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From someone who studies population data, Charlotte is approximately 30 years behind Atlanta in metro population. Atlanta was 2.1 million in 1980, and Charlotte is 2.3 million today. Atlanta has experienced 5 consecutive decades of growth rates of 30% or more. Charlotte has experienced 2 decades of those growth rates of 30 % or more. The growth rate has slowed for now due to the recession to less than 30 %. In addition, Charlotte's population has been approximately 30 years behind Atlanta's since the early 1900s. There are some similarities between Charlotte and Atlanta that cannot be ignored. In the 1970s and 1980s, Atlanta was pretty similar to Charlotte today. The next 30 years of Charlotte's history will be interesting. Will Charlotte be able to manage its traffic problems in the future? Will it be able to continue to develop its mass transit system into a big city system that carries more than 2-3 % of the commuters? If Charlotte continues to grow at 20 to 30 % per decade, it is destined to be a metro area with a population of 4 to 5 million over the next 30 years. Atlanta is 5.5 million today. There are some differences but there are some obvious similarities that absolutely cannot be ignored.
Charlotte had two decades of 30% growth but now they say it'll be in the 70% up till 2030. People seem to realize when they try and put were they think Charlotte will be out we always beat those projections. In these coming years should prove very interesting for Charlotte.
Here is a big difference between Atlanta and Charlotte.
Atlanta account for 8.5% of the Atlanta Metro population.
Charlotte accounts for 34.7% of the Charlotte Metro population.
Atlanta Metro 2013 - 5,522,942
Charlotte Metro 2013 - 2,335,358
For Charlotte to be more like Minneapolis, we would need a hell of a lot more lakes and mosquitos. That would be no problem except for the mosquitos. I believe that Charlotte would be more like Atlanta because neither has a navigable river or is on the coast. Our population grew from a crossroads of either "roads" or railroad tracks. Most large cities are on the coast and the population is found by the shore and spreads from there. In cities like Charlotte, populations spread 360 degrees around the main attraction which is the center of town. In reality, that makes some things difficult like transportation. Instead of providing transportation generally to a 180 degree area (depending on the geographic) it is provided for a 360 degree area making it much more expensive and difficult. Bottom line, that pretty much makes Charlotte and Atlanta the same in that huge respect. The only two large cities without navigable rivers or not on the coast are Columbus and Indianapolis. The river in Columbus isn't navigable and I can't remember a river in Indianapolis.
Having neither a river or beach means that the city can not rely as much on services industries to accommodate vacationers and provide tourist dollars which is a huge asset for many cities. We have our attractions, but nothing is better than a beach resort for the area economically.
The only thing that Atlanta and Charlotte have in common are they are in the USA Southeast.
The city of Atlanta is smaller than Charlotte, but it downtown has 3 business district with over 48 million sq. ft.
Atlanta Metro has 18 Fortune 500 companies and 10 Fortune 1000 companies
Charlotte Metro has 7 Fortune 500 companies and 10 Fortune 1000 companies.
Atlanta Metro has 172,909,643 Sq. ft of office space
Charlotte Metro has 100,546,414 Sq Ft.
Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport is Number 1 in Total Passengers
Charlotte Douglas International Airport is Number 8 in Total Passengers
Over all Atlanta just has more than Charlotte.
Charlotte is the second largest banking center in the USA.
Has the largest electrical utility in the USA
One of the largest steel companies in USA.
So the city of Charlotte grew from 2010 to 2014 by 78,534 at a 10.1% rate.
City of Atlanta is grew from 2010 to 2014 by 35,746 at a 8.5% rate.
So the city of Charlotte is bigger that in size (301.8 sq. miles) to Atlanta 134 sq. miles.
Atlanta still has a larger skyline than Charlotte, but Charlotte is working on that.
So I don't see Charlotte taking a lead over Atlanta unless it just disappears off the face of the earth, or Atlanta stops growing and Charlotte over takes Atlanta in 50 to a 100 years.
The only thing that Atlanta and Charlotte have in common are they are in the USA Southeast.
That's an exaggeration; although Charlotte isn't exactly a mini-Atlanta as it is sometimes stated (although I get the point that's trying to be made when people say that), they do have their similarities that go beyond simply being progressive, business-friendly post-war boomtowns in the Southeastern Piedmont region (although that's a pretty significant similarity). One key characteristic they share is how the heart and soul of each city is best displayed in their core neighborhoods as opposed to just their downtowns. This is why casual visitors to each city are sometimes underwhelmed when they are only confined to their downtown areas.
You can always count on a Atlanta/Charlotte thread to be active. Funny that the Atlanta thread rarely does a comparison about anything between the two cities.
The only thing that Atlanta and Charlotte have in common are they are in the USA Southeast.
The city of Atlanta is smaller than Charlotte, but it downtown has 3 business district with over 48 million sq. ft.
Atlanta Metro has 18 Fortune 500 companies and 10 Fortune 1000 companies
Charlotte Metro has 7 Fortune 500 companies and 10 Fortune 1000 companies.
Atlanta Metro has 172,909,643 Sq. ft of office space
Charlotte Metro has 100,546,414 Sq Ft.
Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport is Number 1 in Total Passengers
Charlotte Douglas International Airport is Number 8 in Total Passengers
Over all Atlanta just has more than Charlotte.
Charlotte is the second largest banking center in the USA.
Has the largest electrical utility in the USA
One of the largest steel companies in USA.
So the city of Charlotte grew from 2010 to 2014 by 78,534 at a 10.1% rate.
City of Atlanta is grew from 2010 to 2014 by 35,746 at a 8.5% rate.
So the city of Charlotte is bigger that in size (301.8 sq. miles) to Atlanta 134 sq. miles.
Atlanta still has a larger skyline than Charlotte, but Charlotte is working on that.
So I don't see Charlotte taking a lead over Atlanta unless it just disappears off the face of the earth, or Atlanta stops growing and Charlotte over takes Atlanta in 50 to a 100 years.
Your numbers are wrong ATL is #1 for aiport traffic and CLT is #24 for world ranking. ATL also have five distinct skylines Buckhead, Perimeter, Cumberland, Downtown, and Midtown.
You can always count on a Atlanta/Charlotte thread to be active. Funny that the Atlanta thread rarely does a comparison about anything between the two cities.
Lol, especially with folk from ATL bombarding the thread to make certain that any mundane detail that underscores Atlanta's "superiority" isn't missed...more railroads, streets, creeks, possums, etc.
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