CityNerd Visits Miami: ‘Lush Tree Canopies For The Rich’

The man who runs the CityNerd YouTube channel (with over 140,000 subscribers) recently visited Miami.

The Miami Transit Alliance paid for part of his travel expenses.

Ray Delahanty, who runs the channel, told Miami New Times that there was a contrast between the rich and poor areas of the city.

The richer areas tended to be more walkable, and had lush tree canopies, he said. Meanwhile poorer areas had roads that were dangerous to walk on and fewer trees.

As far as transit, Miami was “middle of the pack.”

 

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Anonymous
2 months ago

Pretty much true in any city. Not news breaking stuff here.

Kitty w
2 months ago

Agreed. In other news: wealthier individuals tends to live in nicer parts of town.

DeSantis: “I’m the Problem, it’s me!”
1 month ago

Governor DeSantis IS the problem.

This is the budget he passed for FDOT:

– $5.5 BILLION for highway construction

– $791.3 million in rail and transit investments

– $404.3 million in aviation investments

Billions on highways! Pennies on aviation and rail. That’s why our airports look the way they do, and we haven’t gotten any quality improvements to our metro systems.

DeSantis doesn’t care about Miami!

https://www.fdot.gov/info/co/news/2023/06162023

Wolfgang731
2 months ago

You beat me to it! I was going to say the exact same thing. In every American city I’ve ever visited, the more affluent areas have the nicer parks, better roads, public landscaping and tree canopy and the impoverished areas are lucky if they have sidewalks and pavements free of crater size potholes.

Anonymous
2 months ago

The problem is our wealthy and middle class areas barely have nice pedestrian areas lol – can we start there?

Duke
1 month ago

But Miami has one of the most extreme differences between rich and poor in my opinion.

Anonymous
1 month ago

The reason for the lack of consistent quality streetscapes in Miami’s urban environment is due to the government’s prior limited involvement and heavy reliance on the private sector. Unlike in many parts of Florida where the rich reside in gated communities far from poorer areas, taking care of their own streets, Miami’s population lives closer together, impacting one another more directly, highlighting the need for the local government to take a more active role in maintaining and improving streetscapes, especially in the downtown core.

Anonymous
1 month ago

There are lots of open streets in Miami – mostly open streets… the gated community issues are not prevalent in Urban Miami, maybe out in Doral or the South Gables, but not for most people. Each building is like a gated community in Brickell, but it interacts with the rest of the community – which is fine because it does add to density and cohesion despite the podium buildings. I think another issue you overlooked is that Miami-Dade County has 34 municipalities. So not everyone is the same. I don’t think that City Nerd understands or cares about that.

Old Time Miamian
1 month ago

Bay Point is literally in Miami by the Design District. Morningside is gated and also in in Miami. You’ve got Keystone Pointe in North Miami. There are plenty of gated single family house/McMansion neighborhoods in “Urban Miami”. FYI all of Miami-Dade is urban according to the Census.

Anonymous
1 month ago

You named a couple places on the water, but the vast majority of neighborhoods in Miami are not gated at all. The ones you mentioned are a handful of neighborhoods against tens of thousands of ungated homes.

Proactive Streetscape Investment & Enforcement
1 month ago

The main idea here is that in Miami, there is a need for increased public government involvement in streetscapes due to the interconnected nature of every neighborhood. Unlike Palm Beach, where wealthier areas can manage their own spaces without blight issues, Miami requires a more proactive approach to address blight around the core. The current DDA zone is not sufficient, and we should consider expanding it to involve the City and County in master planning and elevating beautification standards for the streetscapes.

Let’s Create a Miami County!
1 month ago

That is why the government is broken and out of touch. We need a county for the core. Too many inconsistencies

Let’s Create a Miami County!
1 month ago

We should split Miami dade. In New York the entire city is a county – we are trying to juggle too many interests that are drastically different leading to to gridlock. Let’s make the Core it’s own County

Coger los Podis
1 month ago

Exactly! Miami is different because it’s so apparent and the gap is massive! Like a place like Boston, they have decent urban planning for the entire city. They actually try to make the city look aesthetic and practical not just for the rich folks but for the majority of the city.

Name*
1 month ago

No. In Detroit they have trees in poor areas too.

Anonymous
1 month ago

..actually NO. Most of the broke areas of Detroit have little tree canopy–not just a few stick trees here and there surrounded by sidewalk. The wealthier areas like Bloomfield Hills have a nice canopy.

Richard C.
2 months ago

We have an incredible opportunity to create robust walkable cityscapes in Miami, extending from the western side of Brickell to Little Havana, up to Wynwood, and south to Coral Gables. To achieve this vision, the City of Miami and Commissioners must stand up and advocate for these changes, despite challenges like Governor DeSantis and potential obstacles. By urging for functional and aesthetic redesigns of metro stops and advocating for enhancements like rich canopies, captivating street art, cobblestone landings, and safer crosswalks, we can make Miami more pedestrian-friendly and vibrant. Hide and reduce the parking lots, replacing them with green spaces and retail. Let’s hold our leaders accountable and work together to transform these neighborhoods into enjoyable urban spaces that benefit all residents and visitors!

Anonymous
2 months ago

Chatbot in da houuuuse!!!

Anon
2 months ago

The art of “deflecting” on full display!

Anonymous
1 month ago

^^the art of spamming on full display!

Anon
2 months ago

I hope your chatgpt comment gets deleted.

Anonymous
1 month ago

I hope you stop rushing to conclusions and start advocating for improvements! This is too detailed with original current content to be chatgpt.

Anon
1 month ago

I hope you stop spamming this board with this chatbot junk!

Anonymous
1 month ago

Spam city for sure… this is the kind of commentator who rants about something totally not related to the story just for their own grandstanding

Norm the pizza guy
2 months ago

Incentivize small commercial infill development. Add more shade.

NYC Transplant
1 month ago

As a former New Yorker, the biggest impediment I see within Brickell and Downtown is width of both roads and sidewalks. Breadth varies in Manhattan, but there is a huge benefit from extra capacity. Essentially it’s a zero-sum game between roadways, sidewalks and bike lanes. The underline and bike path is a great benefit, but elsewhere, Miami seems destined to feel like lower Manhattan. Hope I’m wrong about this. The major avenues in Manhattan above 14th Street are six lanes across including parking lanes. Miami doesn’t start with that much, so it needs to be utilized prudently.

Anonymous
1 month ago

In Miami, particularly in Brickell, there is ample street parking that could be better utilized by creating wider sidewalks, bike paths separated by planters and lush canopies. Additionally, some streets could be transformed into pedestrian-only blocks. Learning from the experiences of dense cities like New York, we can address these issues early on to prevent the area from becoming an overwhelming and congested urban environment like the one people are still fleeing for greener pastures.

MiamiGiovanni
1 month ago

No One has any interest in anything NY has to say…
Fix your own city and it’s crime problems…

Anon
1 month ago

These are EX nyers who left and are trying to keep Miami from following the same mistakes. Try to listen Gio and stop judging people based on where they come from.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Listen to what? They compare Miami to NYC like brickell is the same as lower manhattan… it’s delusional. Brickell is 1/8th the size of lower manhattan in land mass but has way higher zoning uniform throughout. Its comparing apples to Oranges. City nerd said there is too much money and infrastructure in the rich neighborhoods and none in the poor ones. Look at Brickell vs East Little Havana, its a stark contrast. How do you add more density, beauty and infrastructure, you upzone for a larger tax base and to sustain the mass transit.

Anonymous
1 month ago

It has already been upzoned. Look at RTZ zoning and new “live local” law in Florida.

Anonymous
1 month ago

No, that is only for properties zoned commercial, the area around Jose Marti through to 8th ave is T4R, that means it doesnt get the Live Local zoning bump.

Proactive Streetscape Investment & Enforcement
1 month ago

Then make it commercial – how could it be residential only. It’s prime riverfront and we need the river walk to grow!!!!

Ana
1 month ago

BINGO! Don’t bring your Old Hat NYC ideas of how to fix a city down here. Thanks you’ve done enough to Miami with your hyper housing inflation.

Anonymous
1 month ago

What does the Governor have to do with it? Last time I checked, he signed most, if not all the public improvement bills. It’s at the local level where it goes to waste.

Anonymous
1 month ago

It’s both of them and starts at the top. Miami is the biggest city in Florida and the Governor doesn’t say a peep to address our concerns or speak to us.

Anonymous
1 month ago

It’s all big bad DeSatan’s fault we don’t have cobblestone landings. Sure Jan.

People first
1 month ago

The point is not that DeSantis or Suarez etc are actively impeding parks, walkways ect. It’s that they are business first and people second: The govt is supposed to protect people from being taken advantage of and provide basic services. Citizens and what matters to us should be more balanced with what’s good for the economy. Currently we are an afterthought.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Suarez for Governor! He’s going to be such a better Governor for ALL Floridians.

Anonymous
1 month ago

The Governor is responsible for the FDOT. A leader takes responsibility for actions of his agents. The FDOT’s involvement often results in basic, lackluster, and messy projects, as seen with the new roundabout in Brickell. While it’s a decent improvement, the middle section lacks grandeur with its small trees and unimpressive artwork. It appears that the Governor’s focus on personal matters of his selective so-called morality and disregard for urbanism in Florida, might be hindering attention to the more important concerns in a city like Miami.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Gov Small d-santis has had 6 years to clean up this mess and speak to us about roadways and transportation, all I hear is Mickey Mouse and drag, which is a losing battle in the courts of law and public opinion.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Desantis has been governor for a little over 4 years and Im pretty sure this project has been on the drawing board for well over a decade. The issue is also about who staffs the FDOT division 6 that has been promoting this nonsensical project since the days of Charlie Crist and Jeb Bush.

Anonymous
1 month ago

TL/DR: more brainless chatbot horseshitposting fluff

Anonymous
1 month ago

No these people are right. Take a second to read without dismissing. Ideas are valuable. It benefits you too.

Anonymous
1 month ago

You want cesar or blue cheese dressing on your word salad?

Concerned Brickell Boy
1 month ago

there is no west brickell. anything west of the metro mover in brickell is little havana. do not put my previous brickell name in that lump. thank you

Anonymous
1 month ago

Little Havana begins at I-95. SW 2nd Avenue is definitely part of Brickell. Whether it’s “West Brickell” is certainly debatable, but absolutely nobody claims it’s in Little Havana… except you, apparently.

Brickell Nino
1 month ago

Absolutely. He’s being a “Brickell baby” and probably lives downtown. It’s without doubt Brickell, some people use a sub neighborhood name for west side of Miami Ave, SW1, SW2 and SW3rd within Brickell, but the more it develops the more central it becomes.

Mike Oxlong
1 month ago

brickell ends west of the metro mover if we’re being honest with ourselves. Look at anything west of the metro mover. Does not have the metropolitan, high rise vibe of brickell. Therefore i refuse to consider it brickell. Thank you for coming to my ted talk. goodbye. Also i live east of the metro mover and south of the river therefore i am a brickell boy

Mike Oxlong
1 month ago

nothing west of the metro mover even resembles brickell. therefore it is not brickell. no beautiful high rises. no metropolitan feel. no women walking around in athleisure with fake bodies.. maybe in 10-15 years we can reevaluate when it doesn’t look like a bunch of run down motel 6s we can talk. thank you. goodbye

Anonymous
1 month ago

Nothing about this modern Brickell area is like Little Havana, or even the area directly west of I95. Calle Ocho and Marlin Stadium is Little Havana.

Anonymous
1 month ago

This has nothing to do with Desantis. Why make this a political thing. Republicans want nice neighborhoods too.

Anonymous
1 month ago

You can be a Republican and expect more from other Republicans.

anonymous
1 month ago

what does DeSantis have to do with this?

Anonymous
1 month ago

He’s the governor here. Duh – everything has to do with him. He can’t pick and chose what to take credit for.

Anonymous
2 months ago

I’d recommend watching the video before commenting just based on the headline above. It’s a well put together video mostly focusing on walkable nodes around transit stops and is aimed at people that don’t live in Miami.

Anonymous
1 month ago

It’s an incredible subjective perspective of what we ALL City in our city. Don’t put your heads in the sand defensively. Work together to improve that’s all.

Anonymous
2 months ago

Reform and replace the FDOT and Governor! Even the highways are a mess with debris everywhere.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Right, because reforming and replacing FDOT so you can have free Metromover expansions and another Andrew Gillum to ban plastic straws while giving away free needles will be wonderful!

Miami Success
1 month ago

I want to emphasize that I certainly oppose needles or any actions that might encourage substance abuse. I also don’t have strong feelings about straws, whether they are plastic or alternative options. My main concern is the well-being of our city, and I’m reaching out to whoever is in charge for assistance in getting things moving. Politics aside, most people just want to see improvements, not a divisive figure who treats everything like a wrestling match. Expanding the Metromover to Wynwood sounds like a good idea, but let’s begin by enhancing the existing ones, making them more utilized and pleasant for everyone.

Anon
1 month ago

So, you have no cares about marine life choking on plastic straws, as long as you have a pretty Metromover station to stagger around at after drinking craft beer.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Some people can’t be pleased. They aren’t looking to improve our city, they are looking to stir the pot. Elect people with ideas not pot stirrers. Silencio por favor.

bob art guy
2 months ago

Makes perfect sense to have a richer more elegant streetscape in rich areas. People who have figure out a way to be affluent should be able to flaut it. Personally, I think Brickell should do more to make it look up scale. Look at Naples, FL.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Yes I think Brickell and surrounding areas could do way more to look upscale like Palm Beach and Naples, it’s about double the price and the nicest part of Miami, so we know the funds are there to improve it.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Bob I think we need art on every corner or so… the art is sprinkled around Brickell like bread crumbs. Yet we boast about art galleries and the vibrant art scene in all our neighborhood marketing. Let’s do it up!

Anonymous
1 month ago

It’s not just flaunting. Wealthier areas also tend to have more walkable restaurants and shopping, so pedestrian comfort is more important

Anonymous
2 months ago

Findings: Richer areas tended to be nicer.

The MTA needs to demand their money back.

Robin Stan
1 month ago

Between every two palm trees lining the boiling sidewalks, there should be a large canopy shade tree that would make walking about 100x better.

We should force Joe C*rollo and Francis S*arez to walk these sweltering sidwalks in the city every day.

The problem would be solved overnight.

Anonymous
1 month ago

And street lights for goodness sake! And tear down this electric poles and put them under ground it’s 2023

Anonymous
1 month ago

Suarez loathes Carollo. Suarez can be an ally.

Anonymous
2 months ago

Everybody in South Florida knows that. Brickell, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, etc., have great street canopies, however, Hialeah, Liberty City, and other parts of working class areas don’t.

Melo is sigma and Chad
2 months ago

Much of Liberty City does have it

Anonymous
1 month ago

Not all of Brickell. They need to extend the streetscapes.

anan
2 months ago

Taxpayer money well spent.

Anonymous
2 months ago

I wish we had better crosswalks with aesthetic designed sidewalks, and canopies, lighting, even in some expensive parts of Brickell and Downtown, there’s work to be done.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Walk lights should come on automatically. In Miami, you’re required to push the button. This is pointless.

Anonymous
1 month ago

walk lights without pedestrians in crosswalks simply delay traffic needlessly. You need a car and a real job to appreciate what I stated.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Not if it’s timed with the red light.

Anonymous
1 month ago

We should have street lights so people aren’t scared of someone jumping out of the bushes walking at night. The crosswalks should turn red and should be on every block so people don’t have to j-walk all the time.

Name
1 month ago

Problem in Downtown Miami is a lot of the streets and avenues are owned and maintained by FDOT and the County, and they prioritize value engineering and vehicles over pedestrians. Miami 21 tries to improve the right-of-way through private property, which is a great workaround for when you don’t own certain streets.

Bingo
1 month ago

It would be beneficial if the City of Miami took ownership of all the streets, as relying on FDOT and DESANTIS, who oversee the FDOT, seems out of touch with the needs of a modern city. Other cities in Florida have shown success with city-led maintenance and upgrades, and it could bring positive changes to downtown Miami’s infrastructure.

anonymous
2 months ago

Not a surprise when nearly every building under construction downtown and brickell has a 10+ story parking podium at the base.

Anonymous
2 months ago

I don’t know how to feel about Miami being in the middle of the pack. On the one hand, I’m happy we’re not the worst. On the other hand, how low is the bar for public transit in this country when Miami is considered average.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Really low. This isn’t anything close to Europe, unfortunately.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Fort Lauderdale and West Palm are doing way better job. I think it’s because they are more open to improvements on public front.

Anonymous
1 month ago

And they also have a much more civilized population than we do. Some people like to ignore that, but it’s just the truth.

Anon
1 month ago

This comment section is proof that Miami is full of crazies

Anonymous
1 month ago

TL;DW, trees are wayciss.

Anonomatopoeia
1 month ago

🤣🤣

Anonymous
1 month ago

What do you expect when all the tress are cut down in the less wealthy areas because a certain B.S. religious group hammers chicken carcasses to the trunks?

Anonymous
1 month ago

Gross! That’s a public health risk and should be banned.

Name
1 month ago

Read the 1993 SCOTUS case Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah.

Anonymous
1 month ago

I take anyone with a grain of salt who start their video with a Dickens quote, just like I take anyone with a grain of salt who references Orwell in a political debate.

Tree Privilege
1 month ago

About ten years ago, I worked for a planning and zoning department of a South Florida municipality, and the urban forester flat out said ninety percent of tree removal on single-family properties requested were in economically disadvantaged communities of color. Institutional my ass.

Anonymous
1 month ago

this was very common in Lemmon City and Over town from the 80-2000’s. it was done for crime prevention as the trees and foliage were used to conceal nefarious activity.

Melo is sigma and Chad
2 months ago

What ? lol I was was raised in an apartment in liberty city from most angles the poorer areas look like jungles with canopies.

Anonymous
1 month ago

I know he was trying to shoehorn in a progressive race argument, but he apparently didnt walk around Liberty City/Brownsville if he saying its a tree desert. And its not a transit desert either considering Metrorail was specifically deviated north to encompass several stops in that area (and unfortunately to the systems overall detriment)

Anonymous
1 month ago

Maybe if the poor didn’t cut down all the trees that were there before the neighborhood turned to shit… Look at old pictures of Lemon City versus “Little Haiti” today.

Dan
1 month ago

They probably cut the trees down in the poorer area because they are expensive to maintain and liability during storms. We can’t even get nice greenery in Brickell and Downtown, so I don’t think it’s a poor versus wealthy thing. It seems that suburban and foreign wealth have hijacked the leadership and won’t let them update our friggin streets, despite us paying a ton of money to live anywhere near Brickell and downtown!

Anon
1 month ago

sure, Dan

Name
1 month ago

Are you sure they cut down the trees? Perhaps the trees were lost to one of the dozens of hurricanes we’ve had and never replanted. That happens a lot, ya know.

Local elections matter.
2 months ago

Guess what our commissioners are going to do with this report.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Make obvious and necessary changes.

Cover the Podiums
1 month ago

I watched it when it first came out. He was pretty much spot on. Miami is great is you’re a high income earner, if not you’re treated like a servant for the rich.

Mkt Pro
2 months ago

And, the (sh)itty paid part of his travel expenses to come here and tell us something we all know !!??

Anonymous
1 month ago

I’d rather pay his modest travel expenses than Joe Coyoyos legal bills.

Just me
1 month ago

I do agree they need to expand the the transit system. But
What a waste of money paying for his trip, if Obama was the governor of Florida this video would have been very different. His bias is noticeable.

Anon
1 month ago

It probably would be. Obama and Desantis are two extremely different people.

New Leaders Needed
1 month ago

If Suarez has more power he would invest in the people. DeSantis doesn’t care about Miami!!!

Get Involved
1 month ago

What urban planning?
The busiest core neighborhoods barely have any parks or green spaces.
Example – Midtown. The one open space cross from the Target is also being built up. The City should purchase that property and convert it into a park for the neighborhood. Get involved people.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Truth! Tired of bait and switch parks

Mike
1 month ago

In any part of the world You will have the rich and poor areas.

WannaBeLandlord
1 month ago

This guy is full of it. Buena Vista West, Model City, and Lil’ Haiti has so many mature trees covering the sidewalks one has to lower their head often to avoid branches. Another know nothing making know nothing comments about Miami.

anonymous
1 month ago

why is this news??? this is how it is everywhere!!!
As far as transit, Miami was “middle of the pack. NOT TRUE, miami is way behind!!!

Conrad
2 months ago

I don’t remember anyone inviting them to Miami 🤷‍♂️

Anonymous
1 month ago

Read the article. He was specifically invited here.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Glad they weee invited. He can stay at my place rent free – he has a lot of valuable insights. Miami needs an outside perspective who can cut through all the hogwash they’ve been feeding people.

Norm the pizza guy
2 months ago

CityNerd wants to take away our cars and put us on public transportation but does not care if public transit is kept safe from lunatics, vagrants and drug addicts.

Anonymous
1 month ago

No nothing about this video says that. You have more chance of being killed on a sidewalk or street, when our metro is incredibly clean, nice and safe. It’s the infrastructure leading to the metros, and pedestrian experiences along the streets that are the main issue in the video.

Anonymous
1 month ago

Correct. WEF inspired thinking. Look at how the NYC subways are faring, particularly outside Manhattan. Even pre-lockdown they burned billions per year in operating losses, partly because operating decisions like pricing by distance (as do most urban subways) was a political football. We’ll just leave violent crime aside for this post.

KevinNash92
1 month ago

WEF inspired thinking is forcing a population of serfs who have to have a mountain of debt to go to university, forced to own a car, no real possibility of owning and selling property as anyone who already doesn’t have the capital will be priced out even further in the future.

Miami was literally founded thanks to rail, and had public transport in the 1920s that we don’t have in the 2020s (actual street-cars like SF is famous for and which most Midwest cities had too). Shills like you don’t want people to have meaningful lives where they can go out and explore and make connections with others in their community- you WANT them suffocating and struggling so that they can be pushed into consooming products and mass media

Anonymous
1 month ago

Dude looks like a Metroseggsual Bill Gates, go figure.