5 months in 2018... and 2018 was a good year

[@ataarono]

shithole country ?

[@digitalfootballer9032]

You must be from Chicago.

[@coindorni]

You're from somewhere in Brazil. don't you?

[@michaelkavala7575]

Great video with great information, as per always, but my train of thought totally derailed as soon as I saw the SHEETZ footage!!!

[@creamy0bear]

so well done