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But sports championships are important, as they enhance a city's profile, which in turn spurs investment, immigration and development. LeBron James is worth at least $500 million to the city of Cleveland; 3 straight NBA Finals appearances and one win has caused a renaissance of sorts in Cleveland, from the Republican National Convention to a renovation of Quicken Loans arena. Having an excellent sports team or teams is more than just a matter of civic pride.
And why would DC's urban population solely boost it over Dallas and Houston? Of the 10 largest MSAs, 5 have traditionally urban city cores and 5 do not. Urbanity is a lot less important for success in the American model than elsewhere around the globe. DC still has a smaller GDP than Houston, and possibly Dallas in 2017. If anything, I think the only thing that definitively boosts DC over Dallas and Houston, from an objective perspective, is being the seat of government of the world's most powerful nation. It certainly doesn't win on raw economic output and population size (which can also be said of Ottawa).
Also, why wouldn't Dallas and Houston have a claim for fourth? They are fourth (Dallas) and fifth (Houston) in MSA population, and fourth (Houston) and fifth (Dallas) in GDP. They are the third (Houston) and fourth (Dallas) most diverse cities in the nation. They are also the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country, with Houston first and Dallas second (DC is sixth). DC only gains a true edge when Baltimore, a separate metro, is included. The only metro that has a better claim for fourth is the Bay Area, but until the Census makes that area one MSA, you leave too much room for argument in having two MSAs. Even if we give the Bay the benefit of the doubt and give it fourth, we're still talking about 5-7.
This grouping is the closest in the entire country at the major city level. And by GDP, they're closer to each other than the Canadian metros.
“Urbanity is a lot less important for the American model” - sounds like you have some dumb, anti-American, arbitrary definition of urbanity if you think that.
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