The last matchup in round 2 is a matchup between a city and the city it was settled from (among others): Baltimore, Maryland and London, UK. We've had a couple close matchups this round and one runaway: let's see where this one ends up.
a) How can you get to the city?
Baltimore is on the Acela corridor, and connected to Washington DC (also still in this bracket) via the MARC train which also connects its international airport to the city by rail (as does the light rail). I've visited Baltimore coming in both car-free and car-light, and both are easy to do.
That said, let's not pretend that Eurostar, six airports all on train lines, and being the hub of a national intercity coach network doesn't pull London ahead here.
You can even get to *squints* Welwyn Garden City.
VERDICT: Baltimore 0, London 1
b) How do you get around?
The light rail, single-line subway, and bus service in Baltimore do make it easy to get around. The various tourist destinations are mostly easy to walk to, either from transit or just around downtown.
London's iconic red buses, world-renowned Tube, and massively interconnected National Rail services could all disappear, though, and I would suggest the Overground, trams, Elizabeth Line, ferries, and even the silly Air Line would still get you around better than anything in Baltimore.
VERDICT: Baltimore 0, London 2
c) What are the limits on a visitor without a car?
Baltimore has one little section of hipster shops and cafés that everyone recommends--Hamden--and it's actually quite difficult to get to by transit or walking from the rest of the city, hidden up on a hill behind the Johns Hopkins University campus.
The greatest limitation on a tourist in London is finding the time to go everywhere.
Or the crowds.
VERDICT: Baltimore 0, London 3
Category 2: Living Without A Car
a) Can you expect to get to work?
Baltimore's transit system is definitely made up to promote commuters, including commuters to DC and from the Lutherville/Timonium suburbs.
However, there are definitely places that are hard or impossible to commute to/from without a car.
London seems to have a somewhat different approach: while of course people do commute by car, between the congestion charge and the sheer cost of living, it's definitely set up to not need a car.
That said, I'm not really counting these motorbikes (but it was nice that there was a motorbike stand!)
VERDICT: Baltimore 0, London 4
b) Can you live the rest of your life?
Here's where cost of living starts to matter, and London is certainly more expensive than Baltimore.
How much? That matters, a lot, because if you can afford it, London has a lot better integration of groceries, hospitals, shopping, etc into the urban fabric, and it's easier to live those parts of your life without a car there.
Some have London only 20ish% more expensive; others more like 40% or even 70%. That's a meaningful difference. It's the difference between which would win this category, in fact.
What all those analyses agree on is that London is cheaper to eat in (groceries for sure, eating out possibly). That surprised me given the overall difference they all agree on. The higher estimates correspond to: the higher cost of transportation. The 70% comes because a car is so expensive. Yes, the monthly transit ticket is also more expensive, but in one place the transit ticket allows you not to own the car--in the other, it's an add-on, effectively.
That means, without a car, London does much better. Well, still worse financially, but good enough that the advantage in city organization shines through.
Sometimes dinner is right next to the station...
VERDICT: Baltimore 0, London 5
c) How are the basic amenities?
I love the Walters Museum, the waterfront by the Inner Harbor, and Fort McHenry.
I'm also aware that even the most xenophobic American inspired by the battle at the latter in the War of 1812 would have to admit that London has the better city amenities including the spoils of empire all around, for free admission.
Some of the spoils are clearer about the colonial context that spawned them than others.
VERDICT: Baltimore 0, London 6
Category 3: Miscellaneous
a) Are there people on the street?
Baltimore has done a much improved job of this over the years I've visited. It's a city where I do see people walking and sitting on their stoops.
London is one of the few cities I've had actual trouble walking in because of the number of people on the street.
This isn't "difficulty walking" territory, but it is pretty normal levels of people on the street.
VERDICT: Baltimore 0, London 7
b) Where is the city's urbanism going?
Baltimore is finally getting off the ground. That means reviving the Red Line project, and trying to complete more of the urban infrastructure for density and transport.
But proud as I might be of them for that, here's something London has done that Baltimore doesn't even look to do:
Lower speed limits in Islington -- a decade ago -- are about the same as speed limits in side alleys alone in Baltimore.
And then when you consider the larger plan for the future is also more comprehensive, this has to go to London.
VERDICT: Baltimore 0, London 8
c) Is it functionally diverse?
Baltimore has a legacy of segregation and it has had consequences to the present day. It's a majority Black city, but the metro is not, which might be an indication of the problem. It's a pretty racially segregated metro area, though not necessarily that high by US standards.
That said, the US is generally more segregated than the UK (except with regard to Asian groups, which is an interesting finding). And London in particular is a very diverse city. Even though it wasn't when I was born.
VERDICT: Baltimore 0, London 9
d) How do people there react to knowing you're not using a car?
I've gotten odd looks in Baltimore County about not using a car; in the city, less so but still a certain amount of expectation around car ownership arose.
The topic literally never came up in London, and I think people would have been surprised if I'd mentioned driving--though that might be because I'm noticeably American. Still, none of my UK relatives ever drove into the city to see me either; they took transit, and I took transit out to them as well.
People do own cars in London, but it's very normal not to.
Even if sometimes the bus stops have trouble connecting to their Internet for arrival times.
VERDICT: Baltimore 0, London 10
e) How do people react to people living close together?
Baltimore is famous for the row house. Sorry for the bad picture, but the point is that people are close together.
But again, that isn't the same as London's denser density.
This is a relatively non-dense part of inner London, and yet look at that relative height.
And this is a bit more:
FINAL VERDICT: Baltimore 0, London 11
I'm sorry to Baltimore, which would probably have won some potential second round matchups, but was completely overmatched here. A pair of wipeouts to match our pair of close results in Round 2. We'll move on to round 3 next, aka the semifinals, with London moving on to face Boston, aka the American Revolution v.2
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