Posted on 03/10/2011 12:38:04 PM PST by WesternCulture
Forget about Tokyo.
Anyone having traveled from Paris through Belgium, the Netherlands and the Ruhr District in Germany (like I have) wouldn't be impressed by a small, rural Far-East Asian settlement like that.
However, this part of the World isn't the only candidate to the title.
Some experts would say the largest "cityscape" found on Earth is the Eastern Seaboard Conurbation of the United States of America extending from Maine down to Florida, housing around 110 million inhabitants.
Personally, I've only visited the southern part of it (Fla.) and although there is plenty of farmland between cities like Miami and Orlando, I agree you could actually consider the East Coast of Florida as a more or less coherent urban structure.
A European equivalent of the Eastern Seaboard Conurbation is the so called Blue Banana Corridor of more or less the same number of urban dwellers (110 million) stretching from North West England down to Milan in northern Italy.
For some reason, "The Blue Banana" concept doesn't include Greater Paris/The Île-de-France Region of 11.7 million inhabitants. Maybe because of how some scholars wish to draw bananas..
Personally, I've always loved big cities. While landscapes like that of, for instance, the Tuscan countryside are breathtakingly beautiful, I also feel the bustling city of today's Florence is (Florence, home to the Renaissance, is the largest city in the Italian region of Tuscany. Although Florence/Firenze isn't exactly small, it's not one of the biggest cities throughout Europe). Brunelleschi's magnificent Dome and the medieval quarters nearing it where Dante grew up are extraordinary features of the Tuscan capital all of us ought to experience at least once in our lifetime, but so is also being stuck in endless traffic trying to bring home some bottles of Chianti wine, fresh pane toscano (tuscan bread baked without salt) and pecorino cheese.
One of the most brilliant aspects of human civilization is our ability of creating wonders like Berlin, San Francisco, Madrid, Chicago, Prague, Seoul, Houston, Stockholm and Buenos Aires.
You can bomb a city like beautiful Dresden for decades.
It will rise up and reclaim its identity outliving evil men like Hitler and Stalin.
(For further reading about The Blue Banana, The Eastern Seaboard, Paris and Florence please check out the links I've posted below.)
If one believes the recent articles and books, that ‘Blue Banana’ is trending to muslim.
In perhaps 75 to 100 years, we’re gonna need the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces again.
- Yes, that's the way to go exploring the great cusine of Tuscany.
Don't bother with the tourist trap restaurants. Go straight to Mercato Centrale and ask the vendors what they have on offer.
Italian restaurant owners are businessmen. This must be remembered. They have no reason selling you great dishes using the best of ingredients for seven Euros when they could get away with making a nice profit feeding you pig's garbage.
If you wish to enjoy proper Italian cooking, consult restaurants in the upper middle class neighborhoods in the cities. They depend on the local clientele not tourists and therefore have to perform at a much higher level. You can't go wrong.
As one who grew up in L.A. county, CA before the freeways, you can keep the “bright lights and big cities”. IMHO, quiet nights under the stars make this life much more pleasurable.
Tuscany is on my list though.”
- Happy to hear that.
By the way, don't forget upon Scandinavia (I live in Gothenburg, Sweden)..
Our food is not famous, but believe me, Viking feasts are second to none.
Lobsters, oysters, glittering salmons and trouts from lakes named Vänern and Vättern. Venison, hare and mushrooms from our vast forests and puddings made from blood and tasty stews blending beef, kidney and pork.
No, we don't make wine, but there is beer and aquavit for everyone!
Skål!
That was at a time when Philadelphia was the largest city in the US with about 40K people.
Up to the second World War, many major US cities increased in population size. But afterwards, people living close to the city centers desired some sort of property of their own and bought houses in the suburbs.
Europeans in general didn't dispose of the same economical resources at that time and another aspect of importance considering the situation in Europe visavi America is the prestige over here of living close to historical city centers and famed monuments.
From a French perspective, for instance, disposing of a large apartment in the centre of Paris is even more desirable than owning a large 18th century estate somewhere in the Loire Valley.
HOUSTON is one of the crappiest places anywhere.
I was born there when it was only .5M but now the thing goes on for 50-80 miles (and +5M)in any direction and there is is NOTHING worth seeing. All natural beauty when I was playing along the bayous as a kid is gone - only more concrete and asphalt.
Endless urbanization is a worthless and ugly human endeavor.
“HOUSTON is one of the crappiest places anywhere.”
- Come on fellow Freeper,
Houston disposes of a very impressive skyline and generally, the inhabitants of Texas are known for being very friendly and hospitable, wouldn’t you say so too?.
I haven’t been to Texas myself, but I’ve met with many nice people originating from down there on the Internet.
Perhaps you ought to travel some more and learn how to put things in perspective.
I live in Gothenburg, Sweden, a cold corner of the World consisting of industrial plants, snow and cold. But having seen the so called beauty of sunnier places here on Earth, I have also begun to realize the beauty of docks, large factories and hard working people earning proper wages.
In my eyes, proud cities like Gothenburg, Munich, Houston and Zürich are incredible and their inhabitants deserve to be well off and drive around in luxury SUVs.
I have traveled from Scandinavia and the Baltics, to the Balkans, from the former Waraw Pact countries to the UK. There is no comparison.
Check out Canada. I guess the Canucks drink their Moosehead in the dark.
I love that image. You can almost make out the outline of West Virginia.
Yup......and I love it that way.
LOL! It only looks like that at night, I assure you. In the daytime, it's all mountains, muskeg, glaciers, and bugs. Not much of it is habitable, after all...
This is getting ridiculous.
I didn’t say Texas has a Medieval history like the Hansa town of Lübeck does.
Texas is a magnificent territory in all its own right.
America does not lack history. Americans who belive so are not good Westerners.
We Europeans don’t love America for being older than us. We love Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado and Mississippi for having an identity of their own.
We simply love America for being America and nothing can stop that feeling. Don’t listen to people like Chirac..
where is this?
Did I mention the surname of Houston - the 95+X3 city.
95%+ humidity and 95+ degrees F for 95%+ of the year.
Only Dahran and Cairo is worst and that's very difficult to do.
Besides, all those nice “skyline places” mask some very dangerous places. DO NOT GO NEAR THE DOCKS ANYWHERE IN TEXAS - you WILL regret it if you can get out of them.
I grew up there and worked there and it is not nice or pretty.
And if you would want to go to the top of ANY of those nice skyline bldgs - sorry pal no can do, their access is unavailable.
There is not ONE place of public access by which one could view Houston from any elevated position for more than a few seconds (the ONLY public high spots are on the freeways) It is FLAT. Did I mention that it is FLAT ??
Zurich is very nice and SMALL enough that one can walk or ride the trains around the lake and walk up into the mountains to get panorama views.
Bud- you're the one that needs to travel more.
- OK, I read all of what you wrote, but I’d still love to visit Texas.
One reason being honest, straight forward people like you.
What’s wrong with being what you are?
Americans are most welcome over here and Texans definitely are no exception!
Having ZZ-top in my ears and driving down a Texan highway wearing cheap sunglasses would be outmost meaningful to me!
Almost a continuous belt of light from Concord, NH to Fredericksburg, VA
I share an opinion of cities with William Tecumseh Sherman.
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