Mon 30 Mar 2009
Density
Posted by Tim Lee under Uncategorized
[5] Comments
The neighborhood where I grew up in Eagan, a suburb of the Twin Cities:
The St. Louis neighborhood I lived in from 2006-2008:
The DC neighborhood I lived in from 2004-2005:
A neighborhood in Philly I’m considering moving to:
All four images are on the same scale, with a width of about 3000 feet. It’s amazing how many people you can pack into a small area. It’s also interesting to note that that St. Louis neighborhood, the Central West End, is among the densest in the St. Louis metro area. There aren’t any parts of St. Louis that are like the heart of DC, to say nothing of Philadelphia.
5 Responses to “ Density ”
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[...] Tim Lee does Google maps for three neighborhoods he’s lived in and one he’s thinking of moving to and notes the incredible range of compactness (as visually demonstrated from many more streets showing up in comparable map grids). It’s amazing how many people you can pack into a small area. It’s also interesting to note that that St. Louis neighborhood, the Central West End, is among the densest in the St. Louis metro area. There aren’t any parts of St. Louis that are like the heart of DC, to say nothing of Philadelphia. [...]
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[...] enjoyed Tim Lee’s post contrasting the density of various places he’s lived, so I’m reproducing the same for me below. I’ve used the same scale, but the maps are [...]
I suppose it might be a comment on the economic benefits of co-locating so many people. I would assume that like me, most of your moves have been job-related, and it certainly seems like, all other things held equal, it would be easier to find a job in a place where there were lots of other people to have needs for you to fulfil. Or, if I’m confusing cause and effect, these places offer greater opportunity (on average) and so more people want to cluster around to take advantage.
Also it is a comment on the coolness of google maps.
The cause and effect goes in both directions, I think. Obviously, workers go where the jobs are, so areas with good employment prospects will tend to get more dense over time. (think Silicon Valley). But it’s also true that jobs go where the workers are. If you’re thinking about starting a new business, you’re going to want to locate somewhere where there’s a large pool of employees with the right skills for your industry. So lots of software firms locate in Silicon Valley, lots of finance firms locate in New York, entertainment companies locate in LA, etc.
I think it also matters that Philly is one of America’s oldest cities. Much more of Philly was built in the 19th century, and not surprisingly people built a lot more compactly when they were poor and had to walk everywhere. Cities like LA and Phoenix that experienced most of their growth in the second half of the 20th century tend to be less dense than comparably-sized cities on the East Coast.
To expand on that, central Philadelphia was built before cars, and streets intended for horses and pedestrians are a lot narrower. That’s why most of those streets are one-way – you can’t fit two directions of traffic.