Over the last month I found myself visiting dojos in the suburbs of Northern Virginia, where the silver line snakes west from DC, a tentacle pulling townships into the urban maw.
DC (I'm including the metro area in this) is the US city that most reminds me of Singapore. That's one of the reasons why I wouldn't live there unless I really had to.
- wide roads compared to older US cities so everything feels further apart
- metro stations are spaced far apart, similar to suburban rail---more similar to MRT spacing rather than e.g. NYC, Boston, Chicago subways.
- less interesting old architecture; even the institutional stuff that attracts tourists is, IMO, somewhat boring neoclassical architecture. You basically have a few somewhat generic neoclassical institutional buildings, and the majority of other buildings are 60s/70s concrete stuff derivative of brutalism but not that brutal. Contrast with the architectural diversity of Manhattan or downtown Chicago, where you have interesting buildings of all ages and styles, including cool modern buildings.
- In the inner suburbs (e.g Arlington) you have large apartment buildings interspersed with single-family-only zones, and the road design feels very car-centric with lots of wide arterials. It's an uncomfortable mix (for me) of planned density (apartment dwellers kept carefully away from rich people) and car dependency.
- in general everything feels much more planned and orderly; and less organic.
Other stuff:
- it's very clean compared to other large US metro areas. Physical cleanliness is not a bad thing in itself. But there's a kind of what I think of 'societal cleanliness':
- b/c of the dominance of government / govt contractor jobs, it feels like a very small-world city if you have a white collar job. Everyone looks very 'respectable' on the streets and in restaurants/bars. Even in the queer bars everyone is wearing blazers and nice sweaters.
DC (I'm including the metro area in this) is the US city that most reminds me of Singapore. That's one of the reasons why I wouldn't live there unless I really had to.
Oh fascinating - I'd love to hear more if you'd care to elaborate. It hasn't really struck me hard, but I'd love to know what to look for.
Thanks for reading, as always!
Urban design:
- wide roads compared to older US cities so everything feels further apart
- metro stations are spaced far apart, similar to suburban rail---more similar to MRT spacing rather than e.g. NYC, Boston, Chicago subways.
- less interesting old architecture; even the institutional stuff that attracts tourists is, IMO, somewhat boring neoclassical architecture. You basically have a few somewhat generic neoclassical institutional buildings, and the majority of other buildings are 60s/70s concrete stuff derivative of brutalism but not that brutal. Contrast with the architectural diversity of Manhattan or downtown Chicago, where you have interesting buildings of all ages and styles, including cool modern buildings.
- In the inner suburbs (e.g Arlington) you have large apartment buildings interspersed with single-family-only zones, and the road design feels very car-centric with lots of wide arterials. It's an uncomfortable mix (for me) of planned density (apartment dwellers kept carefully away from rich people) and car dependency.
- in general everything feels much more planned and orderly; and less organic.
Other stuff:
- it's very clean compared to other large US metro areas. Physical cleanliness is not a bad thing in itself. But there's a kind of what I think of 'societal cleanliness':
- b/c of the dominance of government / govt contractor jobs, it feels like a very small-world city if you have a white collar job. Everyone looks very 'respectable' on the streets and in restaurants/bars. Even in the queer bars everyone is wearing blazers and nice sweaters.
- it's as hot as sg in the summers lol
You had me at Lamb Tripe ;) love it xox