Louisville vs. Richmond

[redjeep77]

I am sure that others have thought about the comparison between these two cities in the past, but i am just realizing that these two cities are very alike. Both are old (by US standards), both are based on rivers, both are approximately the same size. Skylines are also similar/dense. I think that this could be an interesting topic to discuss. I am NOT calling for either city's boosters to bash each other, but i do want to get to know more about the two cities. Any thoughts?

[teshadoh]

Interesting comparison - especially since they are my two favorite Southern cities (besides New Orleans). I don't think I could ever pick one over the other.

[krazeeboi]

This is one of the better-suited comparisons. I personally prefer Richmond, but Louisville is cool as well. Both have a lot of historical structures intact and a pretty nice-sized urban core. Two great underrated cities in my book.

[redjeep77]

I agree too. Richmond is especially underrated if you ask me. Coming in from I-95 south has a great view over the river of the skyline.

[Eastwestrob]

I agree too. Richmond is especially underrated if you ask me. Coming in from I-95 south has a great view over the river of the skyline.

That is the city's best view...there is also a great view from the east coming fromWwilliamsburg Rd. And another from the Hollywood Cemetary area next to the James River

[redjeep77]

man i can't believe that more people haven't contributed to this one.

What do you think about the new skycraper project in louisville? What are the chances it gets built? Is it really "bold" or just plain ugly?

I think that if it were changed a bit, it wouldn't be so ugly. The way it is now will be a huge eyesore for lousiville in the future.

[krazeeboi]

I am hopeful that it will be one of those towers that will make a better impression once built. I don't like the "kickstand" feature though.

[wrldcoupe4]

I'm looking forward to hearing more about Richmond's proposed Centennial Towers, which could climb as high as 50-stories. Construction is to begin in 2007. Also, with Fortune 500 company MeadWestvaco moving its Global HQ to town, they could decide to set up shop in the CBD.

I love Richmond, but I can't really say which is better because (1) I've never been to Louisville and (2) my decision would be incredibly biased anyways .... There seems to be a lot in common with the cities, though since Louisville merged with Jefferson Co., it's population is much larger. The metros are similar in size though. They even have a similar number of highrise buildings according to emporis (Richmond - 63 completed, Louisville - 57 completed)

Very comparable cities!

[simms3]

You know what, I can't really think of a better comparison of two equal cities with similar scenarios and similar locations. I love both downtowns, and to me one more new skyscraper in Louisville will not affect my comparitive view of both cities that much. I think the one big difference on locations is that Louisville shares a border with another state, so the concentration of the population is on the Kentucky side whereas in Richmond the river just bisects the city itself, so the downtown can be more centrally located. It would be interesting to see which city has larger populations at certain radii and which city is denser. I would bet that Louisville is actually denser being focused on one side of the river, but that Richmond has more people within a 5 and 10 mile radius.

[wrldcoupe4]

Richmond is pretty dense on the north side of the river.....

[ppassafi]

You know what, I can't really think of a better comparison of two equal cities with similar scenarios and similar locations. I love both downtowns, and to me one more new skyscraper in Louisville will not affect my comparitive view of both cities that much. I think the one big difference on locations is that Louisville shares a border with another state, so the concentration of the population is on the Kentucky side whereas in Richmond the river just bisects the city itself, so the downtown can be more centrally located. It would be interesting to see which city has larger populations at certain radii and which city is denser. I would bet that Louisville is actually denser being focused on one side of the river, but that Richmond has more people within a 5 and 10 mile radius.

Not a chance. The fact is, Louisville is a bigger and denser city than Richmond, if only by a little. Louisville has like 100k more in the MSA and even more in the CSA.

http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/zipradi...submit1=Process

Louisville 5 mile radius from 40202 (downtown)

Total population in radius = 256,695

10 mile radius

Total population in radius = 601,439

Richmond 5 mile radius from 23219 (downtown)

Total population in radius = 216,495

10 mile radius

Total population in radius = 553,333

Louisville, in fact, is more comprable to Jacksonville in the 10 mile radius:

Jacksonville Total population in 10 mile radius = 599,202

Jacksonville 5 mile radius Total population in radius = 248,197

As you can see, Louisville is larger and denser than both Richmond and Jacksonville at the 5 mile and 10 mile radius. In fact, at the 20 mile radius, Louisville just pulls further away from Jacksonville:

Louisville Total population in 20 mile radius = 948,389

Jax Total population in 20 mile radius = 901,986

[simms3]

Wow that is really interesting to note, thanks for clarifying that for me.

[ppassafi]

Wow that is really interesting to note, thanks for clarifying that for me.

It should be interesting to see if these hold up given that the Jax MSA is growing a good clip faster than Louisville and Richmond. However, it should also be said that at a 40 mile radius, Louisville has almost 300k more people than Jax. And it should also be noted that zip code radius is a good comparison but is not exactly scientific in that all zip codes arent the same size. Jax, for example, may have two zips at 40.1 miles from the center that did not get included in the 40 mile radius calulation--but I suppose that could have happened to Louisville too. For me, I think this is a better indicator of a core area than CSA, which IMO is an overinflated number.