archBOSTON ARCHIVE

[patrick0000]

Well, I am procrastinating, yet again, and since I make pointless posts almost all day long, I figured this wouldn't be much different.

I have some loose city analogies that I have been turning over in my head, and I'd be interested to hear your take on them...

1. Lewiston is to Portland what concord is to Manchester
.....in terms of distance, size, and dependence, obviously not attractiveness.

2. at least in some ways, which I will list below, Hartford is to Providence what Portland is to Manchester.
.....Hartford has more high rises, and is more of a financial center, but has a far smaller population. Just like Portland compared to Manchester.

3. Hartford is to NYC what Manchester is to Boston, what Portland is to Boston, and what Burlington is to Montreal. and Rutland is to Burlington what Lewiston and concord are to Portland and Manchester, respectively.

4. This may be a stretch...Boston is to NYC what Manchester is to Boston.

like I said, I'd be interested in reactions.

[Matt]

i do this all the time in my head. Much better than school work.

1. yes

2. I'm not sure about...is just seems that there is something going on in connecticut that I don't understand, as in...how much of it is really a big NYC suburb. It doesn't seem like any of those cities full stand on their own, in my opinion.

Sort of like what I was saying about manchester v. boston a while back...Portland seems like a much more self-sufficient entity, while manchester has grown into in the northern terminus of the boston metro spawl, a strong satellite city.

That's sort of how I see hartford...something tells me the density of the smaller towns, especially south, is pretty intense. Whereas Providence is more self-sufficient, relatively speaking. And, you know that I don't put a whole lot of value in the number of highrises a city has!

I'd switch the analogy around.. hartford:Providece::manchester:Portland

3. manchester to boston, not portland...due to this

4. With that same sort of thought...I wouldn't feel that manchester:boston::boston:NYC works....I'd replace manchester with portland. I would never consider anything in manchester a "little boston"

[patrick0000]

ehh, just some ideas I was playing with. I figured they'd be way off. but it is interesting to think about stuff like this...the parallels between major cities and their satellites can be fascinating...

I just meant the Hartford:providence::Portland:Manchester analogy based on the fact that hart and prov are in the same class of city (size wise) as are Portland and Manchester (despite the population gap)...hart is smaller than prov, but has more high rises (like Portland) and is a financial center (like Portland) and prov is a cultural center (where manch, as much as i hate to admit it, has a better museum, and an arena, new restaurants, etc...) manch is a mill city undergoing somewhat of a renaissance, sorta like Manchester is.

anyway, just some ideas.

[Matt]

yeah, who knows...like everything else, it's where you place your values. Like you can be down on your hometown, as you know, I can get down on mine too...probably not seeing it objectively.

I do think these comparisons are important, however, because you can see what works and what does not in terms of urban planning for the future. I suppose it wouldn't hurt for a city like portland to see what is working in manchester, regardless of whether or not it is a 'satellite' city or not. Getting improved cultural centers, for example, is a great goal for any city.

I'd be interested in hearing what the other guys think, too..you and I tend to be very explicit about our opinions!

[patrick0000]

haha this is true. i think the cultural center in portland is about to shut down and be turned into something else.

anyway, have you guys heard about how much development is kicking off in providence? it is mind boggling. I'm sure most already know, but there are like two 17-19 story buildings, a 25 or something, or maybe a 31, and they have a new tallest under construction. pretty impressive. hartford, too, is booming.