Rochester is in the company of midtown Manhattan and downtown Chicago in at least one respect.
Those cities have among the highest percentage of downtown employees who live there, according to Defining Downtown, a study by the International Downtown Association.
Rochester was No. 5 in the country, with 50.2 percent of "workers living within one mile of downtown who work within one mile of downtown," the study said.
Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce President John Wade said the study shows how Rochester officials have planned development so people can live near where they work.
Midtown Manhattan rated No. 1, with 55.9 percent of workersIt was followed by downtown Chicago, 51.8 percent; Downtown Washington, D.C., at 50.5 percent; the strip in Las Vegas, 50.5 percent; and then downtown Rochester.
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The next five were downtown Ann Arbor, Mich.; downtown Honolulu, Hawaii; downtown Portland, Ore.; downtown Seattle, Wash.; and center city Philadelphia.
The study notes certain cities have areas in which people live close to where they work downtown, reducing commuting times and costs. Only five have live-work quotients of more than 50 percent, including Rochester, it notes.
"Places once shunned as empty and unsafe at night are being redeveloped at higher density and are thriving after dark," the study says. "They have become preferred places for work, entertainment and living."
In many cities, the residential population living within major employment zones is growing faster than the rest of the city, according to the study.
Downtown Rochester was one of just 28 employment nodes rated as having an "extremely high job density" by the study. Its commercial downtown has a density of 155 jobs per acre, with a density of 36 within a half mile and 16 within a mile.
