As an OG NotJustBikes hater… I’m very happy to see channels with comprehensive understanding of the situation here who aren’t just peddling doom and gloom bullshit for clicks.
@@MelGibsonFan 'doom and gloom bullshit' as in telling people they can want better for themselves instead of waiting 3 years for a painted bike lane and maybe a sidewalk or two to be installed and calling it a day, am right? but that hurts your feelings :(
@@Lildizzle420 Apparently you don't keep up with current events in the transportation sector. CAHSR has been under construction for years. Brightline service is active AND expanding in Florida, and Brightline West is in the planning stages. Texas Central has hit some rough patches but had support from both the Trump and Biden administrations, scored a major court victory, and reached an agreement with JNR as recently as April 2024. Amtrak received a significant funding boost and recently purchased new motive power units and rolling stock. I saw a bunch of new trains and upgraded stations throughout the Midwest last summer. A number of regions (DC, DFW, LA, Austin, etc) are renovating, rebuilding, and expanding urban rail transit services, as well as adding infill stations to existing lines. She did say "BEGINNING," so your laughter is both misplaced and a bit creepy. Weirdo. 🤣
@@colormedubious4747 I think putting "creepy" and "weirdo" is a really lame personal attack like you feel I personally attacked you. (I didn't) just for the record, the USA has completed 235 miles that travel at the min speed of 125 MPH. period.
LOL! It boils down to “It could be worse. You could be living in Canada.” Is it ever a wonder that many of these urbanism YT channels originated out of Canada?
I live in DC and it is pretty sweet in terms of urbanism. I no longer get upset about not being able to walk places and I have found new things to be upset about. (My new thing I am pissed off about is the lack of public bathrooms in the US)
@@Frantastic78 They must be! Personally I consider JC to be the "sixth borough" of NYC. It's got better transit AND road connections to Manhattan than Staten Island!
I, for one, enjoy snarky angry urbanism. But I'm also a fan of this channel and its insistence on constructive optimism. I'm for anything that isn't car centric doomerism.
You need both in this world. Angry urbanism has its place. But so does optimism. In society we definitely have an over saturation of negative media, and not enough positive media.
@@robertcartwright4374 agreed, NJB is the angry wake-up call that stuff sucks, but other channels like this one and City Beautiful provide a more optimistic and constructive answer on what to do about it. We need both.
I love the optimism but I do also think it's worth noting this is part of what frustrates U.S. urbanists and affordable housing advocates. The US (especially the west coast imo) genuinely has the potential to be one of the best places to live in the world and it's being squandered on car centrism and unaffordable single-family homes and luxury condos.
If you are an California voter, subscribe to the California YIMBY's mailing list. It doesn't work miracles, but they are doing decent work to have the state push against NIMBY anti-density laws. They particularly do a good job of letting people know when pro-urban legislation is available to contact legislators about. They are less focused on the free market capital forces that make housing expensive, but their stance against zoning barriers to affordable housing are wonderful.
@jonathanraithel1025 I'm not from California but I agree. In general it's a good idea to look into urbanist movements in your area if you can find any. As of now none are really mountain moving but it's a growing movement that's being taken more and more seriously
the happiez country in the world is Findland , Switzerland and Norway , not USA . I am canadian and i dont understand why you call your country by a fake name ''America'' . the real name of your country is United States . Money is the only value in the USA plus violence, daily mass shootings, xenophobia , racism and inequity .
@BabyGirlDontEvenPlay I'm not saying cars and trucks are useless and have no place and society, very few people are. It's just important to have other options for getting around and designing around cars only tends to lead to bad city design
@BabyGirlDontEvenPlay to elaborate on my previous comment, if you just love cars, good for you, more transit means less traffic. But some people can't afford to drive, have medical issues that make it hard for them, or just don't like it and it doesn't make sense to force them to do so anyway. Both for their own sake and for the sake of people who *do* love driving because it means less people in your way on the road and less people who have no business operating a car being forced to do so
Nice video. As someone who has lived in DC and Bostom, those cities are definitely urban gems that I have loved living in. I think the US issues are cultural. There is a stark divide between people that like cities and people that hate cities, but live in them because that's where the jobs are (there are sooooo many of these people in every US metro). These people often live in the suburbs or exurbs and have am outsized say in state policy which tends to impose itself downward onto more progressive cities, stalling progress. (See NY congestion pricing) Also, the US is very stratified economically and the neighborhoods you mention tend to be unaffordable for most working class people. Best way to say it is, the US has great urbanism for the rich and also sometimes decent urbanism for everyone else.
I think a lot of it if demographic rather than political. Most NIMBYs tend to be older and part of the generation that built for sprawl. Younger demos across the political spectrum are more pro-build (whether because of urbanism or the desire to afford housing).
I couldn't agree more, as someone who has also lived in the DMV and Boston. It hurts my heart sometimes when people show the great urbanism in Boston (usually the North End) and that's just not the Boston that I get to live in.
2:30 this point is SO UNDERRATED. The reason why very few people actually leave the United States (relative to the people who claim they "hate it here" online or claim they're moving to Canada or Europe) is that the US is that every city and region feels like a different shade of America. It's nearly impossible NOT to find some corner or region of the United States that you can't jive with eventually.
@@Swiss2025 it's a linguistic difference. No English speaker calls The Americas, "America." To us, America = the United States. I know in other languages it's different, but that's not the way it is in English.
"The reason why very few people actually leave" No, that's one reason. A much bigger reason is that emigration is hard. It's simply a lot easier to move within the US than to move to another country.
There's plenty of other things too that can be great for U.S urbanism. Let's not forget the potential of very wide roads that can: 1.) Carry future bike lanes and bus lanes while still having room for wide sidewalks. 2.) Enable the construction of subways or elevated lines relatively hassle free. 3.) Hold plenty of mixed-use development potential since they are lined with large properties usually belonging to only one owner (big box stores and strip malls with huge surface parking).
While modifying the roads with various methods is absolutely a good idea, I think redeveloping the vast seas of parking lots into more walkable spaces would help even more (which you touched on with 3).
the real name of your country is United States . America is the name of 2 continents not a name of a country . I am canadian and we live on the same continent and USA does not own Canada or the continent .
Another excellently perspicacious entry from Oh The Urbanity! I'm a U.S. fan of yours currently living through the blast-furnace summer of a sunbelt city autopolis as I long for Montreal. I appreciate your fundamental optimism. There's more good urbanism to be found even in this part of the country than one would expect. Problem is, there's not nearly enough of it and creating more will require a long term counter-cultural struggle with entrenched bureaucratic inertia, highway-centric transportation policy, and NIMBYist opposition (15-minute cities are a communist plot to take away our cars=mobility=freedom!). Things will change but will come about much more slowly in some regions than others.
6:53 living in Baltimore and being in the middle of all this, for significantly less than the costs our neighbors pay, is wonderful. I like being able to visit DC, Philly, or New York whenever I want with zero planning.
👍Thanks for this, US really does have have at least a few good examples of “missing middle” neighborhood cities , older pre auto towns too, that we all should appreciate more, fan from Brooklyn here, would love to see you guys take on NYC outer boroughs in an episode, 400 years of good and awful urban planning, diversity, gentrification etc. keep up the great work!!
Currently a Texas resident, but have been considering a move to Chicago. The weather does not deter me, and in fact the idea of living in a place with all 4 season sounds really appealing. It just seems “right” for it to be chilly for Halloween/football season, snowing for Christmas, and warming up (or starting to) for baseball season. Where I’m at, it’s hot (ie >90°) for more than half the year. And for maybe 3 months it’s extremely uncomfortable to be outdoors, with temps consistently over 100°. We get maybe 1 freeze per year, and basically the entire state shuts down because we don’t have the infrastructure for it. I’m tired of it! I want seasons!!!
Thank you for helping me to appreciate the good qualities of my country. There's so much going wrong here right now it's good to get a reminder of our strengths, too.
Thanks for this video. It really makes me feel proud of my country's urbanism even though there are many flaws which require much work to fix them. Happy Independence Day, and thanks for the optimism and positivity!
This is what I like about your channel. You definitely try to be a little bit more upbeat while being somewhat critical, you also do listen to your viewers for which I appreciate. USA may not be perfect get it changing, with more urbanism 🇺🇲🇨🇦
Great video, thanks for the positivity. There's so much Ameriphobia in these discussions that it's impossible to have a constructive conversation with people about these topics. Glad to see videos like this pull us back to the middle.
Thanks for the endorsement; like many Americans in this fraught election year, in the midst of focusing on our many alarming shortcomings, I often forget that there are many corners of this country that are actually pretty decent.
I really appreciate how positive and optimistic you guys are. Your channel gives me hope that I might not have to move to Amsterdam in order to use my bike to get around.
Good video. I've been in the Northeast Corridor my whole life, raised outside of Philly, now in DC, and I can't believe how I used to think Boston was "far". It's truly an amazing thing about this area of the US. One thing that needs to change in how Americans perceive cities it that NYC is the outlier in terms of size. We call places like Baltimore and Sacramento small and it leads to to expect less in terms of the ability to have viable transit. Would love for that to change
Great video, thank you! American friends are often jealous of me living in Europe, cause there's so many different countries nearby. But like you said, the US also has so much variety, and you don't need to worry about currency or language when you travel.
As a North American, I found the streets in the UK not very pedestrian-friendly because they were so narrow... Sure, the US and Canada could definitely rededicate a bit of car space to pedestrians and cyclists, but the fact there is room enough to do that in our wide rights-of-way is a huge advantage that I think also goes underappreciated.
I'm British and I agree. American cities have good bones. Even the suburbs and stroads have plenty of space to build really nice mixed use streets. Over here, we can barely find space to fit a narrow bike lane in half the time.
The problem with what you're saying is that you think that "rededicating a bit of car space to pedestrians and cyclist" is the answer when ths goal should be returning the space to pedestrians and cyclists ins denser urban areas and allowing only necessary car ussage in them. A narrow street in the UK should pedestrianized with cars as guests. Apart from that, the UK is the reason for how the US, Canada. australia or New Zealand are. They are the source of the way you are, with onviouse differences that occured over time but the basics are the same. The problem in the US is that it became a bit too extreme and without changing fundumental things it will not change, or maybe in the end most of the US does not want this to change, which is OK if that's whatt you prefer.
@@AL5520It's not that the US doesn't want change, but that those who wield political power at the ballot box or in the lobbies do not want the US to change, except what Project 2025 which is anti urban in its manifesto promises.
@@EdwardM-t8p The will for change is not measured by polls, it is measured by who's voting and when in the last 3 elections (2018/2020/2022) only 37% turned out for all of them and 30% to non of them that's what happens. If you actually want something you need to act and voting is one of the most important thing and should be done in every election that you can do, locally, state or federal. The problem is that you system is convoluted, fragmented and gives too much power to small groups and that's the first thing you need to change. Is it hard? very hard to what can look impossible but,as you can see, those who keeps at it and use every trick in the book gets what they want. What I'm saying is that without fundamental change this won't happen. I get it that you want this, I want the US to have this to, but maybe you should fight first for the main thing that prevents it from happening.
This was such a fantastic video that I've already told my wife that we're going to rewatch it later tonight when we have time together because I want to discuss it with her at length. I've followed your channel since living in Montreal. The pursuit of my interests (one of them being urbanism) has now landed me in Japan though I miss N. America so I might return eventually. That said, with the affordability crisis (among other things), I might not even come back to Montreal and just head to the States for many of the reasons you've explained in this video. I say this as a bicycle-loving Europhile Canadian myself; Canadians & Europeans often seem to have such a bias against the U.S. that tends to overshadow factual strong points about living there. You did a great job of going through a bunch of things that is amazing about anyone living in the U.S.
i've thought for a while that my favorite part of US cities is diversity, though i've always kinda meant that in terms of population demographics and not the cities themselves. it was interesting to see your perspectives about this
Great video and a good reminder that good urban spaces can be found anywhere! Funnily enough, I’ve made many of the same points to US folks over the years, particularly in regards to housing affordability and choice. While I acknowledge housing is expensive in the U.S. (especially in certain cities like SF, LA, etc), the fact they have so many options when it comes to urban locations- some of which are still relatively affordable- is really great and a positive thing! I come from one of the non-US countries mentioned in the video, and am currently living in another one 😂 And when half your population lives in just two or three cities, all of which are extremely unaffordable, it really narrows your options for adorable urban living. Not to mention (and arguably the more serious issue), it means that housing and economic policies have an impact on a much larger share of the population than in the US, which you think would make our governments more likely to do something to alleviate these issues, but vested interests gonna vest, i guess?
The 4 biggest cities of Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, a good 12 hour drive away Brisbane, a good 12 hour drive away, in the other direction Perth, a good 36+ hours drive through the desert and barely a settlement across opposite ends of a continent Texas is lucky to have 3 cities within walking distance of each other.
The transit comparison was a bit weird. There are 39 weekday trains from Sydney (5.8m) -> Newcastle (0.5m), a birds-eye distance of 120km, which they discount for being interstate, while there are while 48 trains from New York (8m) -> Philly (1.5m), a birds-eye distance of 135km
@@midnight8045 I thought this too! Sydney Central to Melbourne Southern Cross is 730km. DC to NYC is 330km, less than half the distance. I do understand that was their point but felt a stretch to compare them
I live in one of those small college towns in the Midwest and the central two or three square miles of the city is indeed very walkable, and the streets were just naturally built narrow enough and intersections are close enough together that cars usually move pretty slowly, making me feel comfortable riding a bike through downtown as well.
Unmatched cultural diversity. By far America’s greatest strength. New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, and San Francisco are some of the most racially and culturally diverse cities on the planet.
Why did you leave off Philadelphia with just a throw away remark? Too many just ignore the area between NYC and DC. Millions of people live there. PHL itself is the 6th largest city in the US. 😮
That definitely is a strength - sadly your politicians, your political system favoring corporations and the blithe acceptance of massive inequality take away from that strength.
The inequality isn't that bad, I don't think Europeans even realize Mississippi, the poorest US state, is about as rich as Germany per person. It can be incredibly unequal and we're all still doing better than you.
Thanks for this video, it was great! It helps to consider that the US is a very large and diverse country and Americans can move around. Hopefully that will mean more urbanism coagulating in cities enough for a tipping point into positive change.
Thanks for making this video. As an American it's often frustrating to see other Americans treat other countries as some perfect utopia compared to a worthless US, totally ignoring the stuff we actually do pretty well and how we can take advantage of that. Obviously most urban areas here still have a LONG way to go, but there are bright spots that can serve as a model for other areas. The doomerism and escapist fantasy really gets old after a while - lets enjoy what we have and make the rest better!
Vancouver is isolated from the rest of Canada, so all of our resources go to connecting BC to Washington (and Oregon). Funding for a high speed train (Cascadia high speed rail) from Vancouver to Seattle to Portland is underway with a 2035 expected opening date.
That was a cool video. I always hear how US is lacking compared to other cities worldwide. It is true to an extent. But you also brought the huge diversity to my attention. I also appreciate the independence day shout out!
@BabyGirlDontEvenPlayno, it’s just that when one nation is economically and militarily dominant other nations have to protect their ego via perceived cultural superiority of which city building is a part of that. The UK and France used to have massive militaries that controlled much of the world but the second that was no longer true they criticize the US military budget and make healthcare “jokes”.
Lived in Ottawa, and visited Montreal and Toronto in the past. Now I live in DC. There are lots of things I miss about Canada but I'll say my personal list of what I appreciate about living here: 1. The Northeast Corridor (I can travel to New York for some really good food and come back in one day without touching my car once) 2. Haven't gotten bored of travelling in Eastern US after 12 years, and I still have the other 50% of the country to explore later 3. So many trees here
Montreal is one of the the greenest city in North america , largest urban parks in Canada with roof tops urban farms managed by AI , world s most sustaianble city ( 100 % green energy ). 80 % of Quebeckers ( province of Quebec ) live surrouned by nature with more than 500,000 lakes , dense forests and unique rich eco system ( from whales in the ST Lawrence to teh Rockies of the East for helicopter skiing in the Chic Chocs . Montreal has the second highest number of restaurants per capita after New York city with 400 years of history , teh canadian capital of culture , architecture in both official languages of Canada , english and french .
wow I did NOT realize how lucky we were in north carolina! i take the raleigh to charlotte amtrak all the time and thought 5 trains a day each direction was quite normal for two large-to-mid sized city’s 😅
Good to see some positive perspectives. We talk so much about the issues and sometimes we ignore the good aspects of American cities. Living in Canada, I am definitely a bit jealous of the great diversity of cities and climates in the USA. Here in Canada we have way less options and everything is so far apart, so unconnected.
Really, it is the History of the settlements, that allow for the "closeness" of the major US cities you mention. The Colonies were founded on the Ocean, really not too far from each other, to facilitate trade amongst themselves and back to the old countries. Canada was just so different, Once you get to Niagara, where are you going to go easily? And the whole British/French history made it less favourable for us here in the Centre of the Universe to travel down the St Lawrence. Then we were slower getting the West to join in, and had to promise a Railroad we needed, but maybe did not really want. I think, on a proportionate basis, we are very consistent with the US (or were) and it might have more to do with new immigrants coming to Toronto, or Montreal or Vancouver, as they can very easily find some aspect of a culture from where they have come from to soften the transition. Great video essay.
I think Toronto does have plenty of the type of neighborhood you're referring to. The houses are sometimes technically detached or semi-detached, but the density level is similar.
@@TheKenContinuum Toronto has some older, more urban neighbourhoods but they're less dense (more yard space, driveways, buildings are typically shorter, many are semi-detached instead of rowhouse or low-rise apartments) and not as big (they end and turn into suburbia sooner) as the other cities we're thinking about. This isn't some full-hearted condemnation of the city. It's just a type of neighbourhood we enjoy that isn't as present there.
4:46 another example of a city with great bike infrastructure is Madison Wisconsin. It's a major college town, is the state capital, AND it's constricted to an isthmus between two lakes, making everything quite compact and perfect for biking.
The mistake made in this video and often made by any organization rating places to live is that hot weather is preferable. Perhaps to some but I hate hot weather. Loathe it. Lived in Las Vegas and was miserable. Miami is miserable. The heat and humidity - Ugh. Many humans prefer cool and even cold weather. I must have a white Christmas. Favorite season is fall with the cool crisp air and magnificent colors one finds in the northeast and great lakes. And San Diego? Boring.
Yes! I see this in so many urbanism videos like this. The major city I grew up closest to is Philadelphia, and I've never desired to live in another climate, though it often gets a rap for having "worse weather" than CA and some southern cities. I'm fond of snow, rain, fog, etc...
Climate change will soon make the sunbelt practically uninhabitable and the northern cities more temperate. would not be suprised in 50 years to see arizona texas and florida go "full rust belt" with decaying cities, declining population, all that currently-new car infrastructure falling apart, and the endless cheap-as-shit-built suburbia left to rot. those cheaper wintery cities will not be cheap for long.
4:33 College and University are two different terms in the US as well, we just say ‘college’ in place of ‘university’ in laid back conversations/small talk because it’s easier
Born and raised Floridian but haved lived on the west coast and visited many NE cities for work. It's pretty surprising how the hosuing stock can vary between regions. I'm definitely a huge fan of the multistory dense dingbat and courtyard apartments and the beach towns of SoCal. Way better than the tall AF condos that line many beachfronts in Florida. I just wish that California kept building dingbats, but it appears illegal due to newer parking minimums.
Dingbats are also not very sturdy in earthquakes, at least the older LA style of dingbat. Not something you want in California -- I think safety was as big a factor as parking minimums. You can still have buildings with parking structures at the bottom, of course, but multistory garages with huge concrete columns have a very different aesthetic.
One thing I'll me tip about amtrak outside the northeast corridor, and largely due to the length of freight trains to get around the requirement that passenger trains have right of way, is that anywhere else that they share tracks with freight rail, the delays are constan and terrible. I have a friend who takes amtrak from Denver up to Nebraska when he visits home, and every single time he goes it's anywhere from 8-17 hours delayed
Beyond the way that negative engagement feeds the algorithm, I like to think that the reason that American urbanists in these cities are so negative online is BECAUSE they can see the promise in their cities, and are so frustrated by the many stupid and self-sabotaging ways that their cities (and particularly the people that run them) actively attempt to diminish or otherwise steer away from these qualities, in favor of suburban & car-brained policies that cater to people who wouldn't enjoy the city if you PAID them to!
Really appreciate Canadian neighbors pointing out good things about the US. So many Canadians define themselves by what they're not - the US, and sometimes it can have a little bit of an edge to it. But we're not just neighbors; we're family, and the US is lucky to have Canada next door.
The regional-intercity corridors are very underrated. I've not been out east to experience the likes of Empire Builder and the new Borealis, but I took Amtrak for my first time just to do a day trip to San Francisco from Sacramento. The timetable and speed could use improvement, but the time including local transit on SacRT, BART, and Muni came out comparable to doing the same trip by car, with the bonus of not having to deal with intense traffic whose evening commute hour starts at 1, and getting incredible views across pretty much the whole trip.
Yeah, he can be a little one-sided. I think he's still important, though, because I don't think I would have realized there was a problem without his more confrontational style.
I feel he was the one that kickstarted the “orange pill” and “urbanist” content sphere on UA-cam. However, just complaining doesn’t solve anything. I’m glad this sphere is moving away from complaining and towards finding silver linings and educating on how to actually contribute to positive change
NJB is entry level urbanism. His no-punches-pulled "this sucks on a fundamental level" attitude is very effective at waking people up from exceptionalist complacency. There are different tools for different purposes. A hammer is not bad just because it can't be used as a drill.
Oh The Urbanity is hands down the most understanding and realistic urbanist channels on UA-cam. For anyone that’s pro-car and is trying to understand urbanism and urbanists, this is the #1 channel that I would recommend.
His channel works at pointing out the inadequacies in how suburbs and transit came to be in North America. I just find his solution (be exactly like the Netherlands) limiting since there is no one size fits all fix, and unfortunately, too many urbanists have fallen into that mindset. This channel avoids it by showing how things can be altered to be more livable and sustainable.
I grew up near Philadelphia (outside Wilmington, Delaware), and lived in DC for well over a decade. I now live in Denver, and I miss so much the interconnectedness of our East Coast cities. Besides AMTRAK, which I could rarely afford, there are several competing bus lines connecting the urban centers. When lived behind Union Station (in Eckington, DC) I would sometimes catch the 7a bus to NYC. We'd get in around 11a, then I'd wander for 8+ hours before catching a late late bus back to DC. Where'd I'd walk home after midnight from Union Station. I also miss the urban-ness of the East Coast, something Denver lacks. I like my neighrbohood here, a lot. But it should be the 4th or fifth neighborhood from downtown, not the first. Even Wilmington, DE feels more like a city than Denver does. But I appreicate this kind take on my country. I often get down about how sprawling and car-centric we are. But we have a lot going for us and we are fortunate to have all that we do!
I live in Jersey City and work in Hoboken... we're more New York than Staten Island. Realtors have started talking about a "SoHo West" accessible from West Village with the PATH lol
Living on the west coast I know people from Seattle to San Diego, and with depending on my travels train, plane, and car all have their place so it all feels like my backyard. I suppose from a global perspective that is really unique.
I would argue that Philly has great weather. It's never crazy, hot but not deadly in summer most days, cold but not frigid winters most days. Combine that with street trees to keeps summer walkable and your fine year round.
What you did to Staten Island is gold! That said, I don't like the big cities of the USA, too many people. I prefer small cities or large towns. Even then, I prefer the outskirts than being in the middle of it all.
This exemplifies as close to true FREEDOM as I think we get in America. Everything else seems much more constrained by outside forces but we can live almost anywhere we can pay for!
there is no freedom in the USA . daily mass shootings ,violence , racism , no universal medicare , poverty , more than 60 % of americans have nerver been outsdie their states and no passport .
Lots of cities in the uk do not count their suburbs in their population stats. There are at least four or five more cities, that are over a million people if you're being realistic. And a couple multi centered urban areas, like south hampshire or the nottsderby corridor, that are gradually filling into contigous cities.
@@OhTheUrbanity Cheers. Not really sure what criteria is used, or whether it is applied evenly. American cities being far newer, tended to be the only places around, and their suburbs were built as direct extensions of them. In europe, often cities expand into surrounding towns, that are just as old as the cities themselves, and the regional identities don't often dissapear. You'll get a dense urban core, surrounded by suburbs that have seperate local councils, so the rich people don't have to share their taxes with those in the city. It's largely geremandered that way. Look at solihul near birmingham, or eastleigh near southampton, or west bridgeford near nottingham. Places like that are sometimes included in urban area stats, but not always city proper. Not saying that this was the case this time. Just the justification for the initial comment 😁
Intercity rail travel outside the Corridor is largely awful. You have no choice but to drive or (maybe) take an expensive train that takes 2-3x longer.
Thank you so much for this positive perspective!! Yes, sometimes it does take an outsider to frame our perception of ourselves in the USA😁 DC transit and bicycle infrastructure is pretty incredible!!!
I live in SF and we have a lot of great neighborhoods but I gotta say I love visiting Philadelphia. It’s a great city with its own personality unlike any other American city.
As an extension on this great appreciation of our unique opportunities, a video that describes the migration mobility opportunities of other parts of the world would be fascinating! I’m curious if any other group of countries have any movement opportunities with the range of North America, which is pretty fluid for moving among. EU comes to mind but maybe still restrictive. Asia?
The EU does have a huge range, our cities and cultures are quite diverse and there are plenty of them. The only real restriction is the language barrier and Europe doesn't have so many different landscapes and biomes like the USA do.
I loved this video. We hear so much negativity about the US, but it's actually a pretty remarkable place if you pay attention and give it some thought.
the happiest country in the world is Findland with cold winters and 2 months of no sun . i prefer to live in a green city with water , electricity , 4 seasons , amazing world class outdoor 4 season facilities , safe and civilized environment . I would never live in the USA with mass shootings , racism , no universal healthcare , xenophobia , gun culture ,religions , car culture , pollution , no freedom ( abortion rights, LGBTQ) , no decorum politicians , no justice and an outdated constitution .
The Australian train comparison felt weird. While yes, Australia’s biggest cities lack frequent train connections, that’s because they’re SO spread out. Sydney to Melbourne is like 500 miles (which is still close enough that more rail is needed, but not NEC-level frequencies).
Furthermore, Australia’s rail network is also heavily affected by its status as the only country without a unified railway gauge throughout the entire country. It causes the country to not have good railway connections both passenger and freight, between cities, as it means that trains designed for railways in 1 state is not compatible for railways in another
@@thomasgrabkowski8283 I still feel that what australia does have is really underrated, I'm also impressed as an American how much of it is electrified.
Focusing on small town urbanism is something that I think is always missing from the discussion. People, especially conservative type people, fetishize old time small towns, and lament their decline. They declined as a direct result of car dependency, and were built before car dependency was a thing. In terms of getting those people on board, I think playing to that nostalgia about small towns would be really effective.
this does help provide some perspective for the USA but it's very easy to take it for granted, like you might be giving too much credit to amtrak. its pretty expensive and slow and most of these cities still only have basic transit service. there are about 10 truly good American cities for urbanism
@@OhTheUrbanity I'm happy you actually pointed out most of the good Amtrak Corridors, the majority of the system isn't great, but there are a few really great ones like Milwaukee to Chicago that are useful alternatives to driving. Two corridors you missed are Chicago to St Louis and Chicago to Detroit (including Ann Arbor), both of which have speeds over 100 MPH on segments, the St Louis one is now competitive with driving and both cities have rail transit (though STL could have a better bus system and more extensive rail, but it is a city with really great urban bones the sort you'd see all over the North East and is pretty rare in Canada).
Thanks guys, not exactly feeling good about the US these days, but if we can get over the huge political mess we have now, there is a lot to appreciate. I also love visiting Canada too so I can see kind of an alt reality US, we really are siblings separated at birth.
I live in a West Texas College town and only two neighborhoods near the campus are walkable. One of which was redeveloped into a really nice area. The rest of my town is typical of my state with stroads, sprawl and a bare minimum of public transit. I don't think TX will ever change!
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
y’all are the antidote to urban doomerism it’s incredible
Funny cuz my Calgarian friend got even more doomer after their Alberta video on Calgary and Edmonton
I love this fun perspective shift, I appreciate what I have a little bit better now. I'm grateful for that!
truly. I left this video feeling so good and optimistic
As an OG NotJustBikes hater… I’m very happy to see channels with comprehensive understanding of the situation here who aren’t just peddling doom and gloom bullshit for clicks.
@@MelGibsonFan 'doom and gloom bullshit' as in telling people they can want better for themselves instead of waiting 3 years for a painted bike lane and maybe a sidewalk or two to be installed and calling it a day, am right? but that hurts your feelings :(
We're at the beginning of a rail renaissance in the U.S., and I'm so happy to live to see it.
hahahahahahaha........that was a good laugh
@@Lildizzle420 It's true. Biden has put a lot of money in rail. One of the reasons I'll happily vote for him.
@@Lildizzle420 Apparently you don't keep up with current events in the transportation sector. CAHSR has been under construction for years. Brightline service is active AND expanding in Florida, and Brightline West is in the planning stages. Texas Central has hit some rough patches but had support from both the Trump and Biden administrations, scored a major court victory, and reached an agreement with JNR as recently as April 2024. Amtrak received a significant funding boost and recently purchased new motive power units and rolling stock. I saw a bunch of new trains and upgraded stations throughout the Midwest last summer. A number of regions (DC, DFW, LA, Austin, etc) are renovating, rebuilding, and expanding urban rail transit services, as well as adding infill stations to existing lines. She did say "BEGINNING," so your laughter is both misplaced and a bit creepy. Weirdo. 🤣
@@colormedubious4747 I think putting "creepy" and "weirdo" is a really lame personal attack like you feel I personally attacked you. (I didn't)
just for the record, the USA has completed 235 miles that travel at the min speed of 125 MPH. period.
@crowmob-yo6ry who??
Perhaps it does take a pair of Canadians to tell me why America isn't so awful at urbanism after-all. Thanks guys, happy 4th!
They don’t celebrate 4th. Still couldn’t get rid of the King 😅
They're so polite
@@chefnyc Can't beleive I missed that!
LOL! It boils down to “It could be worse. You could be living in Canada.” Is it ever a wonder that many of these urbanism YT channels originated out of Canada?
@@SwiftySanders 😉
I immediately clicked because your thumbnail for "how good American urbanism is" is a spot I have walked through in Georgetown hundreds of times.
Literally same. Any side street in DuPont would work too
iconic canal
Trolling Staten Island as a foreigner. You get it.
I'm gay too buddy lol
You guys are my favorite urbanist channel, and this video just solidified it. Happy birthday, America!
I live in DC and it is pretty sweet in terms of urbanism. I no longer get upset about not being able to walk places and I have found new things to be upset about. (My new thing I am pissed off about is the lack of public bathrooms in the US)
You might want to go to Dupont and try out the new public bathroom there....Bowser says more are coming like that.
Europe isn't always great with public bathrooms either.
@@AbstractEntityJ I would argue the US is significantly ahead of many EU countries on this. So many bathrooms in Europe require $!
@@connorrichmond5115 I'd agree. One of the few areas of urbanism where the US and Canada overall are better than Europe.
@crowmob-yo6ry There's a reason the streets of Paris smell like piss (allegedly, I've never been).
Y'all scratched out Staten Island and put Jersey, I'm dead 😅😅
😂
This channel doesn't do much research into the topics they create videos on.
I had to pause and rewind when I saw that. lol. They have the NY spirit while being from Canada.
@@bloodycrepeyou from Staten Island?
@@Frantastic78
They must be! Personally I consider JC to be the "sixth borough" of NYC. It's got better transit AND road connections to Manhattan than Staten Island!
shout out oh the ubranity for bringing a lighter more optimistic leaning point of view
As always, lovely positivity :)
I, for one, enjoy snarky angry urbanism.
But I'm also a fan of this channel and its insistence on constructive optimism.
I'm for anything that isn't car centric doomerism.
Me too! NJB is a hoot! And then something more positive to cleanse the palate ...
You need both in this world. Angry urbanism has its place. But so does optimism.
In society we definitely have an over saturation of negative media, and not enough positive media.
@@lakrids-pibe exactly it's like having something salty and other things sweet
@@milliedragon4418 Absolutely! We need more positive thoughts.
@@robertcartwright4374 agreed, NJB is the angry wake-up call that stuff sucks, but other channels like this one and City Beautiful provide a more optimistic and constructive answer on what to do about it.
We need both.
I love the optimism but I do also think it's worth noting this is part of what frustrates U.S. urbanists and affordable housing advocates. The US (especially the west coast imo) genuinely has the potential to be one of the best places to live in the world and it's being squandered on car centrism and unaffordable single-family homes and luxury condos.
If you are an California voter, subscribe to the California YIMBY's mailing list. It doesn't work miracles, but they are doing decent work to have the state push against NIMBY anti-density laws. They particularly do a good job of letting people know when pro-urban legislation is available to contact legislators about.
They are less focused on the free market capital forces that make housing expensive, but their stance against zoning barriers to affordable housing are wonderful.
@jonathanraithel1025 I'm not from California but I agree. In general it's a good idea to look into urbanist movements in your area if you can find any. As of now none are really mountain moving but it's a growing movement that's being taken more and more seriously
the happiez country in the world is Findland , Switzerland and Norway , not USA . I am canadian and i dont understand why you call your country by a fake name ''America'' . the real name of your country is United States . Money is the only value in the USA plus violence, daily mass shootings, xenophobia , racism and inequity .
@BabyGirlDontEvenPlay I'm not saying cars and trucks are useless and have no place and society, very few people are. It's just important to have other options for getting around and designing around cars only tends to lead to bad city design
@BabyGirlDontEvenPlay to elaborate on my previous comment, if you just love cars, good for you, more transit means less traffic. But some people can't afford to drive, have medical issues that make it hard for them, or just don't like it and it doesn't make sense to force them to do so anyway. Both for their own sake and for the sake of people who *do* love driving because it means less people in your way on the road and less people who have no business operating a car being forced to do so
Nice video. As someone who has lived in DC and Bostom, those cities are definitely urban gems that I have loved living in. I think the US issues are cultural. There is a stark divide between people that like cities and people that hate cities, but live in them because that's where the jobs are (there are sooooo many of these people in every US metro). These people often live in the suburbs or exurbs and have am outsized say in state policy which tends to impose itself downward onto more progressive cities, stalling progress. (See NY congestion pricing)
Also, the US is very stratified economically and the neighborhoods you mention tend to be unaffordable for most working class people.
Best way to say it is, the US has great urbanism for the rich and also sometimes decent urbanism for everyone else.
I think a lot of it if demographic rather than political. Most NIMBYs tend to be older and part of the generation that built for sprawl. Younger demos across the political spectrum are more pro-build (whether because of urbanism or the desire to afford housing).
if congestion pricing is your idea of progress, then stalling it is a good thing.
Excellent point. What is the benefit of urbanism if only the rich can afford it whereas in Europe it's for everyone.
I couldn't agree more, as someone who has also lived in the DMV and Boston. It hurts my heart sometimes when people show the great urbanism in Boston (usually the North End) and that's just not the Boston that I get to live in.
2:30 this point is SO UNDERRATED. The reason why very few people actually leave the United States (relative to the people who claim they "hate it here" online or claim they're moving to Canada or Europe) is that the US is that every city and region feels like a different shade of America. It's nearly impossible NOT to find some corner or region of the United States that you can't jive with eventually.
America is 2 continents , not a name of a country . USA does not own the continents .
@@Swiss2025 it's a linguistic difference. No English speaker calls The Americas, "America." To us, America = the United States. I know in other languages it's different, but that's not the way it is in English.
@@Swiss2025 America is the United States of America. The two continents are North America and South America, or if grouped together, the Americas.
"The reason why very few people actually leave"
No, that's one reason.
A much bigger reason is that emigration is hard. It's simply a lot easier to move within the US than to move to another country.
@@Swiss2025 Stop it, you know what he's talking about. Anyway America is claimed by the US, because we have America in our darn name.
There's plenty of other things too that can be great for U.S urbanism. Let's not forget the potential of very wide roads that can:
1.) Carry future bike lanes and bus lanes while still having room for wide sidewalks.
2.) Enable the construction of subways or elevated lines relatively hassle free.
3.) Hold plenty of mixed-use development potential since they are lined with large properties usually belonging to only one owner (big box stores and strip malls with huge surface parking).
While modifying the roads with various methods is absolutely a good idea, I think redeveloping the vast seas of parking lots into more walkable spaces would help even more (which you touched on with 3).
I love your Venn diagram for urbanism, weather, and affordability. Made me laugh!
That one is actually the work of CityNerd!
@@OhTheUrbanity Ha! He's a gem!
@@OhTheUrbanity That makes too much sense.
This video was a wonderful birthday present to America from our friends up north! 🇺🇸❤🇨🇦
the real name of your country is United States . America is the name of 2 continents not a name of a country . I am canadian and we live on the same continent and USA does not own Canada or the continent .
Another excellently perspicacious entry from Oh The Urbanity! I'm a U.S. fan of yours currently living through the blast-furnace summer of a sunbelt city autopolis as I long for Montreal. I appreciate your fundamental optimism. There's more good urbanism to be found even in this part of the country than one would expect. Problem is, there's not nearly enough of it and creating more will require a long term counter-cultural struggle with entrenched bureaucratic inertia, highway-centric transportation policy, and NIMBYist opposition (15-minute cities are a communist plot to take away our cars=mobility=freedom!). Things will change but will come about much more slowly in some regions than others.
6:53 living in Baltimore and being in the middle of all this, for significantly less than the costs our neighbors pay, is wonderful. I like being able to visit DC, Philly, or New York whenever I want with zero planning.
This is kinda how I feel about living in the Hartford area with New York and Boston super close (although the urbanism in Hartford generally sucks)
Thanks y’all! Happy belated Canada Day 🇺🇸❤🇨🇦
👍Thanks for this, US really does have have at least a few good examples of “missing middle” neighborhood cities , older pre auto towns too, that we all should appreciate more, fan from Brooklyn here, would love to see you guys take on NYC outer boroughs in an episode, 400 years of good and awful urban planning, diversity, gentrification etc. keep up the great work!!
Currently a Texas resident, but have been considering a move to Chicago. The weather does not deter me, and in fact the idea of living in a place with all 4 season sounds really appealing. It just seems “right” for it to be chilly for Halloween/football season, snowing for Christmas, and warming up (or starting to) for baseball season. Where I’m at, it’s hot (ie >90°) for more than half the year. And for maybe 3 months it’s extremely uncomfortable to be outdoors, with temps consistently over 100°. We get maybe 1 freeze per year, and basically the entire state shuts down because we don’t have the infrastructure for it. I’m tired of it! I want seasons!!!
You should move to the Lou instead. StL is the most underrated city in the world! ⚜️😉
As a canadian i can't imagine living in a hot place like texas, you can dress for the cold but you can't dress for the heat.
Former Texan who moved up to Chicago recently and it’s one of the best choices I made. There’s actually a sizable population of us you’ll find here.
There are only two seasons in Chicago.
Chicago has the best summer weather imo. You can’t beat that lake breeze and the beaches on Lake Michigan
This American is SO happy to see this from our awesome Canadian neighbors..😊 🇨🇦. Thank you, and I can’t wait to explore Montreal again..
Thank you for helping me to appreciate the good qualities of my country. There's so much going wrong here right now it's good to get a reminder of our strengths, too.
To be fair, Canada actually does a lot right when it comes to urbanism as well. Both countries have their highs and lows.
We like Canadian cities, there just aren't that many of them
Thanks for this video. It really makes me feel proud of my country's urbanism even though there are many flaws which require much work to fix them. Happy Independence Day, and thanks for the optimism and positivity!
This just might be the best video you've ever made!
This is what I like about your channel. You definitely try to be a little bit more upbeat while being somewhat critical, you also do listen to your viewers for which I appreciate.
USA may not be perfect get it changing, with more urbanism
🇺🇲🇨🇦
Great video, thanks for the positivity. There's so much Ameriphobia in these discussions that it's impossible to have a constructive conversation with people about these topics. Glad to see videos like this pull us back to the middle.
Thanks for the endorsement; like many Americans in this fraught election year, in the midst of focusing on our many alarming shortcomings, I often forget that there are many corners of this country that are actually pretty decent.
I really appreciate how positive and optimistic you guys are. Your channel gives me hope that I might not have to move to Amsterdam in order to use my bike to get around.
Thank you for the birthday wishes! We couldn't have asked for a better neighbor to our north than Canadia! 😉
I really appreciate your optimism on this channel
Good video. I've been in the Northeast Corridor my whole life, raised outside of Philly, now in DC, and I can't believe how I used to think Boston was "far". It's truly an amazing thing about this area of the US.
One thing that needs to change in how Americans perceive cities it that NYC is the outlier in terms of size. We call places like Baltimore and Sacramento small and it leads to to expect less in terms of the ability to have viable transit. Would love for that to change
Great video, thank you!
American friends are often jealous of me living in Europe, cause there's so many different countries nearby. But like you said, the US also has so much variety, and you don't need to worry about currency or language when you travel.
As a North American, I found the streets in the UK not very pedestrian-friendly because they were so narrow...
Sure, the US and Canada could definitely rededicate a bit of car space to pedestrians and cyclists, but the fact there is room enough to do that in our wide rights-of-way is a huge advantage that I think also goes underappreciated.
I'm British and I agree. American cities have good bones. Even the suburbs and stroads have plenty of space to build really nice mixed use streets. Over here, we can barely find space to fit a narrow bike lane in half the time.
The problem with what you're saying is that you think that "rededicating a bit of car space to pedestrians and cyclist" is the answer when ths goal should be returning the space to pedestrians and cyclists ins denser urban areas and allowing only necessary car ussage in them. A narrow street in the UK should pedestrianized with cars as guests. Apart from that, the UK is the reason for how the US, Canada. australia or New Zealand are. They are the source of the way you are, with onviouse differences that occured over time but the basics are the same.
The problem in the US is that it became a bit too extreme and without changing fundumental things it will not change, or maybe in the end most of the US does not want this to change, which is OK if that's whatt you prefer.
@@AL5520It's not that the US doesn't want change, but that those who wield political power at the ballot box or in the lobbies do not want the US to change, except what Project 2025 which is anti urban in its manifesto promises.
Narrow streets are perfect candidates for fully pedestrianized alleys and mixed passes
@@EdwardM-t8p The will for change is not measured by polls, it is measured by who's voting and when in the last 3 elections (2018/2020/2022) only 37% turned out for all of them and 30% to non of them that's what happens. If you actually want something you need to act and voting is one of the most important thing and should be done in every election that you can do, locally, state or federal. The problem is that you system is convoluted, fragmented and gives too much power to small groups and that's the first thing you need to change. Is it hard? very hard to what can look impossible but,as you can see, those who keeps at it and use every trick in the book gets what they want.
What I'm saying is that without fundamental change this won't happen. I get it that you want this, I want the US to have this to, but maybe you should fight first for the main thing that prevents it from happening.
Thanks for your fresh eyes and valuable perspective. We are grateful and lucky to have such a wonderful neighbor to the north. 🇨🇦 🇺🇸
This was such a fantastic video that I've already told my wife that we're going to rewatch it later tonight when we have time together because I want to discuss it with her at length. I've followed your channel since living in Montreal. The pursuit of my interests (one of them being urbanism) has now landed me in Japan though I miss N. America so I might return eventually.
That said, with the affordability crisis (among other things), I might not even come back to Montreal and just head to the States for many of the reasons you've explained in this video. I say this as a bicycle-loving Europhile Canadian myself; Canadians & Europeans often seem to have such a bias against the U.S. that tends to overshadow factual strong points about living there. You did a great job of going through a bunch of things that is amazing about anyone living in the U.S.
i've thought for a while that my favorite part of US cities is diversity, though i've always kinda meant that in terms of population demographics and not the cities themselves. it was interesting to see your perspectives about this
This was delightfully optimistic and kind. Thak you
Great video and a good reminder that good urban spaces can be found anywhere! Funnily enough, I’ve made many of the same points to US folks over the years, particularly in regards to housing affordability and choice.
While I acknowledge housing is expensive in the U.S. (especially in certain cities like SF, LA, etc), the fact they have so many options when it comes to urban locations- some of which are still relatively affordable- is really great and a positive thing!
I come from one of the non-US countries mentioned in the video, and am currently living in another one 😂 And when half your population lives in just two or three cities, all of which are extremely unaffordable, it really narrows your options for adorable urban living.
Not to mention (and arguably the more serious issue), it means that housing and economic policies have an impact on a much larger share of the population than in the US, which you think would make our governments more likely to do something to alleviate these issues, but vested interests gonna vest, i guess?
The 4 biggest cities of Australia:
Sydney,
Melbourne, a good 12 hour drive away
Brisbane, a good 12 hour drive away, in the other direction
Perth, a good 36+ hours drive through the desert and barely a settlement across opposite ends of a continent
Texas is lucky to have 3 cities within walking distance of each other.
Nothing lucky there. Texas cities were built this way on purpose.
The transit comparison was a bit weird.
There are 39 weekday trains from Sydney (5.8m) -> Newcastle (0.5m), a birds-eye distance of 120km, which they discount for being interstate, while there are while 48 trains from New York (8m) -> Philly (1.5m), a birds-eye distance of 135km
@@midnight8045 I thought this too! Sydney Central to Melbourne Southern Cross is 730km. DC to NYC is 330km, less than half the distance. I do understand that was their point but felt a stretch to compare them
Lol wouldn't call it walking distance but I get your point. They're still pretty far though. Texas is still pretty big by most standards
I live in one of those small college towns in the Midwest and the central two or three square miles of the city is indeed very walkable, and the streets were just naturally built narrow enough and intersections are close enough together that cars usually move pretty slowly, making me feel comfortable riding a bike through downtown as well.
Unmatched cultural diversity. By far America’s greatest strength. New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, and San Francisco are some of the most racially and culturally diverse cities on the planet.
Why did you leave off Philadelphia with just a throw away remark?
Too many just ignore the area between NYC and DC. Millions of people live there. PHL itself is the 6th largest city in the US. 😮
@@yvonneplant9434 I live in Philly it’s great
That definitely is a strength - sadly your politicians, your political system favoring corporations and the blithe acceptance of massive inequality take away from that strength.
The inequality isn't that bad, I don't think Europeans even realize Mississippi, the poorest US state, is about as rich as Germany per person. It can be incredibly unequal and we're all still doing better than you.
@@gentronseven They don't. Nothing surprising there.
Thanks for this video, it was great! It helps to consider that the US is a very large and diverse country and Americans can move around. Hopefully that will mean more urbanism coagulating in cities enough for a tipping point into positive change.
Thanks for making this video. As an American it's often frustrating to see other Americans treat other countries as some perfect utopia compared to a worthless US, totally ignoring the stuff we actually do pretty well and how we can take advantage of that. Obviously most urban areas here still have a LONG way to go, but there are bright spots that can serve as a model for other areas. The doomerism and escapist fantasy really gets old after a while - lets enjoy what we have and make the rest better!
This is such an uplifting video compared to most urbanism UA-cam.
Awesome positivity right here!
This video might be the only thing in recent years that’s made me proud to be American
It sucks when y'all gag at the American flag or think you have to kneel. Yes there's bad but we also have so much to be proud of 😑
You still have a few months left to feel proud about being American.
Nice video always , America actually has 54 metropolitan with 1 million residents according to to latest data
Vancouver is isolated from the rest of Canada, so all of our resources go to connecting BC to Washington (and Oregon). Funding for a high speed train (Cascadia high speed rail) from Vancouver to Seattle to Portland is underway with a 2035 expected opening date.
That was a cool video. I always hear how US is lacking compared to other cities worldwide. It is true to an extent. But you also brought the huge diversity to my attention. I also appreciate the independence day shout out!
@BabyGirlDontEvenPlayno, it’s just that when one nation is economically and militarily dominant other nations have to protect their ego via perceived cultural superiority of which city building is a part of that. The UK and France used to have massive militaries that controlled much of the world but the second that was no longer true they criticize the US military budget and make healthcare “jokes”.
Lived in Ottawa, and visited Montreal and Toronto in the past. Now I live in DC. There are lots of things I miss about Canada but I'll say my personal list of what I appreciate about living here:
1. The Northeast Corridor (I can travel to New York for some really good food and come back in one day without touching my car once)
2. Haven't gotten bored of travelling in Eastern US after 12 years, and I still have the other 50% of the country to explore later
3. So many trees here
Montreal is one of the the greenest city in North america , largest urban parks in Canada with roof tops urban farms managed by AI , world s most sustaianble city ( 100 % green energy ). 80 % of Quebeckers ( province of Quebec ) live surrouned by nature with more than 500,000 lakes , dense forests and unique rich eco system ( from whales in the ST Lawrence to teh Rockies of the East for helicopter skiing in the Chic Chocs . Montreal has the second highest number of restaurants per capita after New York city with 400 years of history , teh canadian capital of culture , architecture in both official languages of Canada , english and french .
wow I did NOT realize how lucky we were in north carolina! i take the raleigh to charlotte amtrak all the time and thought 5 trains a day each direction was quite normal for two large-to-mid sized city’s 😅
In Ontario the main route I use (Toronto-Ottawa) has 10 roundtrips per day
Really crazy when you think about how many viable cities N. Carolina has, into small towns, then the coast and the Smokies. Really lovely place.
Good to see some positive perspectives. We talk so much about the issues and sometimes we ignore the good aspects of American cities. Living in Canada, I am definitely a bit jealous of the great diversity of cities and climates in the USA. Here in Canada we have way less options and everything is so far apart, so unconnected.
Its honestly amazing that my little State of Maine has decent passenger rail service from Brunswick to Boston plus a bunch of towns in between
Really, it is the History of the settlements, that allow for the "closeness" of the major US cities you mention. The Colonies were founded on the Ocean, really not too far from each other, to facilitate trade amongst themselves and back to the old countries. Canada was just so different, Once you get to Niagara, where are you going to go easily? And the whole British/French history made it less favourable for us here in the Centre of the Universe to travel down the St Lawrence. Then we were slower getting the West to join in, and had to promise a Railroad we needed, but maybe did not really want. I think, on a proportionate basis, we are very consistent with the US (or were) and it might have more to do with new immigrants coming to Toronto, or Montreal or Vancouver, as they can very easily find some aspect of a culture from where they have come from to soften the transition. Great video essay.
I think Toronto does have plenty of the type of neighborhood you're referring to. The houses are sometimes technically detached or semi-detached, but the density level is similar.
Yeah, Toronto definitely has tons of dense 19th century rowhouse neighbourhoods ringing the downtown core.
@@TheKenContinuum Toronto has some older, more urban neighbourhoods but they're less dense (more yard space, driveways, buildings are typically shorter, many are semi-detached instead of rowhouse or low-rise apartments) and not as big (they end and turn into suburbia sooner) as the other cities we're thinking about.
This isn't some full-hearted condemnation of the city. It's just a type of neighbourhood we enjoy that isn't as present there.
The cities feel different but they are largely unaffordable and all the suburbs look exactly the same
4:46 another example of a city with great bike infrastructure is Madison Wisconsin. It's a major college town, is the state capital, AND it's constricted to an isthmus between two lakes, making everything quite compact and perfect for biking.
The USA is also 8.16x the population of Canada so Canada and the USA are actually very on par from a per capita population
The mistake made in this video and often made by any organization rating places to live is that hot weather is preferable. Perhaps to some but I hate hot weather. Loathe it. Lived in Las Vegas and was miserable. Miami is miserable. The heat and humidity - Ugh. Many humans prefer cool and even cold weather. I must have a white Christmas. Favorite season is fall with the cool crisp air and magnificent colors one finds in the northeast and great lakes. And San Diego? Boring.
Yes! I see this in so many urbanism videos like this. The major city I grew up closest to is Philadelphia, and I've never desired to live in another climate, though it often gets a rap for having "worse weather" than CA and some southern cities. I'm fond of snow, rain, fog, etc...
As a long term Chicago resident, “winter” isn’t what it used to be.
Climate change will soon make the sunbelt practically uninhabitable and the northern cities more temperate. would not be suprised in 50 years to see arizona texas and florida go "full rust belt" with decaying cities, declining population, all that currently-new car infrastructure falling apart, and the endless cheap-as-shit-built suburbia left to rot. those cheaper wintery cities will not be cheap for long.
4:33 College and University are two different terms in the US as well, we just say ‘college’ in place of ‘university’ in laid back conversations/small talk because it’s easier
Born and raised Floridian but haved lived on the west coast and visited many NE cities for work. It's pretty surprising how the hosuing stock can vary between regions. I'm definitely a huge fan of the multistory dense dingbat and courtyard apartments and the beach towns of SoCal. Way better than the tall AF condos that line many beachfronts in Florida. I just wish that California kept building dingbats, but it appears illegal due to newer parking minimums.
Dingbats are also not very sturdy in earthquakes, at least the older LA style of dingbat. Not something you want in California -- I think safety was as big a factor as parking minimums.
You can still have buildings with parking structures at the bottom, of course, but multistory garages with huge concrete columns have a very different aesthetic.
I thought dingbats were invented _because_ of parking mandates. Stash the car under the building.
One thing I'll me tip about amtrak outside the northeast corridor, and largely due to the length of freight trains to get around the requirement that passenger trains have right of way, is that anywhere else that they share tracks with freight rail, the delays are constan and terrible.
I have a friend who takes amtrak from Denver up to Nebraska when he visits home, and every single time he goes it's anywhere from 8-17 hours delayed
Just got off a meditations for the anxious mind vid and the delivery is exactly the same. Can't unheard it
🎶town of el paso 🎶
Beyond the way that negative engagement feeds the algorithm, I like to think that the reason that American urbanists in these cities are so negative online is BECAUSE they can see the promise in their cities, and are so frustrated by the many stupid and self-sabotaging ways that their cities (and particularly the people that run them) actively attempt to diminish or otherwise steer away from these qualities, in favor of suburban & car-brained policies that cater to people who wouldn't enjoy the city if you PAID them to!
Really appreciate Canadian neighbors pointing out good things about the US. So many Canadians define themselves by what they're not - the US, and sometimes it can have a little bit of an edge to it. But we're not just neighbors; we're family, and the US is lucky to have Canada next door.
As a Philadelphian idk how much of a winter we have anymore but the summers sure are brutal
Loved this video so much!
The regional-intercity corridors are very underrated. I've not been out east to experience the likes of Empire Builder and the new Borealis, but I took Amtrak for my first time just to do a day trip to San Francisco from Sacramento. The timetable and speed could use improvement, but the time including local transit on SacRT, BART, and Muni came out comparable to doing the same trip by car, with the bonus of not having to deal with intense traffic whose evening commute hour starts at 1, and getting incredible views across pretty much the whole trip.
Thanks for the more nuanced view than Not Just Bikes. As an American, we needed this
Yeah, he can be a little one-sided. I think he's still important, though, because I don't think I would have realized there was a problem without his more confrontational style.
I feel he was the one that kickstarted the “orange pill” and “urbanist” content sphere on UA-cam. However, just complaining doesn’t solve anything. I’m glad this sphere is moving away from complaining and towards finding silver linings and educating on how to actually contribute to positive change
NJB is entry level urbanism. His no-punches-pulled "this sucks on a fundamental level" attitude is very effective at waking people up from exceptionalist complacency.
There are different tools for different purposes. A hammer is not bad just because it can't be used as a drill.
Oh The Urbanity is hands down the most understanding and realistic urbanist channels on UA-cam. For anyone that’s pro-car and is trying to understand urbanism and urbanists, this is the #1 channel that I would recommend.
His channel works at pointing out the inadequacies in how suburbs and transit came to be in North America. I just find his solution (be exactly like the Netherlands) limiting since there is no one size fits all fix, and unfortunately, too many urbanists have fallen into that mindset. This channel avoids it by showing how things can be altered to be more livable and sustainable.
Southern New England also has great urbanism, and you can get all around all 3 states by train or bus quite conveniently.
I grew up near Philadelphia (outside Wilmington, Delaware), and lived in DC for well over a decade.
I now live in Denver, and I miss so much the interconnectedness of our East Coast cities.
Besides AMTRAK, which I could rarely afford, there are several competing bus lines connecting the urban centers. When lived behind Union Station (in Eckington, DC) I would sometimes catch the 7a bus to NYC. We'd get in around 11a, then I'd wander for 8+ hours before catching a late late bus back to DC. Where'd I'd walk home after midnight from Union Station.
I also miss the urban-ness of the East Coast, something Denver lacks. I like my neighrbohood here, a lot. But it should be the 4th or fifth neighborhood from downtown, not the first. Even Wilmington, DE feels more like a city than Denver does.
But I appreicate this kind take on my country. I often get down about how sprawling and car-centric we are. But we have a lot going for us and we are fortunate to have all that we do!
Old Midwest cities have some beautiful walkable dense neighbourhoods - St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh
Of course it took some Canadians being nice to make me feel a tinesy bit patriotic today 😂
Choice is good, weather is cool, it's still mostly car dependent and behind the rest of the developed
I studied in Davis, absolutely AMAZING city. Wish I had explored it more.
I live in Jersey City and work in Hoboken... we're more New York than Staten Island. Realtors have started talking about a "SoHo West" accessible from West Village with the PATH lol
If Chicago had San Diego weather but retained its cost of living, it would probably be the best city to live in North America.
if chicago had San Diego weather it would not retain its cost of living, it'd be more expensive than new york 😔
Living on the west coast I know people from Seattle to San Diego, and with depending on my travels train, plane, and car all have their place so it all feels like my backyard. I suppose from a global perspective that is really unique.
I would argue that Philly has great weather. It's never crazy, hot but not deadly in summer most days, cold but not frigid winters most days. Combine that with street trees to keeps summer walkable and your fine year round.
Yes, the winters are mild by our standards, but a lot of America would consider it cold
What you did to Staten Island is gold! That said, I don't like the big cities of the USA, too many people. I prefer small cities or large towns. Even then, I prefer the outskirts than being in the middle of it all.
This exemplifies as close to true FREEDOM as I think we get in America. Everything else seems much more constrained by outside forces but we can live almost anywhere we can pay for!
there is no freedom in the USA . daily mass shootings ,violence , racism , no universal medicare , poverty , more than 60 % of americans have nerver been outsdie their states and no passport .
Lots of cities in the uk do not count their suburbs in their population stats. There are at least four or five more cities, that are over a million people if you're being realistic. And a couple multi centered urban areas, like south hampshire or the nottsderby corridor, that are gradually filling into contigous cities.
It was taken from the urban area populations here: www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/cities/ua/
@@OhTheUrbanity Cheers. Not really sure what criteria is used, or whether it is applied evenly. American cities being far newer, tended to be the only places around, and their suburbs were built as direct extensions of them. In europe, often cities expand into surrounding towns, that are just as old as the cities themselves, and the regional identities don't often dissapear. You'll get a dense urban core, surrounded by suburbs that have seperate local councils, so the rich people don't have to share their taxes with those in the city. It's largely geremandered that way. Look at solihul near birmingham, or eastleigh near southampton, or west bridgeford near nottingham. Places like that are sometimes included in urban area stats, but not always city proper. Not saying that this was the case this time. Just the justification for the initial comment 😁
Intercity rail travel outside the Corridor is largely awful. You have no choice but to drive or (maybe) take an expensive train that takes 2-3x longer.
Thank you so much for this positive perspective!! Yes, sometimes it does take an outsider to frame our perception of ourselves in the USA😁 DC transit and bicycle infrastructure is pretty incredible!!!
I live in SF and we have a lot of great neighborhoods but I gotta say I love visiting Philadelphia. It’s a great city with its own personality unlike any other American city.
As an extension on this great appreciation of our unique opportunities, a video that describes the migration mobility opportunities of other parts of the world would be fascinating! I’m curious if any other group of countries have any movement opportunities with the range of North America, which is pretty fluid for moving among. EU comes to mind but maybe still restrictive. Asia?
The EU does have a huge range, our cities and cultures are quite diverse and there are plenty of them. The only real restriction is the language barrier and Europe doesn't have so many different landscapes and biomes like the USA do.
I loved this video. We hear so much negativity about the US, but it's actually a pretty remarkable place if you pay attention and give it some thought.
the happiest country in the world is Findland with cold winters and 2 months of no sun . i prefer to live in a green city with water , electricity , 4 seasons , amazing world class outdoor 4 season facilities , safe and civilized environment . I would never live in the USA with mass shootings , racism , no universal healthcare , xenophobia , gun culture ,religions , car culture , pollution , no freedom ( abortion rights, LGBTQ) , no decorum politicians , no justice and an outdated constitution .
@@Swiss2025 nobody asked you
The Australian train comparison felt weird. While yes, Australia’s biggest cities lack frequent train connections, that’s because they’re SO spread out. Sydney to Melbourne is like 500 miles (which is still close enough that more rail is needed, but not NEC-level frequencies).
Furthermore, Australia’s rail network is also heavily affected by its status as the only country without a unified railway gauge throughout the entire country. It causes the country to not have good railway connections both passenger and freight, between cities, as it means that trains designed for railways in 1 state is not compatible for railways in another
US cities being closer together than Canadian/Australian ones was the main point of the latter part of the video.
@@thomasgrabkowski8283 I still feel that what australia does have is really underrated, I'm also impressed as an American how much of it is electrified.
Focusing on small town urbanism is something that I think is always missing from the discussion. People, especially conservative type people, fetishize old time small towns, and lament their decline.
They declined as a direct result of car dependency, and were built before car dependency was a thing.
In terms of getting those people on board, I think playing to that nostalgia about small towns would be really effective.
this does help provide some perspective for the USA but it's very easy to take it for granted, like you might be giving too much credit to amtrak. its pretty expensive and slow and most of these cities still only have basic transit service. there are about 10 truly good American cities for urbanism
But we're specifically comparing it to intercity rail in Canada, which is for the most part worse
@@OhTheUrbanity I'm happy you actually pointed out most of the good Amtrak Corridors, the majority of the system isn't great, but there are a few really great ones like Milwaukee to Chicago that are useful alternatives to driving. Two corridors you missed are Chicago to St Louis and Chicago to Detroit (including Ann Arbor), both of which have speeds over 100 MPH on segments, the St Louis one is now competitive with driving and both cities have rail transit (though STL could have a better bus system and more extensive rail, but it is a city with really great urban bones the sort you'd see all over the North East and is pretty rare in Canada).
Fresno metropolitan area recently passed the 1 million residents mark in population. That makes it 46 vs 17!
this is why we love you, Canada!!
Thanks guys, not exactly feeling good about the US these days, but if we can get over the huge political mess we have now, there is a lot to appreciate. I also love visiting Canada too so I can see kind of an alt reality US, we really are siblings separated at birth.
I live in a West Texas College town and only two neighborhoods near the campus are walkable. One of which was redeveloped into a really nice area. The rest of my town is typical of my state with stroads, sprawl and a bare minimum of public transit. I don't think TX will ever change!