Peripatetic urbanist Sam Newberg (aka Joe Urban) was recently in Miami Beach and had a chance to check out the art-deco district. His main observation: it feels in some surprising ways a lot like Vancouver’s West End:
… It was all quite dense and wonderful. It reminded me of Vancouver.
It was no coincidence that Miami Beach and Vancouver’s West End are similar. I am speaking of the historic Miami Beach, from Lincoln Mall to the south. The two were laid out on a grid and developed at roughly the same time, although Miami Beach is a little newer, dating back to the 1920s. The main similarity is that of the size of the area, its walkability and livability.
Vancouver’s West End is northwest of downtown, and from Granville Street is a little over a mile long and less than a mile wide, with Stanley Park beyond to the northwest. Starting from 17th Street or Lincoln Road Mall and heading south, Miami Beach is similar in size and shape.
More uncanny, both areas are served by three commercial/transit streets that form a U-shape. In Vancouver they are Robson, Denman and Davie, and in Miami Beach they are Washington Avenue, 5th Street and Alton Road. These commercial streets contain most retail and service needs, and are rarely more than a quarter mile walk from any residence or office in either city.
In essence, Vancouver’s West End and Miami Beach are fantastic examples of walkable urbanism.
I did a survey of Lincoln Road back in Price Tags 62.
