Elements of Urbanism: Stamford & White Plains

Metro Jacksonville takes a look at White Plains, New York and Stamford, Connecticut, two cities successfully living in the shadow of New York.

Tale of the Tape:

Stamford Population 2007: 118,475 (City); 895,015 (Bridgeport Metro) - (incorporated in 1893)

White Plains Population 2007: 57,398 (City); 18,815,988 (NYC Metro) - (incorporated in 1916)

Jacksonville Pop. 2007: 805,605 (City); 1,300,823 (Metro) - (incorporated in 1832)

City population 1950: Jacksonville (204,517); Stamford (74,293); White Plains (n/a)

Metropolitan Area Growth rate (2000-2007)

Stamford (Bridgeport): +1.41%
White Plains (NYC): +2.69%
Jacksonville: +15.86%

 

Urban Area Population (2000 census)

Stamford (Bridgeport): 888,890 (ranked 41 nationwide)
White Plains (NYC): 17,799,861 (ranked 1 nationwide)
Jacksonville: 882,295 (ranked 43 nationwide)

 

Urban Area Population Density (2000 census)

Stamford (Bridgeport): 1,910.3
White Plains (NYC): 5,309.3
Jacksonville: 2,149.2

 

City Population Growth from 2000 to 2007

Stamford: +1,392
White Plains: +4,321
Jacksonville: +69,988

 

Convention Center Exhibition Space:

Stamford: Does not have a convention center downtown.
White Plains: Does not have a convention center downtown.
Jacksonville: Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center (1986) - 78,500 square feet

 

Tallest Building:

Stamford: Trump Parc - 350 feet
White Plains: Trump Tower at City Center - 354 feet
Jacksonville: Bank of America Tower - 617 feet

 

Downtown-Based Fortune 500 companies:

Stamford: Pitney Bowes (399)
White Plains: ITT (285), Starwood Hotels (396)
Jacksonville: CSX (261), Fidelity National Financial (435), Fidelity National Information Services (481)

 

Urban infill obstacles:

Stamford: Downtown is cut off from the waterfront by Interstate 95.
White Plains:
Jacksonville: State & Union Streets cut off Downtown Jacksonville from Springfield.

 

Downtown Nightlife:

Stamford: Atlantic Street
White Plains: Mamaroneck Avenue
Jacksonville: East Bay Street, located between Main Street and Liberty Street.  This four block stretch is home to four bars and clubs.

 

Common Downtown Albatross:

Too many surface parking lots

 

Who's Downtown is more walkable?

Stamford: 89 out of 100, according to walkscore.com
White Plains: 80 out of 100, according to walkscore.com
Jacksonville: 88 out of 100, according to walkscore.com

 

 

Downtown Stamford, CT

 

 

 

Unique Stamford, CT

- Stamford is tied with Iowa City, Iowa for the US metropolitan area with the highest percentage of the adult population holding a bachelor's degree or higher; 44 percent of adults hold a degree.
- Downtown Stamford is the home of New York's Metro-North's third busiest commuter rail station (45 minutes to NYC's Grand Central).
- According to the FBI, Stamford was the ninth-safest city in the United States in 2006 (among cities with populations of 100,000 or more).
- World Wrestling Entertainment has its international headquarters in Stamford.
- Notable residents over time include Christopher Lloyd, Cyndi Lauper, Jackie Robinson, Rihanna and Rapper 50 Cent.





















 

 

Downtown White Plains, NY

 

Unique White Plains, NY

- White Plains is one of several edge cities that have developed outside of New York City.
- White Plains developed as a dominant suburban shopping district during the early 20th century.
- White Plains is an attractive location for urban professionals who seek relatively moderate housing costs while retaining decent commuting distance (35 minutes by express train) to Manhattan.
- Notable residents throughout history include Tupac Shakur, Art Monk, J.C. Penney and Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.

Article by Ennis Davis