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Which City has the best looking sprawl in the SE

peaceloveunderstanding

By peaceloveunderstanding
in USA South

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Aessotariq Burg

Aessotariq

Posted
Posted

I think some other qualities to look at if you want to have a decent discussion are visual clutter and other design elements.

Does the suburban community have:

  • controls on signage, like how big a sign can be, whether or not monument signs are required or if signs can be mounted on poles, how bright the sign can be or what colors can be used, etc.?

  • a uniform architectural theme for commercial areas?

  • roadways that are landscaped?

  • sidewalks? are they set back from the street or adjoining it?

  • bike paths?

  • traffic signals mounted on mast-arm poles or strung on cables?

  • power lines and other utility cables above or below ground? Corollary: above-ground lines on wooden poles or aluminum poles?

  • streetlights attached to utility poles, or are they mounted on their own masts? Are the masts metallic or concrete?

Let's start from here... Any other criteria that should be added to this list?

I am a big fan of monument signs at ground level for commercial establishments, since they dramatically approve the appearance of a commercial corridor and reduce visual clutter. Many suburban areas in the Miami metro require monument signs.

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peaceloveunderstanding Town

peaceloveunderstanding

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thanks, you organized it much better then I could have.

controls on signage - Indeed, no strip mall signs like for a mcdonalds or something

a uniform architectural theme for commercial areas? - Yes

roadways that are landscaped? - Yes, gardens and really nice magnolias in the middle.

sidewalks? Set back from the street.

bike paths? Yes, and bike lanes on some roads

traffic signals mounted on mast-arm poles - most on mast arms poles

power lines and other utility cables above or below ground? below ground

streetlights are on own masts.

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SCGuy Unincorporated Area

SCGuy

Posted
Posted

I agree some of South Florida's sprawl seems so organized compared with other Southern cities. Areas of North Atlanta are ultra-landscaped and dipped in Gold but still rather unorganized. I like that Atlanta has so many little skylines in the suburbs though. It makes for interesting sprawl.

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Topher1 Hamlet

Topher1

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The nicest sprawl I've seen in person (ie the places where I actually wouldn't mind living in sprawl) have been the oceanfront, single-family-home areas of Coral Gables and Coconut Grove, FL. Areas like CocoPlum, and the homes off of Old Cutler Rd. going south past Red Rd. Of course, these are multi-million dollar homes, but the area is just spectacular. I'm sure many areas of Naples are probably pretty similar.

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  • 3 months later...
jim09091 Unincorporated Area

jim09091

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After reviewing the above citeria, my vote is still for the greater Naples, FL area (Naples, North Naples, Bonita Springs).

I know this is an old topic that I am digging back up, but I have to agree with this statement. The area is beautiful and with the completion of the US41 road project and many widening projects that are updating the look of the area (tropical landscaping, new traffic light posts, lit up street name signs, street lights, etc). the area's beauty is only increasing). Collier county and Bonita Springs (which is the southernest most city in Lee county) both have sign ordinances also.

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Rock2uf Whistle-Stop

Rock2uf

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I know this is an old topic that I am digging back up, but I have to agree with this statement. The area is beautiful and with the completion of the US41 road project and many widening projects that are updating the look of the area (tropical landscaping, new traffic light posts, lit up street name signs, street lights, etc). the area's beauty is only increasing). Collier county and Bonita Springs (which is the southernest most city in Lee county) both have sign ordinances also.

Jim,

Thanks for the reply. Naples is one of the more beautiful places I've visited.

The Southwest Florida coast gets a bad rap from most Southeast Floridians. But truthfully, I'll take the southwest coast over the southeast any day.

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NCB Metropolitan Area

NCB

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Houston's sprawl is my favorite. Very nice central skyline, surrounded by many mid-size and smaller skylines, all of which have nice density. Atlanta's sprawl is very nice as well, but I really like the density of Houston.

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where_am_I Unincorporated Area

where_am_I

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I think Savannah is doing a great job with the look and feel of the little sprawl that it currently has. But if Hardeeville, SC gives the greenlight to their development plans and they don't become altered, I think we should possibly look for the Savannah-Hardeeville-Hilton Head Island MSA in the future. What a great looking MSA that will be!!! Not a big one, but a pretty nice looking one. :thumbsup:

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goodbye Metropolitan Area

goodbye

Posted
Posted

Houston's sprawl is my favorite. Very nice central skyline, surrounded by many mid-size and smaller skylines, all of which have nice density. Atlanta's sprawl is very nice as well, but I really like the density of Houston.

From a skyline perspective I certainly agree with this! :thumbsup:

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Scraper Enthusiast Whistle-Stop

Scraper Enthusiast

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Gwinnett County's sprawl looks...well...unaesthetic, to put it mildly (at least from I-85).

Gwinnett County does look a bit unorganized from I-85, but I can guarantee you that the 85 corridor is one of the worst-planned areas of the county. This has a lot to do with the fact that right off the corridor, it was slated with a lot of industrial development, as the area from Atlanta to Raleigh is a big trucking area. Just drive I-85 at night around Clemson, SC and see the loads of tractor trailers. Probably more of those than cars.

The Ronald Reagan Parkway in Gwinnett County looks very nice.

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