US versus European Cities

[DanS]

Originally posted by atawa


Hmm, our suburbs are made out of concrete and bricks, maybe with a wooden layer on top to make it look good but thats about it.

Witch northern european cities are you talking about??

Where do you live, atawa?

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Spiffor

Suburbs = where urban people live. The Suburbians don't have a village lifestyle, but a city lifestyle (they work in the city, they shop in the city, they get their entertainment from the city etc).

Ergo, urban sprawl is an important aspect of comparing US vs European cities.

Spiff, there originally was the urban and the rural. The suburb was specifically designed as a place where you were outside of the city but not entirely rural. They started in the late 19th century along light rail lines so that the father could take the train into the city to work each day but once the car became common then suburbs really took off. They are specifically low density housing areas so that everyone can have a big yard and pretend to be in the country when they are actually just outside the city.

[atawa]

Originally posted by DanS


Where do you live, atawa?

In the city of Leiden in Holland.

Since we live in a delta there was never a shortage of sand and clay, and becouse of our geographic position we could easily import wood from the east sea.
Almost everything pre WWII is made of bricks with wooden beams and roofing and clay tiles on top., standing on wooden poles driven into the ground.

Nowadays they either build it right out of concrete with plaster on top or put one layer of bricks or wood on the outside walls to make it look slightly better.

Its the same in most countries I visit in north-western europe I visit but I guess it will be different in Scandinavia.

[Dauphin]

I live outer suburbia of London. Most houses are made of cinder blocks and brick, often with partial plaster facades. Tudor-esque facades are especially popular in my area.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Spiffor

Suburbs = where urban people live. The Suburbians don't have a village lifestyle, but a city lifestyle (they work in the city, they shop in the city, they get their entertainment from the city etc).

Ergo, urban sprawl is an important aspect of comparing US vs European cities.

As Oerdin stated, suburdbia is not meant to be Urban living. The main article compared Urban living, and suburbia is NOT an example of it.

Certainly one can speak about how flight from the cities has affected American cities, specially how many cities in the US, St. Louis or Detroit being the most glaring examples, have shrunk in the last 50 years as people move from the City to area's around it. That still does not make a suburb part of a city.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by atawa

Nowadays they either build it right out of concrete with plaster on top or put one layer of bricks or wood on the outside walls to make it look slightly better.

I noticed that in the Balkans people did something similiar. They'd build most of the house out of concrete with some rebar added in for strength then they'd add on bricks to the outside to make it look more old fashioned and/or more appealing. Not a bad way to build as the houses looked to be virtually bomb proof.

In California many of the pre-WW2 homes are built out of brick and/or concrete but post WW2 everything except for highrises are built out of wood and covered with stucko since wood can bend during earthquakes and thus are more likely to survive without damage.

[GePap]

Wood frame buildings are cheap, since lumber is so plentiful in the US, they are quick to build with less skilled labor, and can be mass produced more easily than brick or concrete homes.

Those are the qualities I would peg as the reason why wood frame construction dominates American suburbs and urban sprawl.

As for Latin America, most new homes in Panama City's urban sprawl are concrete homes. You see wood, but its nowhere near as popular as concrete.

[TCO]

USA. We don't want to be like wimpy Eurocoms.

[Colonâ„¢]

Went for a tour along the riverfront and made these pictures. I'm aware some of you may not appreciate these buildings but that's because you're a traditionalist who can't deal with anything beyond petty faux-historical architecture.

[Provost Harrison]

Please make it stop...

[Colonâ„¢]

Pictures of Poundbury, for those who like to dabble with petty sentimentalism.

[Provost Harrison]

I remember someone on about that place at some point - it's somewhere near Dorchester isn't it?

[Colonâ„¢]

Designed by Prince Charles.

[Provost Harrison]

That wouldn't surprise me in the slightest

[DanS]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
Please make it stop...