[Swizec]

Paris is often seen as one of the most beautiful cities in the world and totally does feel like a real city despite the height limit.

In fact the new financial district off to the side with its skyscrapers and, I imagine, no height limit, while modern and fancy, just doesn't feel as city-like as the rest of Paris. It feels like a dead place where people only come to work.

I've only spent a good week in Paris, so it might feel different when you're living there for a long time. But not-tall cities are totally cool.

[bane]

Paris also was built with a fairly unified style giving it beautiful sight-lines. D.C. wasn't and it's not very pretty in most of the non-tourist areas.

[busterarm]

> It feels like a dead place where people only come to work.

On that note, parts of Toronto like that feel the exact same way.

[adestefan]

Paris is also ~2000 sq miles while DC is only 60 sq miles.

[Swizec]

I doubt Paris was anywhere near 60sq miles when it started out as a trading settlement in 250 BC.

[adestefan]

DC is restricted to that 60 sq miles and can get no larger. It was actually a bit larger until they gave back all the land on the south side of the Potomac to Virginia.

[a8da6b0c91d]

Height restrictions or not the new development in DC is mostly garbage. Planners do not seem to understand the formula for making pleasant urban neighborhoods with multistory residential buildings is that the ground floor must be retail. The building facade and retail must be flush with the sidewalk.

I don't understand why this formula is so hard for urban planners to accept. You see it in every thriving city. It simply should not be allowed to make a 5+ story building that is purely housing and is recessed from the sidewalk. When it is allowed you get the alienating Corbusier style housing project vibe. This crap has been thrown up all over the DC area in recent years.

[fjk]

I would argue that planners do understand the formula for making pleasant urban neighborhoods - it's usually the developers who don't get the placemaking concepts.

That being said, I'm interested in the neighborhoods/buildings you mentioned being so bad. Could you share which locations you're referencing?