Best Heavy Rail (Subway and/or Elevated) Transportation Systems

Vote for which city or cities have the best heavy rail transit system, whether it be a subway system or an elevated "El" system. New York City Chicago Boston Philadelphia NY/NJ - PATH NJ/Philly - PATCO San Francisco Washington, DC Cleveland Atlanta Los Angeles Miami >

what's daily American people's life ?

My teacher who is from LS once told me thay though US is the richest country , most people work hard only to feed themselves .And I found some teachers who came to China to teach English are jobless in their country . I don't mean ironizing them . How are your daily life ? Are you satisfied? >

Next U.S. City host for the Summer Olympics?

Which U.S. City will be the next to host the summer olympics and why? IMO, New York City has a lot of potential, being a world class city and all that.>

What's your favorite Mississippi River city?

From the northern forests of Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, four major cities flank the banks of the Mississippi River. Which one is your favorite?>

Happy Delaware Day! Some facts about Delaware.

happy delaware day. delaware day is the day that delaware ratified the constiution, on december 7, 1787, making it the first state in the united states. (this is also the anniversary of the pearl harbor bombing.) to celebrate delaware day, i have compiled some facts on our state. unfortunately, most people have no education on delaware. this can be taken in a literal sense; in one survey done to see what people associate with delaware, about a third of the people didn't come up with an answer. another 40% responded that they think of i-95 when delaware is mentioned. anyway, here is some info on delaware. state seal: the coat of arms with symbols of a farmer, a militiaman, an ox, wheat, and corn. a militiaman represents the duty of citizens to defend their country. the blue above the ox stands for the delaware river. the ship represents new castle county's shipbuilding industry and the coastal commerce of the state. state motto: "liberty and independence" state tree: american holly state flower: peach blossom state bird: blue hen chicken state bug: ladybug state butterfly: tiger swallowtail state fish: weakfish state marine animal: horseshoe crab sweden originally colonized delaware. the swedih colony stretched from just south of new castle, delaware, to around chester, pennsylvania. the colony lasted for almost 40 years before being taken over by the dutch in 1655. this is sweden's only attempt at colonization in the new world. delaware was once a part of pennsylvania. if you look at a pictuer of the "join or die" printing done by ben franklin, you will notice that there is no recognition of delaware. this is because delaware was a part of pennsylvania at the time. delaware was known as "the three lower counties" of pennsylvania. the "three lower counties" had their own assembly despite being part of pennsylvania. in 1776, cultural , economic, and political differences lead to the three lower counties permanently separating from pennsylvania. the original capital of delaware was new castle. in accordance to popular belief, part of the reason the capital was moved to dover was because of dover's central location; however, the main reason is because state officials were afraid the british would capture new castle as they made their way to philadelphia from elkton, maryland. the population of wilmington within the city limits is arounf 75,000. the population of te wilmington metro area is around 630,000. the wilmingotn metro area includes new castle county, delaware, and parts of cecil county, maryland, as stated by the u.s. census of 2000. the u.s. census also recently added parts of chester county, pennsylvania, and salem county, new jersey, into wilmington's metropolitan statistical area. the wilmington metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the u.s. census, has a population of around 630,000. the wilmingon msa includes small parts of maryland, pennsylvania, and new jersey. the wilmington msa is part of the philadelphia consolidated metropolitan statistical area. the philadelphia cmsa includes the philadelphia msa, wilmington msa, trenton msa, atlantic city msa, and in general the delaware valley. wilmington is not "just another suburb of philadelphia", as many people would like to believe. wilmingon is a city in it's own right and has its own radio stations, public transportation, suburbs, and other things metro areas have. delaware is the only state that issues flat license plates for all their license plates. other states perforate the numbers on the plates. some states are now switching some plates to flat. delaware is the only state that issues license plates that are not the standard 6" by 12" plates. "throwback" plates (not what they are officially called, but it's an easy explanation) are the same size as delaware license plates of 1942: 5.25" by 9.5" low number license plates are extremely desireable items in delaware. delaware plate #9 was sold for $182,500 in 1994, and plate #170 sold for $115,000 in 2005. many four-digit plates go for over $10,000. log cabins wee first introduced to the new world in delaware. the concept was brought here by the swedes, who were the first to settle the area. many products were invented in the state of delaware. one of the most famous products invented in delaware is nylon, which was invented at the world-famous dupont experimental station just outside of wilmington. the northernmost cypress swamp in north america is located in sussex county. the delaware memorial bridge , which connects delaware to new jersey, is the longest twin suspension bridge in the world. the state of delaware has more phd's as a percentage of the population than any other state. delaware has the highest rate of patent awards per person of the 50 states. wilmington is known as "the chemical capital of the world", "the credit card capital of the world", and "the corporation capital of thw world". seaford is known as "the nylon capital of the world". rehoboth beah is known as "the nation's summer capital". it got this name for two main reasons: it was the premier beach destination in the early 20th century, and it is also the most popular place for senators and representatives to go on a summer vacation. the first beauty pageant was held in rehoboth beach in 1880. the winner was crowned "miss united states". this beauty pageant later evolved into the miss america pageant. more fortune 500 companies are incorporated in wilmington than the rest of the world combined. around 60% of all the fortune 500 companies are incorporated in delaware. over half of all publicly traded companies in the united states are incorporated in delaware. methodism, a form of protestantism, was begun in delaware in 1784 at barrett's chapel, near the town or frederica. the nation's first scheduled steam railroad, the frencthtown railroad, began in new castle. delaware is the only state in the country with no site in the national park system (includes national parks, national seashores, national monuments, national historic sites, national battlefields, and national memorials). tradition holds that betsy ross's american flag was first flown at the battle of cooch's bridge just south of newark, the only revolutionary war battle (more of a skirmish) in the state of delaware. the quaker in the book "uncle tom's cabin" is believed to be modelled after thomas garrett, a wilmington abolitionist who lost is life savings in court for helping slaves on the underground railroad. the first breakwater built in the western hemisphere is the delaware breakwater in cape henlopen state park.>

'First' Suburbs Growing Older and Poorer, Report Warns

I found this article on the New York Region section of the New York Times today and thought it was interesting, as it really talks about U.S. suburbs in general "'First' Suburbs Growing Older and Poorer, Report Warns By BRUCE LAMBERT Published: February 16, 2006 Half a century ago, millions of young white couples left America's central cities for greener places to build homes and rear families. Their move created booming commuter communities and a new way of life. Comparing Older Suburbs to the Nation But that idealized picture has been transformed and the future of those pioneering suburbs is in jeopardy, according to a study issued yesterday by the Brookings Institution, a research group in Washington. Now home to 52 million people, the early suburbs — like Nassau and Westchester Counties in New York, Bergen and Hudson Counties in New Jersey and Fairfield County in Connecticut — are struggling with unexpected and often unrecognized problems that demand new solutions and leadership, the report said. "Neither fully urban nor completely suburban, America's older, inner-ring 'first' suburbs have a unique set of challenges — such as concentrations of elderly and immigrant populations as well as outmoded housing and commercial buildings — very different from those of the center city and fast-growing newer places," the report said. Echoing an earlier era's worry that the decline of cities threatened entire regions, the report said, "A recent survey of urban scholars ranked the deterioration of first suburbs as one of the most likely influences on metropolitan America for the next 50 years." Solving the problems will not be easy, said Bruce J. Katz, a vice president of Brookings. "First suburbs are caught in a policy blind spot," ignored by traditional urban assistance for cities. Also hurting them is "the new attention lavished on fast-growing outer suburbs," he said at a forum on the report in Washington. Those newer suburbs include Rockland, Orange and Suffolk Counties in New York, but many of the newer and healthiest suburban communities are in the Sun Belt. The first suburbs once led the nation in population growth. But now the growth of many has slowed to a trickle. Some have even lost population, while newer suburbs are galloping ahead. The traditional married-with-children family now accounts for only 27 percent of the households in the aging suburbs. The average household size was 2.7 people in 2000, down from 3.2 in 1970. Once-youthful suburbanites are graying. On average, they are now older than the rest of the country. The 65-and-over segment in the original suburbs has been growing at nearly double the national rate. The housing they live in is also older now than the national average. The face of the early suburbs, which to some were initially a retreat from increasingly multiracial cities, has also changed. Those suburbs are now more racially diverse than the nation as a whole. From 1980 to 2000, the percentage of minority residents in those suburbs doubled; black, Asian and Hispanic residents now make up a third of the population there. The first suburbs are also drawing more immigrants than the cities, the historic destination for the foreign born, the study said. Those suburbs had 9 million immigrants in 2000, eclipsing the 8.6 million in the adjoining primary cities. "The enormous inflow of foreign-born residents is literally transforming many first-suburban communities," the report said. "First suburbs are just now starting to come to grips with these new trends." By many measures, the older suburbs remain strong — some are among the nation's richest communities — with employment, education levels, income and home prices all exceeding national averages. But even those indicators show the older suburbs lagging as the competition catches up, with New York and many other cities in revival mode and newer suburbs flourishing farther out. Median income stagnated in the older suburbs in the 1990's, while rising elsewhere. A troublesome 45 percent of Hispanic students are dropping out of suburban high schools. "Alarming" pockets of poverty have emerged, counter to national trends, the report said. Among all first suburbs, the number of census tracts where 20 percent or more of the residents lived below the poverty line more than tripled from 1970 to 2000. The report, titled "A Fifth of America," focused on 64 counties where suburbs bloomed before and after World War II. They include communities around New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Miami, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle. "Think the Levittowns or, from television, Robert Petrie's New Rochelle, N.Y.," the report said. Skip to next paragraph Comparing Older Suburbs to the Nation Just as city problems prompted urban renewal, the report called for efforts for older suburbs. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Representative Peter T. King of Long Island have introduced a bill for federal assistance of $250 million to older suburbs for economic redevelopment programs. Speaking at Brookings, Mrs. Clinton said, "Most first suburbs don't qualify for existing federal programs." The report urged first suburbs to provide more apartments and assisted living for the elderly, integrate the influx of immigrants, promote business development and combat poverty and blight. Hurdles include the fragmented, parochial and often competing local governments, the report said. Suburban leaders need to cooperate, devise solutions and maximize their political clout, it said. The report praised coalitions like the First Suburbs Development Council in the Cleveland area, state efforts promoting planning in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and multigovernment alliances in Los Angeles. The report also cited the "new suburbia" proposals from the Nassau County executive, Thomas R. Suozzi, who spoke at the forum. He has called for reviving Long Island's small downtowns and creating a high-rise hub in Uniondale. Suburban leaders at the forum agreed that older suburbs need to build housing that more people can afford, a challenge because of diminishing vacant land. Beyond the common problems, the study found that "first suburbs are also often quite different from each other." Immigrants were generally rare in the Midwest but common in California. Suburban Dade County, outside Miami, had the highest Hispanic population, 56 percent. Hudson County, N.J., was next at 47 percent. Nearly half of the Asians in first suburbs were clustered in four California counties. Blacks were 62 percent of the residents of Prince George's County, Md. But the report cautioned seekers of the suburban dream: "The experience of today's minorities in first suburbs may not represent the same upward mobility transitions that it did for whites in earlier decades." ">

Busiest freeways in the USA

Metro area Average Highway vehicles daily Los Angeles I-405 382,000 Atlanta I-75 365,240 Houston U.S59 338,510 Chicago I-90 330,067 Seattle I-5 301,061 San Francisco I-80 299,000 New York I-95 295,400 San Diego I-15 290,000 Phoenix I-10 288,101 Miami I-95 288,000 Washington I-395 280,000 Dallas-Fort Worth I-35E 267,250 Riverside-San Bernardino State Road 91 264,000 Providence I-95 263,500 Sacramento I-305 249,000 San Jose U.S. 101 244,000 Denver I-25 243,333 Las Vegas I-15 240,585 Salt Lake City I-15 235,018 Honolulu H1 229,393 Tampa-St. Petersburg I-275 228,000 Baltimore I-695 224,775 Detroit I-696 222,093 Boston I-93 219,598 Minneapolis I-94 211,744 Austin I-35 210,832>

Does US have a special relationship with San Francisco?

Does the United States have a special relationship with San Francisco? That is, is there something about this city that separates it from all other US cities (in certain ways) that gives it a status no other US city has? One of SF's nicknames is "Everybody's Favorite City" and while the percentage that suggests is impossible, there is still something that rings true. One can easily make an argument that San Francisco is our most beautiful city. Its location is unparalleled, a spectacular mix of man and nature, a hilly peninsular setting loaded with hills and open water all around, the bay serving as an amphitheatre for the Bay Area hills and mountains that surround it. With beauty comes romance. It would be hard to find a more romantic city. What other city would you rather have spent the recently passed Valentines Day? SF has earned a reputation of tolerance that no other city has. It is our city where anything goes, where the norm is not necessary, where you do your own thing. San Francisco may well be our most evocative city. No city, IMHO, conveys the images of a place apart, a world unto its own as San Francisco (not even pre-Katrina New Orleans). San Francisco is the most physically issolated city in the nation, accessabel by land only by the south. THe endless ocean and the wide bay separate it from other places west and east and to the north, the bay and the Golden Gate keeps it apart from Marin. For 3/4 of this city (all areas except south) there are only three entrances: the Bay and GG bridge and BART. That unique setting, set apart, gives us that "place apart", that special evocative feel that is San Francisco: bay, hills, fog, bridges, the Wharf, Chinatown, Victorians climbing hills....along with cable cars, the white and pastel cityscape with a Pyramid towering above, the view from Twin Peaks, tea gardens, the Palace of Fine Arts, Top of the Mark, Lombard's corkscrew....it goes on and on. So am I on to something? Is this really the city of dreams, perched on the edge of the Pacific, the place where "Ah, San Francisco" has a meaning that no other city can offer? Does San Francisco have that special place in America's heart that other cities cannot match?>

US college towns: do they need "State U" to be great?

I don't want to make a hard and fast rule here, but it seems to me that virtually all the great college towns in the United States have public (mostly state) universities, the flagship schools of their respective states. These massive instiutions are large enough to dominate the economy of the town's where they are located and to influence the type of shops, bars, restaurants and "spirit" these places have. Private universities are often smaller with a much smaller influence on the campuses within them. Because they are not state supported, once off campus, it's harder to feel their impact. You can see this when you compare Chapel Hill to Durham or Berkeley to Palo Alto or Bloomington to South Bend. I know there are great college towns for private schools (Princeton may be on the top of that list; others like Evanston are improving and have real potential), but they compare very little with the massive number of great college towns of public instiutions: Ann Arbor, Madison, Austin, Berkeley, Chapel Hill, Charlottesville, Bloomington, Columbia (MO), Boulder, Athens, Tuscon, Iowa City, Gainsville, Lawrence, etc. Is a large, prominent (usually flagship) state university really the type of environment in the US that is likely to provide a great college town environment?>

Grand Ave Update! - Los Angeles - 6 Towers

Grand Plan Approved to Give L.A. a Heart By Cara Mia DiMassa, Times Staff Writer Los Angeles city and county officials Monday approved plans for a cluster of high-rise towers, parks, shopping centers and entertainment venues around Walt Disney Concert Hall, declaring that the Grand Avenue project would bring an urban heart to a city that has long been without one. The approval came as developers unveiled for the first time detailed plans for the project, which would significantly alter the downtown skyline and create a 16-acre park linking Bunker Hill with the Civic Center. The plans call for five new skyscrapers, including a 45- to 50-story building that would house a boutique hotel and condominiums, and four other towers of approximately 30 stories each that would include condominiums as well as affordable housing. The buildings would be situated around 400,000 square feet of retail shops, including a multi-screen movie cinema and a high-end supermarket designed to serve downtown's burgeoning residential population. The concept, backers said, would bind the landmarks in and around Grand Avenue — Disney Hall, the Music Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels — into something like a city square. "In some ways, Los Angeles has always been a divided city, a divided county," said Eli Broad, co-chairman of the Grand Avenue Committee, which is shepherding the project on behalf of the city, county and Community Redevelopment Agency. "That will all change with the creation of a vibrant city center where people can work, live and play." But while Broad and a host of city and county officials hailed the milestone Monday, some questioned whether the plans really measure up to Broad's famous vow to turn Grand Avenue into Los Angeles' version of the Champs Elysees in Paris. Some critics believe the design shares more in common with a shopping mall than a unique public space. Robert Harris, a professor of architecture at USC and the former chairman of the city's downtown strategic plan advisory committee, said he was "infuriated" that the plan seems to focus businesses and public attractions inward rather than having them line the main streets, such as Grand Avenue and 1st Street. As a result, the streets themselves would remain void of life, with the action happening inside the confines of the developments, he said. "The plan doesn't make a fantastic promenade…. It's got to do that," said Harris, who lives downtown. "We should lie down before the bulldozers if it doesn't do that." The approval, by a city and county joint powers authority made up of top officials, including county Supervisor Gloria and City Councilwoman Jan Perry, came after more than a year of planning and public meetings. The unanimous vote allows the Related Cos., the project's developer that recently completed Time Warner Center in Manhattan, to hire architects and landscape designers to create the signature look of the development. Some names being discussed include Disney Hall architect Frank Gehry. But Thom Mayne, the architect of the new Caltrans building, who was listed as a key member of the development team last year, is no longer involved in the effort, officials said Monday. The project is expected to cost $1.8 billion and would be funded privately. Officials said Monday that they should have no trouble raising the capital. Bill Witte, president of the Related Cos. of California, said that the developer had paid particular attention to the public spaces of the project, especially after listening to community concerns at a series of public forums. "We're knitting all of these uses together in a way that works," Witte said. "We've paid a huge amount of attention to the streetscape and pedestrian levels … to make sure that there was great, usable public space." Planners envision Grand Avenue as the spine of a nearly mile-long row of cultural and religious institutions, with the new development sprinkled around them. The tallest tower, described by Related as "the iconic tower," would rise at the corner of Grand Avenue and 2nd Street, across the street from Disney Hall. On the other side of the street, two residential towers would be built along with the movie theater, a bookstore, a grocery store and other retail businesses. A 35- to 40-story residential tower would rise a block south near the corner of 2nd and Olive streets. Nearby, the developers plan a 15- to 20-story office building at Hill and 1st streets above a Metro Rail stop and a 25- to 30-story residential building on 1st and Olive streets. Many of the parcels where development would occur are now either vacant or used as parking lots. In an effort to help pedestrians navigate the area, Related wants to build a pedestrian bridge over Olive between 1st and 2nd and make major improvements to the look of Grand Avenue. The idea is to better link all the new buildings to the 16-acre park, which would be located a few blocks north, adjacent to the Music Center. The park would follow the sloping contour of Bunker Hill, providing a dramatic unobstructed view from the Music Center down to City Hall. The park, Witte said, could be used for festivals, farmers markets, political rallies and other public events that now go elsewhere in the city. Related plans a series of "urban steppes" through the 16-acre park, including what developers have called a Grand Terrace and Great Lawn, as well as public gardens and a civic plaza. They plan to design escalators and steps to take pedestrians through the park, which rises about 80 feet between Spring Street on the east and Grand Avenue on the west. The Grand Avenue project has been hailed by backers as an effort to bring night life and a sense of community to a downtown that for decades was known for closing down when the sun set. Since the project was proposed five years ago, downtown has seen an infusion of residents attracted by both high-end condos and lofts. On the south end of downtown, Staples Center has sparked an economic revival, bringing new residential construction and downtown's first new chain grocery store in decades. But the kind of mixed-use development that Related is proposing for Bunker Hill has met with mixed success elsewhere in Southern California. Although the Grove shopping center near Park La Brea is booming, other developments such as Paseo Pasadena and Hollywood & Highland have struggled to find the right mix of tenants. Witte, however, said the unique nature of the Grand Avenue project — with a marriage of retail and resident with existing museums and fine arts centers — sets it apart. "This is also a much larger template to play with here, he said. The park would be bordered on the north by the county Hall of Administration and on the south by the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, two buildings that Molina, chairwoman of the joint powers authority, said have "significant seismic issues" and eventually may have to be razed. Witte said that the park has been planned with such a possibility in mind. If those buildings are knocked down, he said, their footprints could be incorporated into a larger park with relatively little cost or effort. If that happens, one idea that has been bandied about is for the county to relocate many of its core offices from the Hall of Administration to one of the new office buildings. But Joel Kotkin, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and the author of "The City: A Global History," called that idea "outrageous" and would lead to a public subsidy of the developer — a prospect that government officials have taken pains to avoid. "We ought to be questioning where the demand is coming from," he said. Downtown Los Angeles already has a glut of unused office space, much of which was built in the 1980s, Kotkin said. "Why can't we put them in there and cut a better deal?" he asked. "What a bunch of chumps we are." The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. estimates that the Grand Avenue project would create 5,000 full-time jobs and generate approximately $565 million in annual business revenue to the city and the county. Officials said that they expect an environmental impact review of the Grand Avenue project to be completed by the end of the year. The first phase of the project's construction could begin as early as December 2006. Broad pointed out that in the five years since its inception, the project has spanned the administrations of two mayors and is poised to overlap a third's. All three of those men were in attendance Monday, and all voiced their support for the project. Mayor James K. Hahn sat in the front row; former Mayor Richard Riordan and Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa sat side-by-side in the next. The plan, Broad said, "is one thing all three of you can agree on.">

Tallest electricity pylon in USA

Where is the tallest electricity pylon in USA? How tall is it, when was it build? How tall are the electricity pylons of Mississippi Crossing near New Orleans? When were they built?>

5 things that make you proud of your state w/pics

I took this from here but changed it to states Texas 1.Athletes/Football Texas is bigger then France 2.Beer/drinks 3.Food 4.State Fair of Texas 5.Geography Hill country Caddo Lake Palo Duro Canyon(2nd biggest in the 48) Panhandle South Padre Island Davis Mountains >

Which of these 4 cities is best for a great college experience?

Hey guys. It's getting to be about that time where I start applying to universities. I live in California right now and am going to a 2 year community college but am looking to transfer to a 4 year university out of state. The school/cities I have narrowed it down to (and trust me I used to have about 75 schools on my list so I have REALLY narrowed it down) are: Philadelphia: Temple University Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh New York City: CUNY Brooklyn College Chicago: University of Illinois at Chicago St. Louis: University of Missouri/St. Louis Kansas City: University of Missouri/Kansas City Boston: University of Massachusetts at Boston New Jersey: New Jersey City University So, out of these 8 colleges and cities which do you think would be the best combination (City and College) for a college student trying to live out the college experience? I'm not looking for which is the biggest party school, rather which has the most to do for a college student and what those things are. Any information on the cities, universities, pictures or anything you want is welcome.>

Which of these 4 cities is best for a great college experience?

Hey guys. It's getting to be about that time where I start applying to universities. I live in California right now and am going to a 2 year community college but am looking to transfer to a 4 year university out of state. The school/cities I have narrowed it down to (and trust me I used to have about 75 schools on my list so I have REALLY narrowed it down) are: Philadelphia: Temple University Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh New York City: CUNY Brooklyn College Chicago: University of Illinois at Chicago St. Louis: University of Missouri/St. Louis Kansas City: University of Missouri/Kansas City Boston: University of Massachusetts at Boston New Jersey: New Jersey City University So, out of these 8 colleges and cities which do you think would be the best combination (City and College) for a college student trying to live out the college experience? I'm not looking for which is the biggest party school, rather which has the most to do for a college student and what those things are. Any information on the cities, universities, pictures or anything you want is welcome.>

future interstates

are there any places in the united states that need an interstate? any places that should have an interstate? any places where it doesn't make any sense that there isn't an interstate? is there any place that could use any type of limited access highway, interstate or not? one place i know could really use an interstate is california. route 99 should be an interstate. if i'm correct, fresno is the largest city without an interstate. bakersfield would also be inluded in this plan. fresno is a pretty big city, but many people think it's just a small town because there isn't any freeway with national merit that goes through the city. another place that could benefit is lancaster, pennsylvania. i believe that they were originally going to get an interstate, because there is a state route numbered as 283 that starts at the end of i-283 in harrisburg. sr 283 was probably going to be a continuation of i-283, but must not have met interstate standards (and it wasn't the best freeway that could be built, although major construction in the last few years is making it much better). delaware could use an interstate, or at least a freeway, to the beaches in sussex county. we currently have state route 1, which goes down to ocean city, maryland, but it is only an expressway until just south of dover. then it becomes a major divided highway. while there aren't many traffic lights or businesses along the highway until you get near the ocean (mostly farmland from dover to the beach communities), any type of cross-traffic can be extremely dangerous, or inconvenient at the least. traffic to the beaches from northern delaware and southeast pennsylvania is very heavy on friday afternoons and sunday nights, and stopping for the occasional traffic light can really screw things up. it is really bad for people who live down there, though, who might have to cross over the highway during the extreme traffic in order to get somewhere on the other side of the highway. you can literally wait for an hour to cross the highway, because traffic is almost at a standstill and the traffic jam can back up for 10 or 15 miles. the situation on route 1 is apparently the situation west of dover on route 50 and other routes. i have never needed to use those roads to get to the beach, so i wouldn't really know about it as much, but i know many people in washington dc and baltimore that complain about the traffic when driving to the delaware beaches. there has been talk of extending i-595 (the hidden interstate that goes from washington, through bowie, to annapolis) over the bay, and crossing into delaware and connecting with route 1 in dover, or possibly going towards salisbury, maryland.>

The best photo of your city skyline

My city is Atlanta, it might not be the best photo Atlanta Photos>

Big Box Stores

ok wal-mart sucks blah blah but some big box stores are pretty cool I just wanted to know some your favorites here are a few examples http://www.frys.com/ http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...*retail_stores http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catal...N_STORELOCATOR http://www.ikea.com/ Include other ones I missed I probably missed a few but anyway those have any problems with these? MY CITY IS BETTER THEN YOUR CITY!!!!>

What's Your City's Access to Skiing and (Sub)Tropical Ocean Beaches

I'm partial to North Carolina's cities...and, as you all know, especially Charlotte. Since moving here, I am surprised and impressed that I am able to drive from the center of Charlotte to mountain skiing (the highest mountains east of the Rockies...7000') in 2 hours or to sub-tropical beaches in about 2.5 hours. The only other place where I've lived and been able to do this is California. Here's the question...from which major US cities (metros + 1 million) can one travel 3 hours or less and be in mountains over 6000', or, travel 3 hours or less and be on tropical beaches?>

Nebraska vs. Missouri vs. Oklahoma vs. Kansas (State vs. State, Part 2)

This is Part 2 of the State vs. State series. Choose the state(s) that you prefer the most. If anyone has any pictures of these states, please post them! GYRO on the web>

Most Liberal & Conservative US Cities

According to the Bay Area Center for Voting Research... AmericaÂ's 25 Most Liberal Cities, over 100,000 residents (in descending order) 1 Detroit 2 Gary, IN 3 Berkeley, CA 4 Washington, DC 5 Oakland, CA 6 Inglewood, CA 7 Newark, NJ 8 Cambridge, MA 9 San Francisco 10 Flint, MI 11 Cleveland 12 Hartford, CT 13 Paterson, NJ 14 Baltimore 15 New Haven, CT 16 Seattle 17 Chicago 18 Philadelphia 19 Birmingham, AL 20 St. Louis 21 New York 22 Providence, RI 23 Minneapolis 24 Boston 25 Buffalo AmericaÂ's 25 Most Conservative Cities, over 100,000 residents (in descending order) 1 Provo, UT 2 Lubbock, TX 3 Abilene, TX 4 Hialeah, FL 5 Plano, TX 6 Colorado Springs, CO 7 Gilbert, AZ 8 Bakersfield, CA 9 Lafayette, LA 10 Orange, CA 11 Escondido, CA 12 Allentown, PA 13 Mesa, AZ 14 Arlington, TX 15 Peoria, AZ 16 Cape Coral, FL 17 Garden Grove, CA 18 Simi Valley, CA 19 Corona, CA 20 Clearwater, FL 21 West Valley City, UT 22 Oklahoma City, OK 23 Overland Park, KS 24 Anchorage, AK 25 Huntington Beach, CA>

New photos of 22 cities.

My website is being rebuilt. The photos are all up on Pbase to be previewed. Please give me lots of feedback. Baltimore Boston Buffalo Charlotte Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Detroit Hamilton Indianapolis Louisville Milwaukee Montreal New York Philadelphia Pittsburgh Providence Richmond Saint Louis Toronto Washington DC Enjoy.>

Metro Housing Markets awaiting a bubble burst?

High-priced housing faces risks Fifty-three metropolitan areas representing 31% of the total U.S. housing market are considered extremely overvalued and confront a high risk of future price corrections, a study conducted by National City Corp. says. The study determines a market extremely overvalued if prices are 30% above where the study estimates they should be based on historic price data, area income, mortgage rates and population density. Metro areas that are extremely overvalued and vulnerable to price correction: Rank Metro area Q1 valuation 1 Santa Barbara, Calif. 69% 2 Salinas, Calif. 67% 3 Naples, Fla. 62% 4 Riverside, Calif. 60% 5 Merced, Calif. 59% 6 Stockton, Calif. 58% 7 Port St. Lucie, Fla. 58% 8 Madera, Calif. 57% 9 Napa, Calif. 57% 10 Medford, Ore. 55% 11 Sacramento, Calif. 54% 12 Modesto, Calif. 53% 13 San Diego, Calif. 53% 14 Santa Rosa, Calif. 52% 15 Chico, Calif. 52% 16 Barnstable Town, Mass. 50% 17 San Luis Obispo, Calif. 49% 18 Oxnard, Calif. 48% 19 Fresno, Calif. 48% 20 Los Angeles, Calif. 48% 21 Miami, Fla. 46% 22 West Palm Beach, Fla. 46% 23 Vallejo, Calif. 45% 24 Ocean City, N.J. 45% 25 Bend, Ore. 45% 26 Sarasota, Fla. 45% 27 Redding, Calif. 44% 28 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 43% 29 Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. 42% 30 Santa Ana, Calif. 41% 31 Atlantic City, N.J. 41% 32 Bakersfield, Calif. 40% 33 Oakland, Calif. 39% 34 Santa Cruz, Calif. 39% 35 Palm Bay, Fla. 38% 36 Las Vegas, Nev. 38% 37 Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 37% 38 Vero Beach, Fla. 37% 39 San Jose, Calif. 36% 40 Bellingham, Wash. 35% 41 Panama City, Fla. 35% 42 Calif.pe Coral, Fla. 35% 43 Providence, R.I. 34% 44 Reno, Nev. 33% 45 Kingston, N.Y. 32% 46 Visalia, Calif. 32% 47 Deltona, Fla. 31% 48 Boston, Mass. 31% 49 Washington D.C. 31% 50 Essex County, Mass. 30% 51 San Francisco, Calif. 30% 52 Prescott, Ariz. 30% 53 Duluth, Minn. 30% http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/...valuations.htm It seems that California Florida, and New York are the most over priced areas of the country. Whats your take?>

Major cities not situated on water

Are there any major cities in America that are not situated on bodies of water, as in the ocean, a lake, or a river? If so, are there any that don't have man-made bodies of water, such as canals, reservoirs, or aquaducts?>

Sunniest States

Percent of days that are sunny 1. Arizona = 81 2. New Mexico = 76 3. Hawaii = 74 4. California 5. Nevada 6. Colorado 6. Texas 8. Florida 9. Oklahoma 9. Wyoming 11. Kansas 11. Utah 13. Alabama 13. Arkansas 13. Louisiana 13. South Carolina 17. Georgia 17. Mississippi 17. Nebraska 17. North Carolina 21. Idaho 21. Maryland 21. Tennessee 24. Missouri 24. South Dakota 24. Virginia = 57 27. New Jersey = 56 28. Delaware = 55 28. District of Columbia 28. Iowa 28. Maine 28. Massachusetts 28. New Hampshire 28. North Dakota 28. Rhode Island 36. Illinois 36. Kentucky 38. Connecticut 38. Minnesota 38. New York 38. Wisconsin 42. Indiana 42. Montana 44. Pennsylvania 45. West Virginia 46. Ohio 47. Michigan 48. Vermont 49. Washington = 43 50. Oregon = 39 51. Alaska = 23>

Edge Cities

Some say that they create an incomplete or pepperoni-pizza city. I would explain them as a simple solution to suburban sprawl. Currently more than five 25 floor buildings (25 floors is the cap) are being built in the massive suburbs of unincorporated Miami, where I live. I was just curious to see some opinions on edge cities and what is likely to be the future of this newly created edge city. According to Joel Garreau, who coined the term, an edge city must meet these criteria: 1. The area must have more than five million square feet of office space (about the space of a good-sized downtown) 2. The place must include over 600,000 square feet of retail space (the size of a large regional shopping mall) 3. The population must rise every morning and drop every afternoon (i.e., there are more jobs than homes) 4. The place is known as a single end destination (the place "has it all;" entertainment, shopping, recreation, etc.) 5. The area must not have been anything like a "city" 30 years ago (cow pastures would have been nice)>

POST PICS OF YOUR FAVORITE PHOENIX/LOS ANGELES SKYSCRAPER

US BANK TOWER-LOS ANGELES BANK ONE CENTER-PHOENIX>

Best place to live: 2005

If anybody has seen this website: http://money.cnn.com/best/bplive/index.html it basically has the "Best places to live 2005". It has all of the cities that competed for the best place to live. All of the major cities in the U.S.A. are on there, i'm sure. So people on the City vs City threads are complaining bout the accuracy of the population. i think some cities are accurate others are just way unaccurate, i dunno why. By town & surrounding area, i think CNN meant to include neighborhoods not known as cities. i'll give some examples of city populations: Mobile, AL(my city): 266,626. i think this is somewhat correct, cuz Mobile is definitely over 200,000. i seen websites with Mobile's pop. under 190,000. i guess they don't include West Mobile(it is not a city) into the city population. That isn't fair at all. Moving along San Francisco, CA: 743,566. that's correct for sure. Las Vegas, NV: 1,222,013. this can't be right, cuz Las Vegas ain't grown that fast. i guess they included tourists also and we all know that Las Vegas brings in a shitload of tourists, so is it still wrong? Atlanta, GA: 867,847. there's no way that Atlanta has under 420,000 residents in 2005. no way man! Atlanta just looks too big to be undersized in people ya know. Austin, TX: 844,201. that can't be right. then again Austin is growing city and i thought it was a little town. Birmingham, AL: 491,518. no disrespect to B'Ham, but there a tons of cities surrounding B'Ham. i guess the website included all of the little cities next to B'Ham for that to look correct, but i know B'Ham isn't that big as a city alone. Salt Lake City, UT: 578,592. As a city, Salt Lake has less people than Jackson, MS! i think they include West Valley, which is a big suburb in the metro area. Ft. Lauderdale, FL: 792,959. That's not right, man. i never thought that it was that big. Hartford, CT: 124,070. sounds right to me. their metro area is huge though. Pensacola, FL: 253,055. wow! that's almost as big as Mobile. P'cola has a big metro area for a mid-size city but gimme a break man! Houston, TX: 2,752,636. Houston grew fast! but much closer to Chi-town! St. Petersburg, FL: 345,956. sound legit cuz it's near Tampa, but you be the judge Nashville, TN: 403,893. i think this is Nashville without Davidson. which is wrong to me Tulsa, OK: 414,546. it grew a little, but it sounds legit. i like their skyline, it's tight Colorado Springs: 485,936. don't know what to say bout that Minneapolis, MN: 1,005,556. that's not right, it can't be St. Paul, MN: 745,785. it's next to Minny right? why is that so wrong here? Boston, MA: 354,330. CNN.money.com/ is on crack. i won't use this again, so anyone gotta say anything? >

Adventures off the beaten road

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...9/ai_112404536 Along these lines. For those who are bored of the main event, the big art museum, the Six Flags, Downtown, or wherever may be exciting, list where you go for entertainment, once you've seen it all. Do you hit the road, and find a cabin on the lake, go hiking in the mountains, or find other urbane in a neighboring city? Do you head for a town with an undiscovered urban scene? List all. Me? I usually head for Arkansas when I get bored. Little Rock has a very undiscovered, booming urban scene, and the surrounding resort town of Hot Springs is great. Sometimes I rent a cabin down at Lake Texoma, and play a round of golf out there. I would also recommend the Quartz Mountains Lodge in Altus, OK for anyone in the South Central US.>

RELAX... try these...

El nido, Palawan, Philippines>