Your city business districts

[montrouge 2]

Show the biggest or most important business districts of your city, but not only the CBD if your city has several business district, Please only one picture for a business district.

Paris

1- QCA

The QCA (Quartier Central des Affaires) is the historical and still largest business district of Paris, extending from the Opéra to the Champs-Élysées. It is also the largest business district in Europe by most criterias:

- 420,000 workers/employees

- 80,400 companies

- 8.5 million m² (91 million sq. ft) of office space

- major transportation hub of Opéra-Auber-Haussmann-St Lazare (all these subway stations are interconnected, creating a massive maze of tunnels and vaulted galleries)

2- La Défense

La Défense  is the skyscraper district of Paris, and has the highest daytime density in Europe:

- 160,000 workers/employees

- 3,600 companies

- 3.35 million m² (36 million sq ft) of office space

- major transportation hub of La Défense Grande Arche, a large interchange station for the Métro, the RER express subway, suburban trains, and the tramway. La Défense Authority (EPAD) is pushing for the arrival of a new RER line at La Défense Grande Arche.

Apart from these two main business districts, there are several other sub-districts across Greater Paris. I will just list the most important ones, in alphabetical order.

Bercy

In Eastern Central Paris, around the Ministry of Finance the Gare de Lyon  train station, Gare Austerliz and the french national library. Essentially business services there.

Évry-Massy-Saclay

This is the "Silicon Valley" of Greater Paris. It's often presented as such, or, more precisely, I think they label it as the "Scientific Valley" of Paris. It is located to the south of Greater Paris. Biotech industries in Évry, hard science in Saclay (in particular nuclear physics):

- 12,000 researchers and 23,000 scientific students in Saclay; 4,000 companies (1,000 in high-tech); plans to turn the Saclay area into one of the largest scientific campuses in the world

- 80,000 employees/workers in Évry (1,850 in genetics), 13,500 students

- 22,000 employees/workers around the TGV and RER train station in Massy, 3,000 private sector jobs created there between 2003 and 2005.

View of the genetics campus in Évry:

Issy-Val de Seine

Immediately to the southwest of Central Paris, this area has become France's largest cluster of medias (televisions, radios, newspapers, magazines).

Orly-Rungis

Business district around Orly Airport and the Rungis wholesale food market, the largest food market in the world:

- 100,000 workers/employees

- 4,900 companies

- specialization: transport, logistics, foodstuff industry, wholesale trade, biotech industries

Rungis in the foreground, with Central Paris on the horizon (tiny Eiffel Tower):

Plaine Saint-Denis

Immediately to the north of Central Paris, around the Stade de France sports arena, this derelict manufacturing area has undergone massive regeneration in the last 10 years:

- 2,700 companies

- specialization: business services around the Stade de France; most of France's television studios as well as some major movie studios are also located in the area

- two RER express subway stations near the Stade de France

Roissy

Business district around Paris CDG Airport:

- between 70,000 and 100,000 employees

- 700 companies

- specialization: air transport, logistics

[dogma555 187]

here it is in one pic

[Deleted image over 800x600 limit] Marc

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Detroit:

Total, Metro Detroit has 77 million square feet of office space.

Architecture of Metropolitan Detroit

---

Downtown:

This is downtown.  You can spot some BSP BATs in there.  Downtown is about one square mile big.  Downtown had been building skyscrapers normally until the 70s when Southfield built them instead.  Since then Detroit has only built a handful of major projects per decade.

---

New Center:

General Motors needed to build a huge HQ building.  The land was cheaper, and the lots were bigger north of downtown.  The site was also closer to their factories than downtown.  GM built several massive buildings.  Then the Fisher Building, a tall art deco building, was built by an auto supplier to one-up GM.  Several other large buildings were built there.  Strong corporate stewardship and a business association have kept this area in good shape since its creation in the 1920s. 

In SC4, GM's HQ (the white building in the photo, not entirely shown) would be a 7x10.

New Center is about 3 miles Northwest of downtown.

Downtown 2.0

---

Southfield:

This is a suburban office district.  It branded itself as being the center of it all, as it was in the geographic center of Metro Detroit. 

Southfield is about 12 miles Northwest of New Center.

Downtown 3.0

---

Troy:

A newer suburban office district.  Not much to say about it.  Home to the affluent Somerset Collection (a mall).

Troy is about 10 miles Northeast of Southfield.

Downtown 4.0.

[krbe 193]

Is the picture from Orly-Rungis one of the passenger terminuses in France (like Gare du Nord)?

[toxicpiano 125]

Mine would be:

The City of London

The City of London has a resident population of under 10,000, whilst the City employs 340,000 professional workers, mainly in the financial Sector, who commute on a daily basis - making the area's transport system extremely busy during certain peak times. Obviously it's pretty much a ghost town at the weekends. It's been administered as a seperate city since the year 886. Part of it dates back to Roman times however (something like 47BC). It's nicknamed the square mile.

Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf is a large business and shopping development in London, located on the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, centred on the old West India Docks in the London Docklands. Canary Wharf is built on the site of the old West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs. From 1802 to 1980, the area was one of the busiest docks in the world, with at one point 50,000 employed. Canary Wharf itself takes its name from the sea trade with the Canary Islands, whose name comes from the dogs (Latin canis) which the Spaniards found there, producing the linguistic coincidence of trade between the Dog Islands and the Isle of Dogs. The docklands were the centre of trade for the British empire. After the decline of the empire, many of them fell into disrepair and were abandoned. They were officially closed in 1980. Thousands were out of work and a huge area of the Docklands lay in ruins - a testament to the changing world economy. The project to revitalise the eight square miles of derelict London docks began in 1981 with the establishment of the London Docklands Development Corporation by the government of Margaret Thatcher. Initially redevelopment was focused on small-scale, light industrial schemes and Canary Wharf's largest occupier was Limehouse Studios, a TV production company.

Croydon

Croydon 2020 vision:

Croydon is an odd one. Croydon is a large town and major commercial centre in south London, and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Croydon. It is 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south of Charing Cross, and is one of ten major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It is approximately latitudinal to Margate, Rochester and Bath. The area lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Wallington hundred.

Croydon was created a municipal borough in Surrey in 1883. In 1889, through its growing economic importance, it was made a county borough exempt from county administration. In 1965 the County Borough of Croydon was abolished and its former area was transferred to Greater London and combined with that of the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District to form the present-day London Borough of Croydon. It was the home to Croydon Airport, which was eventually superceded by Gatwick international airport (as it was considered too small for any expansion). It the next decade it's going to be regenerated under the Croydon Vision 2020 plan. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croydon_Vision_2020)

The plan will bring 40 story office towers, the extension of the East London line and a 12,000 seat arena.

[allez l'om 1]

i will present the CBD of my city: Paris

more precisely the defense!!!

the defense boulevard by night

ernest young tower

the defense viewed from the bois de boulogne

the elf tower

my favorite the Gant tower

also my favorites the societe general and EDF towers

the Areva tower

coeur defense tower

and to finish (there is still a lot of towers) the CBX towers

[montrouge 2]

Read the first message, there is already Paris and La Defense is not the CBD it is QCA. (Quartier Central des Affaire) in the center.

Originally posted by: krbe Is the picture from Orly-Rungis one of the passenger terminuses in France (like Gare du Nord)?quote>

 

No it is not, this is freight train terminal.

[allez l'om 1]

ok sorry la d

[ledge69 0]

London Part 2

Westminster

The second city of the London conibation. Dominated by most of the Government departments. Also home to fashion headquarters, Chambers, real estate and embassies totalling over 5,780,000m2. Some of worlds most expensive office space can be found here.

Camden & Islington

A Borough lying just north of the City of London. A business centre only really gaining note in the last 50 years and in the last 20 drawing hundreds of fashion and creactive arts firms. The Old Street area has become home to the new media hub totally over 2,294,000m2. In the future the King's Cross railway lands could see a big rise to this number.

Islington

Old Street, Islington End

Southwark & Lambeth

Lying just across the river Thames from the City of Lodnon. Clusterd mostly around London Bridge station is 1,780,000m2 of office space, mainly occupied by consultancy, recruitment and local Government.

Southwark Towers, Southwark

King's Reach Tower in Lambeth.

London is also home to smallish industrial estates. One of the biggest being Park Royal in West London and a second, Stratford Marshes in East London although this has greatly been turned to other uses and with the 2012 Olympic development will see most of it turned over to office space.

It's hard to find a picture to capture these areas and there mostly a mixed lot with more then one centre to them. If you've ever been to London you will know it follows few rules on city planning :-)

[patriots_1228 51]

Boston Massachusetts

Downtown in 2012 (with supertall)

Downtown im gonna guess 90's or 80's

Downtown present

Back Bay-Prudential and 111 huntington

Back Bay-hanc0ck-tallest in city, 46th in america

Also there are some small skyscrapers across the river in cambridge but i cant find good pics.

[Godzillaman 21]

Toronto!

[skyliner22 16]

San Francisco Bay Area:

Downtown San Francisco

San Francisco Mission Bay, currently underconstruction but will be home to a lot of genetic science companies such as Genetech.

Downtown San Jose

Downtown Oakland

San Francisco is the biggest business center in Northern California and Silicon Valley is the biggest high tech center

[dogma555 187]

Midtown Manhattan

Lower Manhattan , 2001 as seen from Jersey City.

Downtown Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan and Jersey City,from bottom city to top city.

Entire Manhattan skyline, 2011 or so once the WTC is rebuilt:

[Godzillaman 21]

Now I know why Cloverfield took place in New York.

[Duke87 1,070]

I'm gonna throw a few of my own pictures out here.

New York skyline off in the distance on a dreary day (April 11, 2006) from I-78 Eastbound in Bayonne:

From Ellis Island, same day:

Denver at night from Coors Field (July 26, 2006):

[Godzillaman 21]

Future Toronto!

[panthersimcity4 162]

Phoenix, Arizona   Small downtown... HUGE suburbs.

[sicarim 0]

Minneapolis MN.

population under 400,000, but the twin cities metro area is over 3 million people, making it one of the largest metro areas in the USA. that would explain Minneapolis' impresseive skyline and business district. surprisingly enough, around 80, 000 live downtown, in high rise condos and townhouses.

[Mike the Mayor 51]

BRISTOL, England

Bristol is the eightth largest city in England with a total urban area population of about 520,000 people and with 60,000 more homes about to be built over coming years, the population is set to rise. Here are some views:

[818omfgitskyle818 0]

LOS ANGLELES

Downtown LA- The main financial core for the Southland, it features some of the largest buildings on the West Coast. Although it is a major financial capital, it has many other neighborhoods as well, such as Chinatown, Little Tokyo, (probably the coolest neighborhood ever) the Fashion District, and Skid Row. (Yes, THE skid row.) The Music Center is here as well, with three theatres: The Mark Taper Forum, the Dorthy Chandler Pavillion, the Walt Disney Center, and the Ahmanson Theatre. Downtown LA has recently been seeing a rise in luxury condos in the South Park neighborhood, as well as the new development LA Live next to the Staples Center which is expected to hold many award shows in years time. The government center for Los Angeles City and County are here as well. (They arent consolidated.)

Hollywood- Hollywood is the major entertainment center in Los Angeles and probably the United States all together. Hollywood is home to the Kodak, El Capitan, and Mann's Chinese Theaters. But contrary to popular belief, Hollywood is not home to the stars or the movie sets. In fact, the only major studio in Hollywood is Paramount. The reality is, most of Hollywood is a slum. There are many ethnic nighborhoods for the multitudes of immigrants from Europe and Asia such as Thai Town and Litle Armenia.

Burbank- Now THIS is where the studios are! Burbank is located in the middle of the suburban sprawl of the San Fernando Valley, next to Glendale and North Hollywood. Burbank boasts a bustling downtown, as well as many studios, such as NBC, ABC, and the Warner Brothers Ranch.

Long Beach- Ahh, Long Beach! Long Beach is on the opposite side of the LA Metro from Burbank. It is a port community, and t is the berthing point of both the Queen Mary and Queen Mary 2. Long Beach has a vibrant nightlife scene, and you can never go wrong to visit the aquarium located right on the water!

Santa Monica- This is Santa Monica, the vibrant and exciting beach community of the North Bay. Santa Monica is home to countless beach hotels, the Santa Monica Promenade, and a pier amusement park reminicent of Coney Island.

Century City- Century City is halfway between Hollywood and Santa Monica. The skyscrapers of Century City are made up of vario

[DNK 0]

Someone has to represent Chicago here...

2.8m people in Cook county.

9.7m in the total metropolitan area.

Since 1837

$442bn/year in GMetroP

Includes the Chicago Stock Exchange, a Federal Reserve bank, and the Mercantile Exchange.

Highest IT and HIT employment in the US.

10th richest city in the world.

4th most important world business city.

I can't find office space statistics, though.

And the pictures!

1. Looking out to Lake Michigan at night.

Looking back from the planetarium on the lake.

2. The Loop (CBD proper) from the Chicago Art Museum stairs. Hey, look, it's the Sears Tower, tallest building in the world, not counting those third world cheaters.

3. The John Hancock center and the lake.

Coming into the city from one of its highways.

Lakeshore Drive, right by Soldier Field (top right corner).

3. Above the river, on Lakeshore Drive.

4. Michigan Ave, going into the Loop.

5. It can tend to get dark with so many tall shadows around.

Right at the edge of the Loop, here's Chicago's good old elevated rail system.

More from the inside. Chicago is growing fast, as the first growth metro area 5 out of the last 6 years. The skyline is dotted with many cranes.

Mmmm.... towering skyscrapers...

And one more of the el.

And lets throw in a Google Earth of downtown:

[dogma555 187]

wow i never knew toronto was that massive of a business district!!

chitown is also a beautiful city.. but i would still say that the two most gorgeous cities are NYC and Paris.

[DNK 0]

Those pictures really don't do it justice. A bright day in summer with a quality camera (not video stills) would look MUCH nicer, especially if I actually got out of my car to do the shooting (nothing like Chicago traffic and filming at the same time!). Those shots are horrid!

Here's on I meant to put up originally:

[GreekMan 246]

San Diego, CA

[un_peacekeeper 0]

Hey guys.  I don't think I have posted much here before, but have been a member for so long already...sorry for not contributing!

I am quite surprised no one has mentioned Hong Kong.  I currently live in Canada, but it is where I am from.  Should be able to click on picture for larger image.

And nightitme.

Check this out:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Hong_Kong
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central%2C_Hong_Kong

[un1 41]

My city CBD is so small kind of I mean its divided into two!! Theres Port Arthur and Fort William...

[TRNSTN 0]

haha that picture of Future Toronto made me laugh cuase it still looks the same.

[.soapy 127]

Originally posted by: TRNSTN haha that picture of Future Toronto made me laugh cuase it still looks the same.quote>

well, what did you expect? massive glass buildings everywhere shrouding over the CN tower?  if only...

[Cobra_nVidia 30]

Kitchener, Ontario, Canada!

Pretty humble considering our local area is about 450,000 people I think (K-W, Cambridge)

[hedge 0]

City: San Diego, CA

Downtown:

Central Business District:

Marina District:

[Marc- Please make sure your images are within the 800x600 pixel limit.]