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I'm not sure I understand the groupings. Phoenix is nothing like Montreal nor is Atlanta anything like Detroit..etc...
k. Took Montreal out.
Grouping of population. I had to throw in criteria so the thread could remain active. I'm just asking if the smaller metros can hold their own against these bigger ones on big city mindset? It can be shown that Phoenix has a denser urban area than Atlanta, so I do believe that it can make an argument.
Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA CSA 4,269,349
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ MSA 4,263,236
Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI CSA 3,655,558
Big city mindset
urban rail
infrastructure
Entertainment role in the world
Tourism Industries
Walkable
Urban features
Do the smaller metros hold their own?
Compare the munchkins to the 5M crowd.
None of those apply to PHX except tourism. I know a lot of people won't believe that, but for flying in to see the Grand Canyon and Canadians/Northerners in the winter, tourism's huge.
I think Seattle and Minneapolis are similar to each other but both are very different than Phoenix. I think Minnneapolis and Seattle both punch at or above their weight class (and have significant swathes of classic urbanity) while Phoenix does not.
I think Seattle and Minneapolis are similar to each other but both are very different than Phoenix. I think Minnneapolis and Seattle both punch at or above their weight class (and have significant swathes of classic urbanity) while Phoenix does not.
Agreed. Phoenix is the odd one out of those 3.
I think Minneapolis and Seattle can hold their own against the bigger metros.
I lived in Seattle for 15 years, and although I love the city, it's really not all that. Seattle likes to think it's a 'big, world-class city', but it's just not. Their transportation infrastructure is more than pathetic for a city its size; the art and theater scenes are lacking; the music scene has declined due to bizarre city noise ordinances; if all you have are tall buildings, pro-sports stadiums and one major university, you're just not a world-class city. There are three truly 'urban' neighborhoods: Capitol Hill, Belltown and South Lake Union. The rest of the city is made of single family homes. Again, I love Seattle, but there's more hype there than reality.
I lived in Seattle for 15 years, and although I love the city, it's really not all that. Seattle likes to think it's a 'big, world-class city', but it's just not. Their transportation infrastructure is more than pathetic for a city its size; the art and theater scenes are lacking; the music scene has declined due to bizarre city noise ordinances; if all you have are tall buildings, pro-sports stadiums and one major university, you're just not a world-class city. There are three truly 'urban' neighborhoods: Capitol Hill, Belltown and South Lake Union. The rest of the city is made of single family homes. Again, I love Seattle, but there's more hype there than reality.
Its wierd your bashing Seattle with no apparent reason not comparing it to the other cities but you love Seattle Hmmm. Out of Seattle ,Phoenix and Minneapolis Seattle has the largest public infrastructure. What other cities the Size of Seattle have underground subways with three new lines under construction and one running. What other cities have two streetcar lines downtown and two commuter rail lines all in Seattle. Not to mention the largest ferry fleet in the USA. And Seattle has more than one university just one world class ranked like 22nd. And what about Seattles neighborhoods being mostly single family . Since 2005 when Seattles zoning changed most neighborhoods in Seattle have gone vertical . West Seattle ,Ballard , Freemont , North Gate, Greenlake and Columbia City are a few of the neighborhoods that have become very urban in last couple of years with large buildings. What city noise ordinance are you talking about ? WaMu , SoDo, Paramount, tripple door, Moore, ShowBox, live music theaters must not know about it. Its interesting you didnt say anything about Seattles world class traits just put it down. What about Amazons world headquarters in downtown, other world companies in Seattle also . Microsoft, Starbucks, Costco, Nordstroms, REI ones mostly none by the public. With the companies come the largest flagship Nordstom in the world downtown. The largest REI in the company downtown. And the fact Seattle has the largest downtown population of all the cities being compared at 63,000 and 7,700 new apartments and condos under construction downtown currently. Several new highrise buildings office , hotel, and appartment under construction. Amazon alone has three new supertalls . Seattle has more than pro sport stadiums downtown , What about the space needle in Seattle Center or Pike Place Market or South Lake Union Park downtown. Sorry I was getting off of the subject just thought the comments were crazy and not backed up by any facts. These are facts not hype nobody but you said Seattle was trying to be a world class city maybe it was a long time ago you lived there but please use facts if your going to bash a city Thank You.
Last edited by ironcouger; 09-06-2012 at 11:28 PM..
Reason: facts
Its wierd your bashing Seattle with no apparent reason not comparing it to the other cities but you love Seattle Hmmm. Out of Seattle ,Phoenix and Minneapolis Seattle has the largest public infrastructure. What other cities the Size of Seattle have underground subways with three new lines under construction and one running. What other cities have two streetcar lines downtown and two commuter rail lines all in Seattle. Not to mention the largest ferry fleet in the USA. And Seattle has more than one university just one world class ranked like 22nd. And what about Seattles neighborhoods being mostly single family . Since 2005 when Seattles zoning changed most neighborhoods in Seattle have gone vertical . West Seattle ,Ballard , Freemont , North Gate, Greenlake and Columbia City are a few of the neighborhoods that have become very urban in last couple of years with large buildings. What city noise ordinance are you talking about ? WaMu , SoDo, Paramount, tripple door, Moore, ShowBox, live music theaters must not know about it. Its interesting you didnt say anything about Seattles world class traits just put it down. What about Amazons world headquarters in downtown, other world companies in Seattle also . Microsoft, Starbucks, Costco, Nordstroms, REI ones mostly none by the public. With the companies come the largest flagship Nordstom in the world downtown. The largest REI in the company downtown. And the fact Seattle has the largest downtown population of all the cities being compared at 63,000 and 7,700 new apartments and condos under construction downtown currently. Several new highrise buildings office , hotel, and appartment under construction. Amazon alone has three new supertalls . Seattle has more than pro sport stadiums downtown , What about the space needle in Seattle Center or Pike Place Market or South Lake Union Park downtown. Sorry I was getting off of the subject just thought the comments were crazy and not backed up by any facts. These are facts not hype nobody but you said Seattle was trying to be a world class city maybe it was a long time ago you lived there but please use facts if your going to bash a city Thank You.
This sounds made up! No city in the world could be THAT great!!
All he said was that skyscrapers ("Amazon alone has three new supertalls"), lacking arts/music scene ("WaMu , SoDo, Paramount, tripple door, Moore, ShowBox, live music theaters must not know about it.", and all probably abide by this noise ordinance), only one ("ranked like 22nd") major university, poor mass transit options for a city its size (the "underground subways", "two streetcar lines" and "two commuter lines" are all fairly new developments/proposals), and the SFH neighborhoods (that now are supposedly "all vertical" all of the sudden) don't necessarily place Seattle at that "worldly" elite level that it thinks it is at (and clearly Seattlites like you think it is!). He's saying it takes a bit more and/or that Seattle is a bit overrated, that's all. That's not really a stretch, either.
But I believe the topic of the thread was "can places like Seattle hang with their larger counterparts like Atlanta, Detroit and/or Miami?". Should the OP place a check mark for "yes" for you?
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