Suburb vs Suburb #1: Overland Park KS vs Aurora CO

[Dan]

Okay, folks ... finally, the mega-burbs are coming onto their own. Presented in this popularity contest are two classic mega-burbs, both with their own distinctive characteristics.

Overland Park, Kansas is a major corporate center outside of Kansas City, Missouri. Demographically, the city's residents range from middle class to fabulously wealthy, but dominated by the somewhat-higher-than-middle-class crowd. Population: around 150,000. Overland Park contains one of the nation's largest edge cities, and it's home to several major corporate headquarters, including Sprint.

Aurora, Colorado is a large, primarily residential community east of Denver. Population: around 280,000. Demographics: ethnically the most integrated larger municipality in the US; dominantly middle-class, with a good-sized working class contingent to the north, and some of the state's wealthiest zip codes to the south. There's scattered office parks, but no edge city-type development.

(Yeah, yeah ... "But isn't Aurora in Kansas too?" Ha ha ... it gets funner the thousandth time you hear it.)

 

[el Guapo]

Op because....I've been there?

 

[BKM]

OP

In my opinion, the suburbs of Denver are some of the bleakest, most sprawling, and characterless in the country. The worst of California tract housing and mass production combined with the horrible blandness of the midwestern architectural "tradition."

Its sad, because Denver is one of the more pleasant cities.

Overland Park is still sprawling, but at least you can quickly get to some nicer suburban communities.

 

[Jeff]

I'll go with Colorado because they have a better bicycling community.

 

[KCMatt]

I have never been to Aurora, Colorado so I cannot compare the two, but I can comment on Overland Park as I have been there a number of times. Aside from draining numerous opportunities from Kansas City's core and continuing massive sprawl further west through Kansas, its topographical landscape represents the stereotypical outsider image of metro KC. As Overland Parks giant suburban strip malls grow further west one sees the eiry flat plains of Kansas that surround the area. You can see forever and there is no natural boundary to inhibit continued destruction of the surrounding land as is the case in Los Angelas currently. The flat plains that surround Overland Park are a depressing contrast to the beautiful hilly topography of Kansas Cities core from downtown to the Plaza. This hilly landscape is one of the most supprising things to 1st time visitors to the city as they expect the Wizard of Oz like landscape which is fitting to much of Overland Park.

 

[el Guapo]

1. Op is going SOUTH not West. Maps are available.
2. Some of us like flat plains.
3. "draining numerous opportunities from Kansas City's core" - What kind of socialist dogma speak is that? If the core were not politically corrupt maybe those opportunites would stay there?

 

[JNA]

IMHO - Aurora is not so bad, I would consider Highland Ranch worse.

 

[the north omaha star]

I say Overland Park. I made quite a few runs to the Oak Park Mall when I was going to school KU. My friends used to race down K-10 from Lawrence all of the time. Those were some good times. ;-)

 

[Lee Nellis]

I passed through OP for the first time in decades on my drive from CA to VT last spring. It was a shock. I have spent quite a bit of time passing through Aurora.

For me, the quality of these large sprawling 'burbs is defined almost entirely by what you can escape to. And while I agree with EG that the plains have their attractions, Aurora wins hands down. You also have to think about the city you can get to from the 'burb. Again, its no contest. Denver is a far more pleasant place.

 

[The One]

Yeah.....

IMHO - Aurora is not so bad, I would consider Highland Ranch worse.

Saudi-Aurora is ok (my wife grew up there). My best friend lives there now and doesn't seem to like it very much (partly because of the local economy). But I think he feels that the place doesn't have character. He grew up in Jefferson County and none of us can afford to live there anymore ) Highlands Ranch is simply a surrogate community for Californians (to make them feel at home).

 

[ICT/316]

Overland Park. Also, I bet Leawood just loves how OP took a sharp eastward coporate limits turn and cut them off to any new growth! Leawood's stuck at the MO line.

 

[zman]

IMHO - Aurora is not so bad, I would consider Highland Ranch worse.

Being born in Aurora (West Kansas) I'll have to stick up for A-Town. But I do agree the three days I spent in the hospital off of I-225 and Mississippi Avenue back when I was really a newbie, are probably my last. I'm not a big fan of Aurora. It's only purpose is you drive through it to get to the airport.

I grew up just north of Highlands Ranch, and worked at numerous stripmall shopping centers there for the family landscaping business. The One (as usual, a UNC grad gets it right!) is right. It is a surrogate community for transplanted Californians.
And I believe it was also established by the same developers as much of Aurora.

Overton Park, KS. I don't know about. I knew a guy from there in college though...