Toronto/Chicago comparisons

[ShonTron]

I'm guessing that "Toronto" figure includes Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Pickering, Whitby, and Ajax...or are those last 3 cities thrown in with Oshawa??

What does Hamilton include?

"Kitchener" must also mean Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph??

And most fascinatingly, what does the awful Barrie include to get such a number?

These are CMAs. Hamilton CMA includes Burlington and Grimsby. The Oshawa CMA includes Whitby and Clarington.

The Toronto CMA includes the entirety of York and Peel Regions, Oakville, Halton Hills, and Milton, Ajax, Pickering, and Uxbridge, plus Bradford-West Gwillimbury, Orangeville, Mono, and New Tecumseh.

Guelph is separate from Kitchener-Waterloo.

Barrie includes Innisfil and, Springwater.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Looking through the area there are a lot of cities founded in the early 1900s. The problem is that they're no longer "satellite" cities, because they are part of the continuous built-up area now, jobs are very much fluid over the boundaries, and the individual cities are really not independent economies anymore. Aurora and Naperville would be good examples

I’ve just returned from a few days in Naperville. What a lovely suburb, with a walkable and safe-feeling Main Street. As far as I could tell there’s no violence, graffiti, beggars or even litter.

Niche dubs Naperville the No. 1 best city to live in America for the first time

Naperville is the best city in which to live in the country. At least, that’s what Niche says.

www.chicagotribune.com

 

[just east of the creek]

I’ve just returned from a few days in Naperville. What a lovely suburb, with a walkable and safe-feeling Main Street. As far as I could tell there’s no violence, graffiti, beggars or even litter.

Niche dubs Naperville the No. 1 best city to live in America for the first time

Naperville is the best city in which to live in the country. At least, that’s what Niche says.

www.chicagotribune.com

Try the South Side or Rockford for comparison. Napierville is 75% white and Asian in makeup and has an impressive tax base to draw on. It reminds me of some other more midwestern small cities where investment in infrastructure is impressive and reflects strong tax bases as well.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Napierville is 75% white and Asian in makeup and has an impressive tax base to draw on. It reminds me of some other more midwestern small cities where investment in infrastructure is impressive and reflects strong tax bases as well.

Naperville’s downtown reminded me of Kleinburg, with evident wealth and a professional class.

 

[Towered]

Naperville’s downtown reminded me of Kleinburg, with evident wealth and a professional class.

Just checked out some photos on Google, and it seems to have a pretty, vibrant, and urban looking downtown. Doesn't seem overly suburban.

 

[vic]

The city limits were drawn by a psychopath.

 

[evandyk]

Looks like a North Toronto school district!

 

[allengeorge]

The city limits were drawn by a psychopath.

I would bet there was some redlining going on in the past. Haven’t bothered to check though.

 

[Northern Light]

View attachment 561796
The city limits were drawn by a psychopath.

A very common phenomenon in many U.S. metros. Detroit has 2 'cities' carved out within its limits.

But more amusing might be the the City of Los Angeles:

From: https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/news/so-do-i-actually-live-in-l-a-110122


Note that grey is not Los Angeles (City) but the various colours are....... (Council Districts)

 

[rdaner]

Interesting video comparing the two but I wonder at some of the stats.

 

[Towered]

Never been to Chicago, but I'm mildly curious about it. Recently was asked by work if I'd like to take a trip to our site there to train one of the teams, but I turned down the offer.

 

[AlbertC]

Never been to Chicago, but I'm mildly curious about it. Recently was asked by work if I'd like to take a trip to our site there to train one of the teams, but I turned down the offer.

I made my first ever visit to Chicago last month. Didn't stay long though, so not enough time to gather opinions about extensive neighbourhoods, transit system, etc. Arrived on a Friday evening and had dinner in the Bridgeport area, which is considered to be on the Southside of the city, but I found to be quite well maintained and had a good vibe to it. Then drove around the surrounding area for a bit at night, including the main street in Chinatown, which from the surface felt a bit like Montreal's Chinatown, albeit being a longer strip and a more Midwest feel in some of the buildings. Then drove to the southwest outskirts of the city for a cheap-ish hotel to stay the night.

Did some shopping at a nearby big box plaza in the morning afterwards, and then went to the La Grange area for Trader Joe's. The area looked pretty nice on the drive. Sort of had a Bloor West Village feel, but with more American/Midwest style architecture. Then went downtown to spend the midday, early afternoon in the Millennium Park, and the Loop area. In terms of architectural quality, and scale of everything in the area I'd say it definitely lived up to its billing. Certainly a feeling of presence and grandeur, especially on the main section of Michigan Avenue as it faces the park. Lots of people abuzz, further increased by it being the Mexican Independence Day that weekend.

We only ventured a couple street westward into the Loop and then came back out as we didn't have a lot of time. The street life gradually fades afterwards, but that's only from a small sample size of exploring in the Loop on a weekend. We then drove to the Wicker Park area. Didn't really get a chance to step out and walk, but the area had a cool vibe to it. Had some similarities to the Mile End area in Montreal.

We then left in the afternoon and headed to Valparaiso, Indiana to attend a cousin's wedding lol. Saw some parts of Ann Arbor, Michigan as well on the way back home. And also visited Nashville a couple weeks ago, but I'll leave those for future appropriate threads lol.

All in all, I would consider visiting Chicago again to see it in further detail.

 

[gabe]

I made my first ever visit to Chicago last month. Didn't stay long though, so not enough time to gather opinions about extensive neighbourhoods, transit system, etc. Arrived on a Friday evening and had dinner in the Bridgeport area, which is considered to be on the Southside of the city, but I found to be quite well maintained and had a good vibe to it. Then drove around the surrounding area for a bit at night, including the main street in Chinatown, which from the surface felt a bit like Montreal's Chinatown, albeit being a longer strip and a more Midwest feel in some of the buildings. Then drove to the southwest outskirts of the city for a cheap-ish hotel to stay the night.

Did some shopping at a nearby big box plaza in the morning afterwards, and then went to the La Grange area for Trader Joe's. The area looked pretty nice on the drive. Sort of had a Bloor West Village feel, but with more American/Midwest style architecture. Then went downtown to spend the midday, early afternoon in the Millennium Park, and the Loop area. In terms of architectural quality, and scale of everything in the area I'd say it definitely lived up to its billing. Certainly a feeling of presence and grandeur, especially on the main section of Michigan Avenue as it faces the park. Lots of people abuzz, further increased by it being the Mexican Independence Day that weekend.

We only ventured a couple street westward into the Loop and then came back out as we didn't have a lot of time. The street life gradually fades afterwards, but that's only from a small sample size of exploring in the Loop on a weekend. We then drove to the Wicker Park area. Didn't really get a chance to step out and walk, but the area had a cool vibe to it. Had some similarities to the Mile End area in Montreal.

We then left in the afternoon and headed to Valparaiso, Indiana to attend a cousin's wedding lol. Saw some parts of Ann Arbor, Michigan as well on the way back home. And also visited Nashville a couple weeks ago, but I'll leave those for future appropriate threads lol.

All in all, I would consider visiting Chicago again to see it in further detail.

On your next visit make sure you do a 90 minute architecture river boat tour. It's extraordinary! Worth every penny. It's the perfect tour for us architecture nerds. You can get some incredible photos as you sail down river surrounded by skyscrapers. I've done it three times now. I never get tired of it.

CAC River Cruise aboard Chicago's First Lady

Led by the Chicago Architecture Center's expertly trained docent volunteers, this 90-minute cruise reveals fascinating stories behind Chicago's majestic buildings in a way no other tour can.

www.architecture.org

 

[Admiral Beez]

On your next visit make sure you do a 90 minute architecture river boat tour.

I highly recommend it too. We had a great day out.

 

[felix123]

Never been to Chicago, but I'm mildly curious about it. Recently was asked by work if I'd like to take a trip to our site there to train one of the teams, but I turned down the offer.

Was it on the outskirts of town or something? Chicago's great. Not one to be missed.