[WonderlandPark]

Yea! Another list!

RMJM Hillier has come up with a list of America's Best Cities for Design. American cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants were judged according to criteria such as the quality of public transit, the number of LEED-registered buildings (indicating sustainable design) and how many of the city's employees work within creative industries such as performing arts or publishing.
The results:

1. Chicago
2. New York
3. Boston
4. Los Angeles
5. Portland
6. San Francisco
7. Seattle
8. Denver
9. Philadelphia
10. Washington, DC

A little weird, must be per capita in that index, so a city like Boston at just over 500K beats LA at about 4 million. Same with Portland/SF.

[statler]

It has to be a per capita thing.

I'm the biggest Boston homer there is but....no.

[Reverberation]

What do LEED Certified buildings and quality of public transit have to do with jobs in the creative field?

[Crawford]

What do LEED Certified buildings and quality of public transit have to do with jobs in the creative field?

Exactly. What an idiotic list.

[VivaLFuego]

Maybe specifically focused on architectural design? Seeing as that is the field in which Hillier is active?

Would also explain (1) Chicago's dominance and (2) the importance of building features like LEED. Since for any creative field whatsoever, the list indeed seems fishy.

[arlekin_m]

maybe because most 'creative' people can't afford anything other than public transport?

[urbanactivistTX]

^^^^ ouch!!

[bnk]

ha!!!!
This thead should get intersting.

BTW

Define Design.

I expect this one to be locked and not by my own accord.

bnk

[tdawg]

Publishing in Chicago? Where, what companies?

[MayDay]

^R.R. Donnelly - I'm guessing this list is including all facets of publishing (printing and production, etc.), and that makes the methodology questionable in my book. The LEED numbers make sense, though.

[urbanactivistTX]

Everyone here knows that architecture is very artistic and creative, but when you read a thread about the best design cities, you expect to see something like most designers (of any nature) largest or most prominent design district. LEED certification has absolutely nothing to do with it, especially since green building is so new on the architectural scope.

I would love to see a thread on the nation's best arts districts and museums. That would help me plan some future vacations!!

[alex1]

general lists like these make little sense to begin with.

what I do know is that the best art cities in the U.S. are nY, L.A., Chicago, SanFran.

Regarding design, if you're talking about fashion, architecture, graphic and other fields of actual practice the list would definitely include the above four cities and you could make a case for Boston, Miami and Minneapolis.

[ocman]

general lists like these make little sense to begin with.

what I do know is that the best art cities in the U.S. are nY, L.A., Chicago, SanFran.

Regarding design, if you're talking about fashion, architecture, graphic and other fields of actual practice the list would definitely include the above four cities and you could make a case for Boston, Miami and Minneapolis.

To clear it up, the title should read "designed cities", not "design cities"

[Altauria]

Yes, sustainable design I find COMPLETELY different than the other criteria mentioned. I could see where Chicago would come out on top for that.

However, I've seen other published "lists" (ugh) that typically indicate Chicago rather conservative when it comes to creative jobs....or the so-called Bohemian index. For all of Chicago's greatness, I do not...do NOT consider it a 'creative' (that is, Athens style) city. I mean, sure, the Art Institute is practically second to none, the Symphony Orchestra is damned near unrivaled - along with all sorts of phenomenal high-art venues, but as far as creative productivity (active composers, music publishers, well-known artists, or an influential 'bohemian'/progressive thinking culture....not so much). And no, the overly self-projecting emo/grundge guys that appear never to shower don't count.

Now, if they consider commercial marketing houses (i.e. making sure companies like Pepsi are the hottest selling cola on the planet) "creative" or "artistic", then sure, there is a huge market here for that.

And ummm.....quality of public transit......?

But overall quality of urban design projects? Definitely can see that. After all, it did win green city.

[10023]

Publishing in Chicago? Where, what companies?
Tribune, Crain's and Donnelly, basically. And lots of ad firms but less than NYC.

[the urban politician]

No offense, but the threadstarter did a pretty horrific job of clarifying what this rating is all about. More info about this study below:

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2008/06/new-study-chica.html




Chicago ranks first in architecture and design, according to study



I don't put much stock in studies, but this one is hard to ignore: It rates Chicago the top U.S. city for architecture and design.

The survey comes from the North American division of a worldwide architecural firm--the division is based in New York--so it's hard to say the fix was in for Chicago.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/images/2008/06/27/chicago_skyline.jpg



The study includes a Zogby poll, which found that 87 percent of the Chicago residents surveyed rated the architecture of their city as excellent or good.

Guess they haven't seen any of our hideous three-flat condos.

A spokeswoman for the firm that did the study, RMJM Hillier, denied in an interview that the survey is an attention-getting stunt. "We wanted to do something to spark a dialogue," she said. "It's quite serious."

The firm does not have a Chicago office.

Here's a news release about the study:

New York, NY (June 26, 2008) — Chicago is the best city for architecture and design according to an independent study conducted by one of the world’s leading architectural practices.

Looking at ten criteria including architecture awards, “green” design and public transit systems, RMJM Hillier, the North American division of the worldwide architecture firm RMJM, selected 10 cities leading the way in design policy and practice. Then the firm commissioned public opinion and research firm Zogby International to interview over 1000 residents of those cities on architecture and design issues and incorporated those results into the research to determine the final rankings.

Chicago came out on top with New York and Boston taking second and third place respectively.

Eighty-seven percent of Chicago residents polled think that the architecture in their city is excellent or good, versus 63% of New Yorkers and 64% of Bostonians, according to the Zogby poll which was one of the factors that determined rankings.

The Top Ten Cities for Design:

1. Chicago, IL

2. New York, NY

3. Boston, MA

4. Los Angeles, CA

5. Portland, OR

6. San Francisco, CA

7. Seattle, WA

8. Denver, CO

9. Philadelphia, PA

10. Washington, D.C.

“Good design makes better communities by boosting the economy, creating jobs, and, particularly today, sponsoring environmental strategies,” said Peter Schubert, AIA, design director of RMJM Hillier. “We conducted this study to see which cities are the most forward-thinking in their planning and development strategies and to applaud those that are doing it right.”

"Architecture and design are such significant parts of Chicago's business and cultural communities; walking down the street, you hear people talking about buildings just as often as you hear them talking about the Cubs or Sox," said Zurich Esposito, executive vice president of AIA Chicago. "Studies like this compel us to learn more about what people are doing in other cities - across the country or around the globe. It's all part of learning from each other and creating an international design dialogue."

The study also names three “Cities to Watch:” Minneapolis, Minnesota; Baltimore, Maryland; and Phoenix, Arizona.

To read the study, click here:

Download americas_best_cities_for_design___rmjm_hillier.pdf

[Nowhereman1280]

Publishing in Chicago? Where, what companies?

In addition to the aforementioned companies, University of Chicago Press is largest University press in the United States...

[Matty]

My company works with Hillier a lot.

No, I have nothing constructive to add.

[BTinSF]

If this is based on local public opinion about the quality of the architecture, then, I don't know whether to be shocked or saddened that San Francisco made the list. Most SSP forumers from the Bay Area agree, I think, that SF's modern buildings are, for the most part, not nearly as good as they should be. If their fellow citizens don't understand that, it explains a lot since the local planning process requires all sorts (too much IMHO) of "public input", often massaging designs to their most inoffensive mediocrity.

[urbanactivistTX]

UP, thanks for the new info, that totally makes the difference.

In reference to the list, I agree that Chicago is kinda in a class by itself. The whole loop area is very well-designed, from the Chicago river and subsequent bridges, to the great variance of skyscraper architecture. The city has so many examples that span every building trend of the 20th century.

[10023]

Next time you go to Chicago, and take a cab from the airport with any driver who doesn't look like he's a new arrival, as him what he thinks about Mies van der Rohe or the first or second Chicago Schools of architecture. No joke, I had a cab driver go on for 5 minutes once about the genius of Bertrand Goldberg when I mentioned that I was interested in architecture. Lifelong Chicagoans seem to be really into it in a way that people around the country simply aren't.