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I'll give the top cities (in my mind) ratings based on five factors. Historical is how much it played a role in history prior to the Civil War. Cultural rating is "southern" the city is. Commerce is based on city size and number of major firms headquartered there. Fame is based on pop culture and the amount of tourism associated with the city. Geography rating is a rating of how centrally-located the city is to the region. All ratings are from 0 to 9.
Atlanta: Tourism capital of the south
Over 90 million vistors annually
Worlds Biggest Airport-
Worlds busiest Airport
Worlds Largest Aquarium
Most used public transportation in the SE (over 500,000 daily)
Most Convention space in the SE
More intown developments underway than any other city in the SE
Biggest city in the SE
Largest universities in the SE
Largest public school systems in the SE
Largest media center in the SE
Most Hollywood productions in the SE.
I can go on and on..but I have to leave....obviously Atlanta is the KING of the SOUTH...and let Charlotte stay the QUEEN
Links to any of these? I know Atlanta's tourist numbers are around 40 million. Not 90.
Majority of these things looks as if you just guessed.
Also, Atlanta isn't the biggest city, metro or proper in the Southeast.
I'll give the top cities (in my mind) ratings based on five factors. Historical is how much it played a role in history prior to the Civil War. Cultural rating is "southern" the city is. Commerce is based on city size and number of major firms headquartered there. Fame is based on pop culture and the amount of tourism associated with the city. Geography rating is a rating of how centrally-located the city is to the region. All ratings are from 0 to 9.
According to this methodology, Nashville is the best capital of the South.
Interesting methodology, but how in the world does Atlanta only get a 7 for geography when one of the reasons why it's generally considered the capital of the South(east) is because it's very geographically centralized? Metro Atlanta is very accessible from parts of AL, TN, NC, and SC, and the three interstates that converge on the city make it a significant focal point for the Southeast.
And how does Charleston only get a 9 for its historical rating, especially considering that you gave Montgomery a 10? Charleston was the largest and wealthiest city in the South for the first half of the antebellum period and is where the Civil War began. Montgomery might have been the CSA's first capital, but there's absolutely no way it played a larger role than Charleston in the antebellum period. Montgomery needs to drop to around a 7 and Charleston definitely deserves a 10 along with NOLA and Richmond.
Also regarding Charleston--only a 3 for fame when fame is associated with tourism????? I know it doesn't rank highly for pop culture, but come on...Charleston Accolades » Daniel Island
Interesting methodology, but how in the world does Atlanta only get a 7 for geography when one of the reasons why it's generally considered the capital of the South(east) is because it's very geographically centralized? Metro Atlanta is very accessible from parts of AL, TN, NC, and SC, and the three interstates that converge on the city make it a significant focal point for the Southeast.
And how does Charleston only get a 9 for its historical rating, especially considering that you gave Montgomery a 10? Charleston was the largest and wealthiest city in the South for the first half of the antebellum period and is where the Civil War began. Montgomery might have been the CSA's first capital, but there's absolutely no way it played a larger role than Charleston in the antebellum period. Montgomery needs to drop to around a 7 and Charleston definitely deserves a 10 along with NOLA and Richmond.
Also regarding Charleston--only a 3 for fame when fame is associated with tourism????? I know it doesn't rank highly for pop culture, but come on...Charleston Accolades » Daniel Island
Noted. I updated the list.
I'm keeping Atlanta's geography rating since it is over towards the Atlantic coast. The traditional southern region is about twice as wide as it is deep, if you don't include Florida. That means east to west offsets are much more costly on being centrally located.
Links to any of these? I know Atlanta's tourist numbers are around 40 million. Not 90.
Majority of these things looks as if you just guessed.
Also, Atlanta isn't the biggest city, metro or proper in the Southeast.
Yes, some of those things are a little suspect, but these are valid:
Worlds Biggest Airport-
Worlds busiest Airport
Worlds Largest Aquarium
Most used public transportation in the SE (over 500,000 daily)
As far as the others, Atlanta is definitely tops for convention space, but it's hard to measure that. When it comes to individual convention centers, Orlando's is the largest in the SE with Atlanta second.
For media and Hollywood productions, again Atlanta is tops but hard to say that it's #1, especially with Miami as a center of Latin media and film in general. NC and LA also do well with their film industries.
Largest universities? No. The SE's largest by enrollment would be the University of Central Florida, Florida International, and the University of Florida.
Atlanta: Tourism capital of the south
Over 90 million vistors annually
Worlds Biggest Airport
Worlds busiest Airport
Worlds Largest Aquarium
Most used public transportation in the SE (over 500,000 daily)
Largest public transportation in the SE
Most Convention space in the SE
More intown developments underway than any other city in the SE
Biggest city in the SE
Largest universities in the SE
Largest public school systems in the SE
Largest media center in the SE
Most Hollywood productions in the SE
I can go on and on..but I have to leave....obviously Atlanta is the KING of the SOUTH...and let Charlotte stay the QUEEN
Yes, some of those things are a little suspect, but these are valid:
Largest universities? No. The SE's largest by enrollment would be the University of Central Florida, Florida International, and the University of Florida.
Atlanta has Georgia Tech and Emory, as well as Georgia State and a few historically black colleges like Clark Atlanta, Spelman, and Morehouse. Even UGA isn't that far to the east.
Last edited by Hamtonfordbury; 02-23-2013 at 01:39 PM..
I'm keeping Atlanta's geography rating since it is over towards the Atlantic coast. The traditional southern region is about twice as wide as it is deep, if you don't include Florida. That means east to west offsets are much more costly on being centrally located.
But we're not talking about the entire South, but the Southeast in particular.
And Atlanta is in a coastal state, but it is not "over towards the Atlantic coast." This map illustrates quite nicely how centralized--and accessible--Atlanta is within the Southeast:
But we're not talking about the entire South, but the Southeast in particular.
And Atlanta is in a coastal state, but it is not "over towards the Atlantic coast." This map illustrates quite nicely how centralized--and accessible--Atlanta is within the Southeast:
For that region, it's close enough to the center. However, I was including east Texas, Eastern OK, Arkansas, Southern MO, and all of Louisiana. The I-65 line comes closer to bisecting it than I-85 or I-75.
For that region, it's close enough to the center. However, I was including east Texas, Eastern OK, Arkansas, Southern MO, and all of Louisiana. The I-65 line comes closer to bisecting it than I-85 or I-75.
But we're not talking about the South as a whole; this thread is about the Southeast in particular. With this in mind, Atlanta should have a 9 or 10 in your ranking.
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