Smaller Cities with Urban Big City Bones (50,000 to 200,000) (cons, size, states)
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That's true, Hartford has a good skyline for a 1.4 million person metro.But in terms of city limits, that's a huge skyline for such a small city
It does. It's probably the only city in America that is under 200k AND has 3 buildings over 500 feet. Actually it's probably the least populated city in America that has a building over 500 feet. I may be wrong at that though. As some just mentioned, it's only 18 square miles but if Hartford's annexes East Hartford and West Hartford then it has over 250,000 people which isn't that small.
Springfield MA (city of 153,000, founded in the 1600's, and home of the basketball hall of fame), has great urban bones, probably because it was a significant manufacturing city up until the 20th century, when factories started to leave and the city began to decline. The city struggles to this day, though it might finally be turning things around depending on who you talk to.
Springfield has had better days. IMO it doesn't have a lot of prestige but it is however somewhat famous for a couple of things. Not just Springfield but Western MA has been struggling for quite some time now. In MA I feel like everything is centered around Boston. It's just Boston. Nobody really looks to Worcester, Lowell, or Springfield because Boston takes the cake for everything.
-Ithaca, New York (city pop 31k, metro pop 105k): despite being isolated and physically small, is a very urban little city, is extremely busy for its size, and definitely feels larger, at least twice as large as it is officially. It does retain the small town vibe because of the isolation, but there's an abnormal listing of culture and things to do compared to cities of similar size (Elmira NY and Gainesville GA are just two cities I'm familiar with that spring to mind). Ithaca without question seems a bigger city than those two...
-Syracuse doesn't feel larger than it is to me, it seems about right. Ithaca is the only city in New York I would say "feels" larger than it actually is...
-Harrisburg, while definitely being urban, doesn't really feel larger---it's just urban...
-Richmond has great urban bones and the characteristics of a city of maybe 1.7-2 million metro, instead of only ~1.3 million. Definitely feels a little bit larger...
-Surprisingly, I'd say Fayetteville, NC actually feels a little larger than its official population. It's sphere of influence is actually larger than the documented population, so I'd say Fayetteville actually seems representative of a ~600,000 metro...
-Columbia, Knoxville, Little Rock all have some decent urban character, even if they don't seem terribly bigger than they actually are...
-Ithaca, New York (city pop 31k, metro pop 105k): despite being isolated and physically small, is a very urban little city, is extremely busy for its size, and definitely feels larger, at least twice as large as it is officially. It does retain the small town vibe because of the isolation, but there's an abnormal listing of culture and things to do compared to cities of similar size (Elmira NY and Gainesville GA are just two cities I'm familiar with that spring to mind). Ithaca without question seems a bigger city than those two...
-Syracuse doesn't feel larger than it is to me, it seems about right. Ithaca is the only city in New York I would say "feels" larger than it actually is...
-Harrisburg, while definitely being urban, doesn't really feel larger---it's just urban...
-Richmond has great urban bones and the characteristics of a city of maybe 1.7-2 million metro, instead of only ~1.3 million. Definitely feels a little bit larger...
-Surprisingly, I'd say Fayetteville, NC actually feels a little larger than its official population. It's sphere of influence is actually larger than the documented population, so I'd say Fayetteville actually seems representative of a ~600,000 metro...
-Columbia, Knoxville, Little Rock all have some decent urban character, even if they don't seem terribly bigger than they actually are...
Good point about Ithaca, as it does offer a lot considering its size. Ann Arbor MI is similar in this regard and has about 110,000 people.
I've actually heard both about Syracuse feeling bigger or that it seems smaller than it is. I think the mention of Albany was good, given its build and it actually has the tallest building in the state outside of NYC.
With Harrisburg, I also think it is unique, because the demographics outside of its city limits aren't to dissimilar like you would usually find in similar areas outside of the South. Meaning, the suburban neighborhoods next to the city are very diverse to where you may or may not know if you left the city.
Knoxville's downtown and skyline doesn't make it seem particularly huge, but driving down the interstate can make it seem like a much larger city. There are sections of the combined 1-40 and I-75 corridor that have 7 lanes on each side ( if I'm remembering correctly). Very large for a city of 180,000.
Macon GA has a population of 153,000. Driving through it, it easily feels like a city twice that size. The Macon skyline is also quite impressive for a city its size. The
Tacoma, WA was destined to become a big major port city for the West Coast, but it lost out against Seattle. Now it's urban grid is consumed by suburban houses, with the exception of a pretty decent and relatively large downtown considering Tacoma's size.
You read my mind. Tacoma is a big city bones urban city at its root. Yes, crime is higher there, or atleast has been higher there and in its burbs. However, there are some housing bargains there compared to its bigger northern neighbor.
Montgomery, Alabama is another small city (200,000) that feels bigger. Unlike Biloxi, I think The Gump's "urban bones " are strong, as there are historic, dense neighborhoods, a revitalized riverfront and new apartment complexes going up. Throw in the modest skyscrapers downtown, the Capitol, two busy interstates that run through it, and a popular minor league stadium, and Montgomery definitely gives off a bigger vibe.
St. Augustine, and Pensacola in Florida
Savannah, and Columbus in Georgia
Montgomery in Alabama
I would say Chattanooga, but it's just like most metros in SC and NC in that (when all things are considered) they're really 750k-1 million metros in reality-- and not the 467,986 or 598,334 (random numbers) sized MSAs as recorded by the census. CSAs give the Carolina MSAs massive boosts imho. More so than what you see in neighboring southern states.
Lexington, KY falls under the same umbrella as Chattanooga. I'm missing someone. Who is it?
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