willfryar

I think the interstate system is great. Except when it passes through the cities instead of by them.... A little tidbit: the last project in the US that fell under the original Act was Boston's Big Dig Project....

Next time you come visit. Come on into to Brooklyn......we aren't that bad! There is so much more to NYC than Manhattan. Anyway, Im glad you enjoyed your stay....come again..

The new wave of planning is Smart Growth, look it up.quote> Oh no! Robert Moses is rolling in his grave! BTW, Moses didn't only have his hand in screwing up NYC's outlying areas. His influence can be partly to blame for the messy state of just about every other American city.

I have to disagree with the poster who mentioned D.C. The areas around downtown are wonderful. The lack of highways, in my opinion, are a plus. Highways are the most overrated engineering marvels of all time. I can only comment on cities Ive been to. That being said almost all of the large Texas cities are a mess.....Houston in particular. There seems to be zero zoning there. You will see a big-box store right next to house. Its very odd.

ive found that, like other posters have said, keep high wealth res taxes high keeps the rich from coming to your city in clumps, then leaving in clumps when they cant get hired. That commute time thing is probably just a problem with the rich. I guess they drive around all day looking for $$$ jobs and cant find em, so they leave. The middle class, and poor, usually dont leave because of long commutes.

People who say not to rebuild are just looking at the fact that the city is below sea level and the cost of rebuilding. But it is much more than that. What will it say about our country or about our spirit if we just decide to cut or losses and give up? Why should a nation just bury a part of its history just because it costs too much to save it? Yes it will cost our nation a lot of money to build better flood protection and to improve infrastructure but just like in sc4 the nation wont pay for all of the redevelopment. A lot of this will come from the private sector. Many developers will see this as an opportunity. My ideas: A seawall similar to the north sea wall in the netherlands should be constructed at the mouth of the lake to keep the storm surge at bay. Some of the areas on the west bank need to be turned into flood plain. The new levees and floodwalls could then be built closer to heart of the city. This means the lakefront area and the 9th ward will have to be bulldozed. Controlled flooding from the mississippi river could help restore the wetlands south of the city. A smaller, more dense New Orleans could then be developed inside the walls with a nice light rail and bus system being the preffered means of transportation. Also trains could link the suburbs and airport to the CBD/French Quarter. Louisiana would have to allow more land casinos (like the Harrah's that is already there). A new convention center should be built with more hotels. New Orleans was already a tourist and convention city. Improving and building upon this would keep the economy going the right way. The seawall, levees, light rail, and convention center would come from public funding. Everything else new hotels, other businesses and development from the private sector. To me this is not out of reach. It would just take time and money that our government has already said they would provide.

So this topic is one that hits home to me. I was born and raised in Louisiana. I currently live in New York but when I finish school I plan to move to New Orleans to get involved (politically hopefully) in turning New Orleans into the city it could be. So lets hear what you think is the best way to rebuild and protect the historic American city.

the link below is for the high 5 interchange in north dallas connect US 75 (north central expwy) to I-635 (LBJ freeway). It was the closest major interchange to my apt in Dallas. As far as NYC goes (where I live now) I never drive so I couldnt tell where the nearest one is. http://www.dallashighfive.org/progress/model/construction_model.stm so far I cant see any flaws with this one.

I like Dallas from an urban planning view. I didnt really enjoy living there because its not a very good place to experience different cultures. Downtown is nice and it will be even nicer within the next decade. There are many public projects in the works. I love New Orleans. I grew up in Louisiana and NoLa has always been sorta like the promised land. I love the buildings and the old world feel. Its gonna take a lot to rebuild it. I know I want to be involved in some way. Hopefully I will graduate from school in time to part of the process. And New York. I live there now and everyday I notice something different that I love about the city. My complaint about NY is the trash. The city does a good job of cleaning up Manhattan but, Brooklyn where I live is littered with trash. Anyway no matter what the borough, NYC is a marvel of engineering and architecture.

I live in NYC and lived in Dallas. Two cities at opposite ends of the sprawl spectrum. I have to say it is a lot harder to live in NYC than Dallas. Catching trains and walking everywhere starts to take its toll on the body. However it also saves me a car payment, insurance payment, vehicle upkeep, and gas. I pay $76 for a metrocard that gives me unlimited access to subway/bus for 30 days. I think more american cities need to develop better, more reliable transit systems with gas prices going higher and higher. Yes cars are a status symbol everywhere in the country except NYC. Thats because cars are a burden here. Once cars start to become a burden everywhere else that the cars place a status symbol will fade some. My big problem with sprawl is strip malls and parking lots. Also those old suburbs that are in between the newer, better suburbs and the urban areas are a problem. They end up with the problems of the big city, and the decayed look of a small town that boomed then went bust. Take Richardson, TX for a great example. Sandwiched in between Dallas, and Plano. Im for urban redevelopment now, before our dependence on the automobile crushes our fragile economy.

I see some of my requests have been done already. But the main one I would like to see is Bank of America Plaza in Dallas. Its a pretty normal looking tower built in 1980s. Nothing but a filler building in daylight. However at night it is an eyecatcher for sure. http://gilglover.com/dallasnt.jpg width=440 align=left border=1>

Im new to boards. Im a long time Sim Gamer but I just started with SC4. Anyway here is a list of some buildings Id like to see. I will to start doing these myself in the future but as for now I just wanna play the game. I dont know if some of these have been done already. I searched but didnt find them. Anyway here goes. TAIPEI 101 - Taipei, Taiwan *Tallest skyscraper in the world* http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=100765 BANK OF AMERICA PLAZA - Dallas, TX *Tallest skyscraper in Dallas, looks marvelous at night* http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=117680 http://www.dallassky.com/bldg01.htm US BANK TOWER - Los Angeles, CA *Tallest skyscraper in L.A.* http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=116498 JP MORGAN CHASE TOWER - Dallas, TX *Neat skyscraper in Dallas.* http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=118464 TORRE MAYOR - Mexico City, Mexico *Nice skyscraper* http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=100352 Thanks...and good luck/.