DC/Philadelphia Neighborhood Equivalences

But but... what about us Center Cityians?

And yes, it is quite accurate. Well done. :)

There is no real DC downtown

There is no real DC downtown

As a former Philly resident, who now lives in DC, I have thought about this topic many times. Just because UCity and Foggy Bottom have Universities present, doesn't mean they are similar. I always saw a strong connection between Foggy Bottom and Fitler Square. Not only does Fitler Square have a strong relationship to the nearby universites, but the two areas share similar architectural styles and building scale. In addition Fitler and Foggy Bottom are both on the edge of the central business district, but retain its small scale/residential character. Both neighborhoods border rivers and finally both are on the cusp of the one the wealthiest neighborhoods in town (Georgetown/Rittenhouse)

NE philly is similar to SE DC? I do not see any relationship between the two. Anyway, I could go on and on... but this author may want to explain his/her connections before jumping to Boston.

Hi there-

This is a blog post from someone comparing NYC and DC neighborhoods that I left a comment on with my own comparison of San Francisco and DC.

See, two birds with one stone!

http://dcunadulterated.blogspot.com/2007/08/dc-vs-nyc.html

I'd argue that University City--the sanitized, chain-store, no-real-people-actually-live-there part of West Philly that Penn has dumped so much money into making safe--well, that part bears a lot of similarity to Foggy Bottom.

I see your point about Fitler, but I just don't think it's businessy enough to be equivalent to Foggy Bottom. Sure, there are a few laundromats and restaurants, but it's almost entirely residential. Foggy Bottom, on the other hand, has a lot of (mostly terrible) bars, restaurants, etc.

Also, thanks for the link to that blogpost--it's perfect! Maybe I'll post a followup soon pulling them all together.

"the sanitized, chain-store, no-real-people-actually-live-there part of West Philly..."

ummm Chinatown, DC not Foggy Bottom.

Dupont and Rittenhouse aren't that similar in my opinion....both have lots of restaurants, but Rittenhouse has way better shopping.

JP = Columbia Heights is obvious?

It's not a direct analogue, but I'd argue that JP is more like Mount Pleasant, or at least MtP and Columbia Heights combined...

Dude - Georgetown is similar to Society Hill . . . NOT Olde City.

I assume you meant to say SE DC is the equivalent of North Philly, not NE Philly. You can argue details of some of the other comparisons, but thats the only one that I would call a glaring error. I don't think DC has an equivalent of NE Philly until maybe you get into some of the suburbs.

Mmmm I'd concur with some, but really have to disagree with the Columbia Heights and U Street comparisons. U Street is more similar to NoLibs that Columbia Heights is -- it's the trendiest area, pretty safe (but with a kind of sordid history) and is way too expensive to live in. Columbia Heights is like Fishtown -- up-and-coming, a couple interesting places to hang out and drink, still a little sketch in areas, but much, much more affordable. Though I do think Petworth fits in Fishtown, too.

All the complaints people have about the NE/SE stuff are fairly accurate. Mostly, by making those huge sweeping comparisons I was trying to make the (arguably obnoxious) point that the entire exercise reflects how segregated both cities are by race and class. It's a little ridiculous that we (or in this case, I) break down neighborhoods in Center City and NW by five-block increments, but then classify entire quadrants as equivalent "neighborhoods."

Katherine, you make a good point in terms of restaurants/expense. I think part of what I was trying to get at was the crazy development that's been going on both in Northern Liberties and in Columbia Heights, with tons of condos and new restaurants opening constantly.

This is a wonderful and hilarious concept. I have often found myself doing this in DC to explain Philly to people who haven't been and are planning on visiting. I think that it is pretty tough to find a DC equivalent to the Neast, but as a S.E. DC resident I would have to say thats its not all that close. I also agree that Georgetwon is way more like Society Hill or Chestnut Hill than Old City.

San Francisco equivalents:

Georgetown Union Square
U St Inner Mission (16th St.)
Dupont Circle Castro
Columbia Hts Outer Mission (24th St.)
Logan Circle Nopa
Woodley/Clvland Pacific Heights
Foggy Bottom SoMa
H Street Western Addition
Adams Morgan Marina/North Beach
Mount Pleasant Noe Valley
Capitol Hill Financial District
Petworth Potrero Hill
Southeast Bayview
Northeast Sunset

DC equivalent of NE Philly? How about Baltimore?

Mt Airy = Takoma Park
Chestnut Hill = Chevy Chase
Jenkintown = Silver Spring
Montgomery County = Montgomery County

this is fun!