# Similar world cities to Chicago



## aussiescraperman (Apr 5, 2005)

Melbourne is far from flat. all the eastern suburbs are perched on gently rolling hills.


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## clive3300 (Dec 30, 2006)

aussiescraperman said:


> Melbourne is far from flat. all the eastern suburbs are perched on gently rolling hills.


Very gently. I am not saying there are no hills at all, but its pretty darn flat compared to hilly cities. And I couldnt even find a picture of the really flat bits in the west.

The east: (and I have seen pictures taken from the Dandenongs encompassing the entire plain and it looks a lot flatter than this)


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## mic (Jun 27, 2004)

Most of Melbourne's inner, middle east, north east and north, and anywhere along the Maribynong, and Moonee Ponds Creek is quite hilly. The CBD it self is undulating and has 3 main hills and one major valley.

Bulleen, Doncaster, Heidelberg, Ivanhoe, Eaglemont, Camberwell, Templestowe, Toorak, Malvern, Balwyn,Kew, Viewbank, Eltham, Lower Plenty, Greenborough, Mill Park, South Morang, Areas of Epping, Reservior, Bundoora, Ferntree Gully etc.. etc.. Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Maribrynong, Nidree, Avondale Heights...all hilly suburbs just to name a few.

Ever driven on Barkley street past Essendon, Williamsons Road etc..much of the east, north east inner east, middle east, inner northwest, and immediate surrounds are much more undulating than what I would imagine Chicago to be.

It is not the an overly hilly place, but its isnt dead flat. The only area that is dead flat is the West, the North West where Tullamarine airport and freeway is located, and areas around the mouth of the river and immediately adjacent the bay as it is sandy loam and any river mouth is usually flat.

There are similarities to Chicago, but not as many as people may think.


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## Taller Better (Aug 27, 2005)

hkskyline said:


> From an urban planning perspective, Chicago has done a far better job embracing its waterfront than Toronto.


This is certainly the response we have been programmed to say.. but is it founded in fact? There are_ lovely_ things about the waterfront in Chicago, and a whole lot of ghastliness that people choose not to see (although quite frankly I am astounded that they seem to miss it). Let me present a few photos showing the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Chicago's waterfront. All pictures have been taken from various SSC threads and none are my own:























































So, despite some absolutely top notch developments on the Chicago waterfront over the past century (probably the best park was built a century ago), there exists impenetrable at-grade freeways hugging the waterfront with a veritable sunami wall of skyscrapers crowding up against it. I'm not so sure this is an example of "embracing the waterfront" as "putting the waterfront in a headlock". 
ps it is nice to see people enjoying the actual water in the last photo. For much of the rest of downtown the water's edge is unpolluted by actual human contact.


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## trainrover (May 6, 2006)

LordMandeep said:


> Toronto and Chicago are similar...





ale26 said:


> Toronto and Chicago are very very Similar





isaidso said:


> It is fitting that Chicago and Toronto are official sister cities.


^^ These three comments are astonishing. If the similarities lie in the shore-hugging gleaming residential tower blocks, then I`d agree, but the two cities surely offer more diversity in their respective ways to live and to look out there, no?!? Per N American customs -- or any custom, really -- and from my times visiting/living in those two cities, the communities neither look nor feel like its sibling.

Hmmmm, the last quote makes me think its fact`s indeed spawned its precedents . . .


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## ZZ-II (May 10, 2006)

LordMandeep said:


> Toronto and Chicago are similar...


agree, the only difference is that chicago has no TV tower


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## yin_yang (May 29, 2006)

trainrover said:


> ^^ These three comments are astonishing. If the similarities lie in the shore-hugging gleaming residential tower blocks, then I`d agree, but the two cities surely offer more diversity in their respective ways to live and to look out there, no?!? Per N American customs -- or any custom, really -- and from my times visiting/living in those two cities, the communities neither look nor feel like its sibling.
> 
> Hmmmm, the last quote makes me think its fact`s indeed spawned its precedents . . .


the two cities have different density patterns, so you could say that living in one would be different from the other. chicago seems to have a more uniform residental pattern consisting of midrises, while toronto does tend to acquire either detatched homes or high-rises. we are dealing with different cities, and i doubt life in each of them (apart from the CBD) would appear to be similar to many people. all depends on how similar you're talking: lifestyle or surroundings? i assume that due to the forum you are in, we are talking visual components; toronto and chicago is unquestionably different in that respect.


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## karim aboussir (Dec 4, 2006)

casablanca where I was born is chicago's sister city but is much smaller in size and population 
I do not know how big metro chicago is and what the area is
but casablanca 
population metro is 4 million 
size is 700 square miles


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## skyboi (Mar 30, 2008)

Any city that looks similar to Chicago is not a bad looking city, especially the way it embraces the waterfront is really nice , gotta love the last foto with the promenade right on the water there , omg, I just wanna lay there all day long on a sunny day


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

I think Montreal, Philadelphia, Boston and New York have a lot of similarities to Chicago. Miami is laid out like Chicago. Denver, Minneapolis and Seattle have very Chicago like apartment buildings.

Toronto and Chicago do not strike me as being similar. Detroit on the other hand reminds me of Chicago architecturally (what's left).

Chicago is a very art-deco city.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Chicago has always struck me as being like New York but smaller. Both cities have a feel to them that I haven't experienced elsewhere in the US.

Most Midwestern cities have the same vernacular architecture as Chicago, especially in late 19th early 20th century buildings. 

I have always thought that Midwestern apartment buildings from that era look like forerunners to a lot of the international style glass buildings but with different materials. They have similar lines. That doesn't have much to do with what cities are like Chicago though.


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## Mariachi McMuffin (Mar 28, 2008)

Its not a world city, but Milwaukee is by far the most similar city to Chicago in the world. Nearly identical layout and demographics. Toronto is probally the most similar big city in North America.


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## monkeyronin (May 18, 2006)

Montreal seems to have a lot of rowhouses similar to Chicago's.




philadweller said:


> I think Montreal, Philadelphia, Boston and New York have a lot of similarities to Chicago. Miami is laid out like Chicago. Denver, Minneapolis and Seattle have very Chicago like apartment buildings.
> 
> Toronto and Chicago do not strike me as being similar. Detroit on the other hand reminds me of Chicago architecturally (what's left).


The Toronto/Chicago comparisons are certainly debatable, but to say that Miami or Boston is more like Chicago is a bit of a stretch. Miami especially with the whole Miami/Miami Beach dynamic and lack of a strong central core. 

Also, architecturally, Detroit does not have much in common with Chicago in terms of its housing vernacular (it's closer to Toronto in that regard), but the art-deco high-rises in both cities seem to be of a general Midwest/Great Lakes style.


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

Taller said:


> This is certainly the response we have been programmed to say.. but is it founded in fact? There are_ lovely_ things about the waterfront in Chicago, and a whole lot of ghastliness that people choose not to see (although quite frankly I am astounded that they seem to miss it). Let me present a few photos showing the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Chicago's waterfront. All pictures have been taken from various SSC threads and none are my own:
> .
> .
> .
> ...


Well the lakefront walking/running/biking path is uninterrupted for it's entire length through the city, and from what I counted, there are 43 pedestrian access point either over or under Lakshore Drive. I think they've done a fairly decent job blending the road with the parkland on either side. The only area that's pushed the drive right near the lakeshore is through downtown, where there is no real parkland, just highrises directly along the lakefront. The only place anyone would have to cross lakeshore drive directly is also downtown, where most of the tourists are located. Everywhere else in the city, you can find walking paths that lead you under the road without having to deal with it.

Also, once you get away from downtown, people definitely enjoy the water in the rest of the city! The city maintains 29 beaches within the city, and they're quite crowded in the summer. Most people travel across to Michigan to enjoy beaches without huge crowds.


















































































You just gotta get away from downtown to see the lakefront open up...


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## oceanmdx (Dec 18, 2004)

Despite some differences, I still would agree with the others who claim that Chicago and Toronto are similar.


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

^^ 

Agree! Any 2 cities are going to have differences, but if you're going to pair another world city to Chicago, Toronto is the closest match.


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

Boston and Chicago are very simlar. Fenway Park and the surrounding neighborhoods is so much like Wrigley Field and its surrounding neighborhood.


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

I do agree about Milwaukee. A very miniature Chicago with a river and all.


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

Miami








Chicago


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## Hia-leah JDM (May 7, 2007)

Chicago and Miami share similiar skyline layouts, with waterfront buildings, huge parks near water, river cutting through, and just how long they both are. The similarities are pretty obvious once you know both places.


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

And they are art deco meccas.


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## Astralis (Jan 28, 2007)

Pavlov's Dog said:


> Buenos Aires has some similarities to Chicago. Surrounded by plains, water to the east, sprawling. Lot's of railroads. High density core, low density outside.


Not by far. BA has skyscrapers all over the city and it's all dense and huge. Chicago on the other hand has skyscrapers in the city center (Loop) but outside that area there are mostly houses and few story buildings to be found.


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## Jardoga (Feb 9, 2008)

mic said:


> Yer not sure about those comparisions. The majority of Melbourne's suburbs are hilly or undulating excluding the west, quite the opposite to that of Chicago. Melbourne sits on a sea water bay with bay beaches and the southern suburbs line the open ocean. Melbourne CBD is a grid but the remainder of the city is not so ridgid. There is a british aspect to Melbourne, but also a European Flair to the inner city, especially the CBD with its laneways, London Plane and Elm trees and the main boulervards entering the CBD, these being Flemington Road, Victoria Parade, Royal Parade, St Kilda Road, all of which a marketedly more european in nature than North American, although as with most new world cities similarities do exist between North American and Australian cities.
> 
> My cousins from Italy when coming here described Australia as being a mix of England and America, the Good from Europe and the bad from the new world. I wouldnt go as far as that, to me Australian cities are uniquley Australian.


Im just talking about the CBD itself, not anywhere else. My bad though.


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

philadweller said:


> I do agree about Milwaukee. A very miniature Chicago with a river and all.


I agree about Milwaukee, but the post question asked for world cities similar to Chicago. I've never considered Milwaukee to be in that category.


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

"My cousins from Italy when coming here described Australia as being a mix of England and America, the Good from Europe and the bad from the new world. I wouldnt go as far as that, to me Australian cities are uniquley Australian."

I'm not sure I understand this comment. Is it an insult to America? Last time I was in London I recalled seeing the "new world". America has buildings from the 1600's. 

Did he mean to say. Australia has great old dense neighborhoods like in England and endless sprawl like in America? Well America has great old dense neighborhoods like in England. Are we the one's responsible for the world's sprawl?


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## ArchiTennis (Jul 3, 2006)

the original post is way too broad. similar to chicago in what? buildings? layout? people? culture? geography? 

I doubt any city in the world can be compared to chicago..word-for-word. But many can be compared by just looking at some aspects of it.


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## Taller Better (Aug 27, 2005)

philadweller said:


> "My cousins from Italy when coming here described Australia as being a mix of England and America, the Good from Europe and the bad from the new world. I wouldnt go as far as that, to me Australian cities are uniquley Australian."
> 
> I'm not sure I understand this comment. Is it an insult to America? Last time I was in London I recalled seeing the "new world". America has buildings from the 1600's.
> 
> Did he mean to say. Australia has great old dense neighborhoods like in England and endless sprawl like in America? Well America has great old dense neighborhoods like in England. Are we the one's responsible for the world's sprawl?


It is fairly common for a number of Europeans to automatically judge New World cities on their perceived "European-ness"- in other words, Europe=Good, America=Bad. Not a very open minded approach, but I've witnessed it many times in my life.


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## trainrover (May 6, 2006)

isaidso said:


> to Chicago, Toronto is the closest match.


Hmmmm, would you mind listing all the former`s attributes that make its sibling its closest match, coz my perception on this matter`s not caught up to (just about) everybody else`s yet?


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## Taller Better (Aug 27, 2005)

If I remember correctly you were born and raised in Chicago, no? In my opinion the cities are quite similar. Both reasonably flat, spread out on a lake . Even the architecture is not dissimilar. If there is another city of this size in the world that is more similar to Chicago, then I am unaware of it. No two cities are identical, which is a good thing. Both Chicago and Toronto have their own feel and style .


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

trainrover said:


> Hmmmm, would you mind listing all the former`s attributes that make its sibling its closest match, coz my perception on this matter`s not caught up to (just about) everybody else`s yet?


As you asked so nicely, the answer is a resounding no. 

You're way too confrontational for me and I'm sure your mind is made up already, so it would be a pointless exercise on my part. I'm not interested in a fight, so I'll request, in the most polite way possible, that you ask some one else for clarification on the hundreds of possible arguments one could make on either side of this issue.



Taller said:


> If I remember correctly you were born and raised in Chicago, no? In my opinion the cities are quite similar. Both reasonably flat, spread out on a lake . Even the architecture is not dissimilar. If there is another city of this size in the world that is more similar to Chicago, then I am unaware of it. No two cities are identical, which is a good thing. Both Chicago and Toronto have their own feel and style .


That's how I look at it also. There are many cities that have some similarities, but I've yet to come across another world city that has more in common with Chicago than Toronto. As far as economic influence and stature, the differences between Toronto and Chicago will continue to lessen as Toronto's decades long boom continues. Demographically, the differences seem set to widen further as the immigrants continue to stream into Toronto at a far greater pace. 

Amongst Great Lakes cities, it's interesting to see how differently Detroit evolved. The automobile has certainly set a vastly different course for Detroit than it's more prosperous neighbours, Toronto and Chicago. Decline and the hollowing out of the downtown were 2 major factors. It seems that Toronto and Chicago are the 2 Great Lakes cities that have managed to prosper, while most of the rest are in a prolonged state of decline.


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

"Amongst Great Lakes cities, it's interesting to see how differently Detroit evolved. The automobile has certainly set a vastly different course for Detroit than it's more prosperous neighbours, Toronto and Chicago. Decline and the hollowing out of the downtown were 2 major factors. It seems that Toronto and Chicago are the 2 Great Lakes cities that have managed to prosper, while most of the rest are in a prolonged state of decline."

Back in the day when the great US westward migration was in full gear all Great Lakes cities were booming. Now that the country is settled it appears that American's prefer the ocean coast's to the Great Lakes. It is hard to find a city in severe decline on either coast.

Chicago made itself big enough to not be ignored. I can't think of any city in the Midwest that is a prosperous and healthy as Chicago. Same goes for Toronto.


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## Mariachi McMuffin (Mar 28, 2008)

The Midwest cities are coming around.


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## OMH (Aug 21, 2007)

I think Toronto is quite similar to Chicago , since both cities are located on a lake, and have a downtown located very close to the lakeshore, so that the skyline of both cities looks impressively (Chicago IMO is more impressive though) when viewed from the lake. Regarding the skyline, Miami also comes to my mind, because the skyline looks quite similar when viewed from Miami Beach i would say. Montreal also seems to be similar to Chicago in some aspects, because Montreal has a grid-layered street plan too, and the townhouses/ lowrise apartments look similar to the ones in Chicago (at least it seemed to me like this).. but most cities in the Northeast US and eastern Canada seem to look similar, with red-brick architecture predominating historically, and most of them have great skylines too.


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## trainrover (May 6, 2006)

OMH said:


> I think Toronto is quite similar to Chicago , since both cities are located on a lake


Hmmmm, might as well lump St-Clair`s Detroit, Erie`s Cleveland and Buffalo, and Michigan`s Milwaukee....

Uhm, partying`s *nothing* alike in Chicago and T-dot . . . those of you who say otherwise might really wanna start travelin`....

I dunno, it`s like taking your methodology by saying how alike Montreal`s to BA coz it too sits along a truly, mighty river . . .







isaidso said:


> Toronto's decades long boom continues


Funny, coz up here it`s been over a decade that the news reports that it`s its suburbs/satellite cities that are the GTA`s booming performers, buddy....








isaidso said:


> the answer is a resounding no.
> 
> You're way too confrontational for me


Heh heh, well at least my being a *spineless* sport *cannot* be claimed . . . you`re taking this _all_ far too seriously, silly....


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

philadweller said:


> I can't think of any city in the Midwest that is a prosperous and healthy as Chicago.


Minneapolis-St Paul has higher growth, higher income levels, lower crime, less segregation and a better underground music scene.


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

I should have rephrased that by saying "Great Lakes City". Minneapolis is not in the same vein as Duluth, Milwaukee, Chicago, Gary, Muskegon, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Erie and Buffalo.


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

Somnifor said:


> Minneapolis-St Paul has higher growth, higher income levels, lower crime, less segregation and a better underground music scene.


But at the same time Chicago is 3x as large, has grown by roughly half a million since 2000, and Minneapolis is 85% white, so there's less pressure for segregation. It also doesn't have the segregation history Chicago has, and we have 30% more minorities.

Chicago Income:

Metro Area 
Hispanic $41,494 
Non-Hispanic Asian $59,473 
Non-Hispanic Black $33,535 
Non-Hispanic White $59,903 

Poverty:

Asian 8.8% 
Black 24.6% 
Hispanic 16.3% 
Non-Hispanic White 4.4% 

Minneapolis Income:

Hispanic $39,300 
Non-Hispanic Asian $47,462 
Non-Hispanic Black $29,404 
Non-Hispanic White $56,642 

Poverty:

Asian 19.1% 
Black 26.2% 
Hispanic 17.8% 
Non-Hispanic White 4.1%


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## Taller Better (Aug 27, 2005)

trainrover said:


> Funny, coz up here it`s been over a decade that the news reports that it`s its suburbs/satellite cities that are the GTA`s booming performers, buddy....



That is to be expected, really, knowing what regional reporting is like in Canada. There is a tendency to downplay and underestimate the competition's (ie cities in other provinces) economy. Truth is Toronto's downtown has been booming like crazy... here is a rendering posted by Elkhanan, showing Toronto today, and what it will look like four or five years from now. The black buildings are projects that have are either in construction or plannned for construction. As you can see, downtown Toronto has not been snoozing as your reporters have been telling you!


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

trainrover said:


> Heh heh, well at least my being a *spineless* sport *cannot* be claimed . . . you`re taking this _all_ far too seriously, silly....


Beyond the entertainment value, some people are also interested in gaining new insights on certain issues and constructive respectful dialogue. It's fine if you aren't looking for a more academic discussion. I've simply recognized that my time is better spent in other conversations, that's all.



philadweller said:


> Back in the day when the great US westward migration was in full gear all Great Lakes cities were booming. Now that the country is settled it appears that American's prefer the ocean coast's to the Great Lakes. It is hard to find a city in severe decline on either coast.
> 
> Chicago made itself big enough to not be ignored. I can't think of any city in the Midwest that is a prosperous and healthy as Chicago. Same goes for Toronto.


That's a very good synopsis. There are quite a few studies that discuss optimal size for cities. Many conclude that cities need to reach a minimum critical mass of about 2 million to accumulate enough assets to ensure future appeal. In other cases, the threshold is much higher. I agree that it is Chicago's size that has enabled it to weather the regional decline relatively unscathed. 

The realities on the Canadian side are quite different. The idea of the nation being completely settled is bizarre to a Canadian since our nation is not even close to that situation, and will probably never be. Southern Ontario and Quebec is the only major population concentration in the entire eastern half of Canada. There simply aren't any more desirable regions in our east for populations to migrate to. This has played a huge role in ensuring sustained growth in southern Ontario cities. 

Chicago is big enough that it has continued to prosper. You are quite right about other US Great Lakes cities. Torontonians are constantly reminded of the situation on the American side by the proximity of Buffalo. 60 years ago, our cities were comparable. Today, there is no comparison. Toronto, has not only managed to prosper, but the boom never stopped. If anything, the boom has accelerated since the 70's.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Chicagoago said:


> But at the same time Chicago is 3x as large, has grown by roughly half a million since 2000, and Minneapolis is 85% white, so there's less pressure for segregation. It also doesn't have the segregation history Chicago has, and we have 30% more minorities.


What I said wasn't meant as a slight against Chicago, it is a great city. There are different cultural dynamics at work. I am only defending the honor of my Midwestern city. On the other hand people love to talk about how white the Twin Cities are, they never mention the fact that 15% of the students in Minneapolis public schools are mixed race which is by far the highest figure for an American city east or partially east of the Mississippi, but this is off topic and probably city vs. city. I have no problem saying that Chicago and Minneapolis both rock but in different ways and leave it at that.


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## luisf001 (Nov 3, 2007)

there are some cities in America that have some similarities with Chicago, for example Bogota Colombia have some small similarities with it


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## Mekky II (Oct 29, 2003)

monkeyronin said:


> ^^ Thats something that you'd only find in Chicago. New York's elevated trains only run through low-rise areas of the outer boroughs (and the tip of Manhattan), not skyscraper canyons as seen above.


But that's something that, outside US or North America, can be hard to be seen immediately ! I forget a funny thing, one day i showed a busy street of Chicago full of yellows cabs, the guy i was talking to on my MSN said me "oh i love NY !"... :lol:


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

Chicago is so different from other Great Lakes cities because there are blocks and blocks of rowhomes throughout the city. When I was in Chicago in October there were parts that felt like NYC, Philadelphia, Boston and Montreal. In the US only Philadelphia and New York seem the most similar because they are huge cities with Els and lots of folk walking everywhere. Also the Frederick Law Olmsted parks are another similar feature.

Miami is laid out like Chicago and has an elevated monorail but it is way too car dependent to really compare.

Detroit at one point probably was like a mini Chicago. I want to know why Chicago is the only major city in the Midwest besides Cincinnati and St. Louis with rowhomes.


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

One night I was taking a cab on Clark from Lakeview to Andersonville and at one point near a cemetery I got London deja vu. London has retail strips with residential between much like Chicago. It is a very organized layout in both cities and one is never far from retail corridors.


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

One big difference between Toronto and Chicago (aside from the Toronto skyline being perpendicular to the lake) is the scale. Chicago has gigantic parks and wide boulevards. Toronto at street level is on a much smaller scale. Streets are narrower and the parks are smaller. Toronto is intimate even in the downtown canyons. Yonge Street is much narrower than Michigan Avenue. I love both cities especially in the Summer. Toronto has the islands Chicago has the piers. As far as US cities go Chicago will always be one of my top 3. I just love the feel of it. I also love Toronto even though I think it feels more like a Canadian Northeastern US city (if that makes any sense).


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## algonquin (Sep 24, 2004)

To be honest, after having visited Chicago briefy twice, I don't think it's much like Toronto at all.


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

*philadweller and algonquin:* 

That's my sense of it as well. People are inclined to compare Toronto and Chicago because they are the 2 dominant cities on the Great Lakes, and they are somewhat comparable in population, Chicago being the larger. Beyond the obvious similarities, once you dig beneath the surface, they seem very different culturally and in demeanour.

Central Canada, of which Toronto is part of, has more in common with New York and New England than it does with the US midwest.


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## Astralis (Jan 28, 2007)

monkeyronin said:


> ^^ Thats something that you'd only find in Chicago. New York's elevated trains only run through low-rise areas of the outer boroughs (and the tip of Manhattan), not skyscraper canyons as seen above.


That's true... Most ppl outside US consider Manhattan to be only Downtown, Midtown and the area in between. If we see it like that, Manhattan has no elevated trains bc everything goes underground, altohugh some parts of northern Manhattan have elevated trains but you don't have comercial supertalls and highrises in that part. Seeing the picture above there is no question of which city is it about.


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## Astralis (Jan 28, 2007)

BTW has anyone mentioned Manilla as a possible Chicago look-alike?


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## tpe (Aug 10, 2005)

Astralis said:


> BTW has anyone mentioned Manilla as a possible Chicago look-alike?


In terms of the Bay, one can draw similarities. Daniel Burnham is of course the designer of both Lakeshore Drive in Chicago and Roxas Boulevard in Manila. Burnham was quite active in Manila during the turn of the century. See Burnham's 1905 Plan of Manila, and compare it to his magnum opus: the 1909 Plan of Chicago.


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## Shezan (Jun 21, 2007)

l' m sorry but there are NOT similar world cities to Chicago


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## alxrz (Feb 27, 2008)

well. i dont know chicago, but After it, Guadalajara is the city with the highest economical potential in America(America is a Continent not a country)


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## WrightTurn (Nov 7, 2008)

trainrover said:


> You do mean London, Yankeeland, right?
> 
> You know, I fail to recognize any of Rotton-0's stature/status at being an important or outstanding urban centre in the world . . . it's only a hick town....


As the birthplace of the skyscraper and the major center for development of American architecture from Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright to the debut in the 1940s and 50s of the curtain wall, Chicago is certainly an international center of culture. That's not counting its academic presence, its museum holdings or the Chicago blues....

Maybe you don't like what it offers but it offers a lot.


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## Mekky II (Oct 29, 2003)

WrightTurn said:


> As the birthplace of the skyscraper and the major center for development of American architecture from Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright to the debut in the 1940s and 50s of the curtain wall, Chicago is certainly an international center of culture. That's not counting its academic presence, its museum holdings or the Chicago blues....
> 
> Maybe you don't like what it offers but it offers a lot.


It offers Urkel too... :rofl:


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## earthbound14 (Nov 5, 2008)

Winnipeg, Canada is the only city I know of that once had the nick name "Little Chicago".

Back in the days when international style and modernism were all the rage Chicago was well known for its sense of style (Chicago Style - Between about 1900 and 1950). Winnipeg was at the time the 3rd largest city in Canada and copied the architectural styles of Chicago. The cities themselves are very different today, Winnipeg has stagnated while Chicago remains vibrant, but they share one similarity. Their old architectural style. Many of the buildings from this period are almost identical in both towns. A lot of Neo Roman, Neo-Gothic, International, early steel frame structures clad with brick and Prairie Style.

One example is the Eatons' building in Winnipeg and the Home Insurance Building in Chicago.


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

Does Winnipeg have rowhomes?


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## bayviews (Mar 3, 2006)

Winnepeg was considered the Chicago of Canada, Osaka is still considered the Chicago of Japan, Melborune could be the Chicago of Australia, etc.


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## earthbound14 (Nov 5, 2008)

philadweller said:


> Does Winnipeg have rowhomes?


it did, but they became slums and were torn down. There was a big push to make public housing and get rid of all the slums, now it has public housing slums.


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## Mollywood (May 23, 2007)

hkskyline said:


> From an urban planning perspective, Chicago has done a far better job embracing its waterfront than Toronto.


But Toronto's waterfront is just being developed into a more pedestrian friendly area. Many parts of Torontp's harbourfront are under development right now, including a huge park. (over 1000 acres, I believe) It will be a very different place in 5 to 10 years, so watch out Chicago.


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## Mollywood (May 23, 2007)

I think the reason that so many people from Toronto, think Chicago and Toronto are similar, is because Toronto newspapers are constantly comparing the two. I've read so many articles where we are told how great Chicago is, and what Toronto is doing wrong. Toronto writers seem to lavish praise on Chicago and it's waterfront, and almost never mention any of the negative things, while when they write about Toronto, it's always analyzing what is wrong with Toronto. Either we are trying to be too much like New York or not enough like Chicago. I don't remember ever reading an unfavourable article about Chicago, in any of Toronto's papers. Yet the Toronto media has a real hard time telling us about the things Toronto does right. No wonder we Torontonians have developed a bit of a complex. lol


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