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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   6729 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of September 21, 2026

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They're full of cars but what do the majority of people actually do for transport day to day?

I'm reliably told that Majority of NYC residents do not own a car.

Millburn, NJ is clearly suburban, despite a live theatre being right there. Density 900/km^2.

Almost my point, though. Looking at photos of Millburn, to me it reads just barely towards the 'urban' side of the divide, and then I look at its proximity to NYC, and I am reinforced in this. I can also see, however, that it has close proximity to large swathes of nature which pulls it back towards 'rural'. Finally, Google tells me that the majority of the residents live in unincorporated "Short Hills", which appears pretty sparsely populated for its area.

So really its a ruralish area attached to an urbanized one? So my guess is the majority of residents can't walk to the theater.

Yes, its a suburb compared to New York, but if my suburban ass were to visit I think I'd feel like I was in 'the city' to some degree.

(my mental model of New Jersey, incidentally, is a lot of urban sprawl attached to a lot of deciduous forests. I have never been to New Jersey.)

Hmm,there is an impact of Zoning on all this.

For reference, I live in a single-family house that is in an area that is zoned agricultural, and is situated just outside the local town's limits in unincorporated territory. If you squint and fudge you could say I'm living rural, but I can drive to several theaters easily, clearly I'm living suburban. There's some rural territory if I drive about 20 minutes east/Inland. Lehigh Acres, Florida is just wall to wall single-family homes, but there ain't nothing to do out there in terms of amenities, so I consider that a 'developing' rural area, myself. Lehigh Acres does not (yet) have a Live Theater.

I'm reliably told that Majority of NYC residents do not own a car.

NYC, however, is the only major city in the country where this is true.

So really its a ruralish area attached to an urbanized one? So my guess is the majority of residents can't walk to the theater.

Nothing rural about it; the "swathes of nature" are a large park and a few (closed to the public) reservoirs. Certainly a majority of residents can't walk to the theatre, but the same is true in Manhattan. It's suburban.

You're just making me push it more towards urban.

"Access to forms of nature resembling 'wilderness'" is a strong 'rural' indicator but some suburbs butt up right against extensive national or state preservation parks, so if you're telling me this spot just has regular parks then it reads as even more 'city-like' than I thought.

Look, I may be a simple Suburban Lawyer, but when I type "Live Theater" into Google Maps over Manhattan, and I get OVER 100 RESULTS I question your assertion. Obviously mostly centered on Broadway.

My mental model of New Jersey, incidentally, is a lot of urban sprawl attached to a lot of deciduous forests.

The US Forest Service agrees with you. (However, don't forget about the famous evergreen forest.)

lol.

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