BROOKLYN VS BRONX... What do you think?

Brooklyn and The Bronx are like oil and water, they don't mix. It's always been this way.

One reason is that Staten Island aside, which is totally separate and apart, The Bronx and Brooklyn are the two most geographically distant boroughs. Just as a matter of time and distance, residents of the two boroughs rarely mix.

Second is the basic nature of the two boroughs. The north of The Bronx has areas of residentials homes, and in some places is very suburban like, but the south which carries the reputation for the whole of The Bronx, for the great part it is very dense and highly urbanized, with whole neighborhoods of tenaments and apartment buildings. This creates a certain personality and life experience, with large populations having lived their entire lives in such an environment.

Brooklyn on the other hand, while having a couple of highly dense urban neighborhoods which are, generally, old and outlying, most of Brooklyn's neighborhoods are comprised of 'homes', with apartment buildings near public transport and commercial thoroughfares or hub zones.

In Brooklyn there are few areas, if any, where the apartment buildings outnumber 'homes'. Most areas have roughly a 75/25 (or less) ratio of homes/apts, and a few might be 50/50. The exception is the few areas that fell to the 'urban renewal' movement of the 50s/60s/70s, where in some areas, huge sections of poor neighborhoods were torn down and replaced with large public housing complexes.

The basic difference is that Brooklyn and The Bronx developed differently. Brooklyn has its own separate and interdependent identity as a city. For much of its existence it has been one of the largest in the country. Even as a borough, it would qualify as the 3rd or 4th largest city in the USA.

The city of Brooklyn developed in parallel to the City of New York, rivaling NYC until they merged, evidenced by Brooklyn's downtown and Brownstone Belt. Also, the outlying areas of Brooklyn (before Brooklyn was consolidated) were well developed and prosperous, such as Flatbush, Bushwhich, and the other Dutch towns.

The Bronx was an outlying area of mostly farmland and remained this way for most of its existence, until the subway was extended to the south Bronx area. After which, The Bronx, unlike Brooklyn, developed with dense neighborhoods of mostly apartment buildings in which the masses of the lower east side expunged upon.

Brooklyn experienced a similar 'explosion' of lower east side population, immediately after the Williamsburg Bridge was completed and the subway was extended into areas like Williamsburg, Brownsville and East New York. These neighborhoods have some similarity to The Bronx, in population, housing, and density. The majority of Brooklyn developed independent of this 'explosion' of the lower east side.

The city of Brooklyn, the five 'Dutch towns', specifically Flatbush, and the then suburban Brownstone Belt, are the soul of the borough of churches. All relatively non-urbanized areas of middle-class 'homes', with the commensurate lifestyle and mentalities. In these areas, the percentage of lifetime apartment dwellers is VERY low, with most residents aspiring to home ownership and the American Dream. Also, most residents own cars.

The Bronx, specifically the south, has a different, more urban development and culture. More lifetime apartment dwellers, lower home ownership, fewer car owners, and, a more stunted version of the American Dream. This creates a different mentality.

During the 70s and the era of 'urban decline' the two boroughs because of their different natures devolved to different degrees. The South Bronx became epitomized as the supreme example of urban blight, and to this day has the highest poverty level of all urban counties in the USA.

Brooklyn also suffered from urban decline, but the development was limited to the few most dense urbanized areas, most like The Bronx, as well as its downtown. Vast stretches of decay were found in Brownsville, East New York, and Coney Island.

The difference being that better than half of The Bronx is/was comprised of dense urbanity, while perhaps only 20% of Brooklyn is so consisted. Consequently, once the era of 'urban blight' passed and the city began to revitalize, Brooklyn because of its authentic and less urbanized nature rebounded faster and more substantially, and I must add with significantly greater private investment.

While the Bronx, with a less 'authentic' nature has been last to share in the revitalization, most of which has been subsidized in an 'urban renewal' manner. Brooklyn's reputation has positively grown with revitalization, while The Bronx' negative perception, gained during the dark days of urban decay and high crime, continues to persist.

The Bronx and Brooklyn, oil and water, apt dwellers vs home owners, super urban vs low urbanity, working class vs middle class, non-yuppie vs yuppie, no brownstones vs brownstone, authentic vs not.