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    • u: niversal appeal
    • r: egion
    • b: uildings
    • a: mbition
    • n: eighborhoods
    • S: treets
    • C: ompactness
    • A: ccess
    • L: and use patterns
    • E: conomy
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  • urbanINSIGHTS

b: uildings

Does your city contain a diverse mix of old and new buildings that supports vibrant neighborhoods and districts?  Is your city filled with vacant homes that hinder urban vitality?  Does your city have a lot of skyscrapers (buildings that are 30+ stories)?  Does your city have a lot of high-rise buildings (buildings of 10-30 stories)?  How do the buildings in your city interact with their immediate surroundings?

Top 10 Cities With the Most Urban Buildings (2014)

  1. New York, NY
  2. San Francisco, CA
  3. Miami, FL
  4. Boston, MA
  5. Jersey City, NJ
  6. Honolulu, HI
  7. Chicago, IL
  8. Minneapolis, MN
  9. Seattle, WA
  10. Pittsburgh, PA

The full list of urbanSCALE ratings for Buildings for all 100 cities (10 being the most urban Buildings and 1 being the least urban Buildings):

Rank City State Buildings urbanSCALE Score
1 New York NY 10.0
2 San Francisco CA 8.6
3 Miami FL 8.4
4 Boston MA 8.3
5 Jersey City NJ 7.9
6 Honolulu HI 7.9
7 Chicago IL 7.2
8 Minneapolis MN 7.0
9 Seattle WA 6.7
10 Pittsburgh PA 5.9
11 Atlanta GA 5.4
12 St. Louis MO 5.4
13 St. Paul MN 5.1
14 Buffalo NY 5.1
15 Portland OR 4.8
16 Washington DC 4.7
17 Cleveland OH 4.6
18 Cincinnati OH 4.6
19 Denver CO 4.5
20 Newark NJ 4.3
21 Philadelphia PA 4.2
22 Oakland CA 4.0
23 Baltimore MD 4.0
24 Milwaukee WI 3.8
25 New Orleans LA 3.8
26 Los Angeles CA 3.6
27 Kansas City MO 3.6
28 Madison WI 3.4
29 Lincoln NE 3.3
30 Detroit MI 3.2
31 San Jose CA 3.2
32 San Diego CA 3.1
33 Sacramento CA 3.1
34 Santa Ana CA 3.1
35 Omaha NE 3.0
36 Louisville KY 3.0
37 Las Vegas NV 3.0
38 Long Beach CA 3.0
39 Tampa FL 3.0
40 Toledo OH 3.0
41 Fort Worth TX 3.0
42 Chesapeake VA 2.9
43 Nashville TN 2.7
44 Dallas TX 2.7
45 Indianapolis IN 2.7
46 Norfolk VA 2.7
47 Columbus OH 2.7
48 Orlando FL 2.7
49 Irvine CA 2.6
50 Boise ID 2.6
51 Anaheim CA 2.6
52 Austin TX 2.5
53 Fort Wayne IND 2.5
54 Hialeah FL 2.5
55 Birmingham AL 2.5
56 El Paso TX 2.5
57 Tulsa OK 2.5
58 Albuquerque NM 2.5
59 Lexington KY 2.5
60 Winston-Salem NC 2.5
61 Charlotte NC 2.4
62 Fresno CA 2.4
63 San Antonio TX 2.4
64 Houston TX 2.4
65 Oklahoma City OK 2.4
66 Stockton CA 2.3
67 Wichita KS 2.3
68 Bakersfield CA 2.3
69 Colorado Springs CO 2.2
70 Jacksonville FL 2.2
71 Reno NV 2.2
72 Plano TX 2.2
73 San Bernardino CA 2.1
74 Lubbock TX 2.1
75 Corpus Christi TX 2.1
76 Riverside CA 2.1
77 Durham NC 2.1
78 Laredo TX 2.1
79 St. Petersburg FL 2.1
80 Anchorage AK 2.1
81 Raleigh NC 2.1
82 Virginia Beach VA 2.1
83 Baton Rouge LA 2.0
84 Fremont CA 2.0
85 Greensboro NC 1.9
86 Memphis TN 1.9
87 Gilbert AZ 1.9
88 Irving TX 1.9
89 Garland TX 1.9
90 Chula Vista CA 1.8
91 Aurora CO 1.8
92 Phoenix AZ 1.8
93 Tucson AZ 1.7
94 Arlington TX 1.6
95 Chandler AZ 1.4
96 Glendale AZ 1.3
97 Henderson NV 1.2
98 North Las Vegas NV 1.2
99 Mesa AZ 1.1
100 Scottsdale AZ 1.0
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