smallest downtown for a city of 100,000 plus (largest, compare, bigger)

[tablemtn]

Overall I might have to go with Atlanta, if we are talking about size of metro area vs. size of the downtown core. It really doesn't feel like the center of a metro area of over 5.7 million people (using the broadest Census CSA numbers). Especially compared to metro areas of similar size, such as Philly, Toronto, Madrid, and so on.

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by polo89

Arlington Texas.

To top that off, it has no type of public transportation as well.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by tablemtn

Overall I might have to go with Atlanta, if we are talking about size of metro area vs. size of the downtown core. It really doesn't feel like the center of a metro area of over 5.7 million people (using the broadest Census CSA numbers). Especially compared to metro areas of similar size, such as Philly, Toronto, Madrid, and so on.

What does that even mean?

Guess what other cities have only 10% of the metro population city center?

Boston, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Miami

Oh, just so you know, the entire City of Atlanta isn't referred to as downtown. Downtown is it's distinct neighborhood with 30,000 residents contained in 1.6 miles. That's 18,000 people psm. On top of that, about 150,000 people work in Downtown, and there is on average 50,000 to 100,000 tourists visiting the area each day. Don't talk about things you are unaware of.

[polo89]

Why would someone say Atlanta?

[polo89]

Originally Posted by jluke65780

To top that off, it has no type of public transportation as well.

Exactly. Light-Rail does't pass through there, even with the new Cowboys Stadium. How pathetic.

[King_X]

Of the towns I'm familiar with, Columbus, Georgia.

Some of the cities over 100,000 that people talk about with "small downtowns" are just basically suburbs of nearby major cities.

But Columbus, GA...to be a city of almost 200,000 that is the hub city of its own metro...you cant tell me this isnt a pathetic looking "skyline" for a city of almost 200,000

http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/en/c/c1/Columbus,_Georgia_skyline_at_sunset.jpg (broken link)

[imaterry78259]

San Antonio

[tablemtn]

I picked Atlanta because of the size of its downtown relative to the (rather large) size of its metro area. It's a very nonconsolidated region; the downtown zone really isn't the "center of attention" in a lot of ways, and it shows.

Oh, just so you know, the entire City of Atlanta isn't referred to as downtown.

Clearly.

Downtown is it's distinct neighborhood with 30,000 residents contained in 1.6 miles. That's 18,000 people psm. On top of that, about 150,000 people work in Downtown, and there is on average 50,000 to 100,000 tourists visiting the area each day.

And...?

Again, you have to compare Atlanta's downtown with the downtowns of its peer metro areas.

Anyway, in terms of smaller cities or areas, I might go with Daytona Beach, which is technically the hub city of a metro area of 500,000, but it doesn't really show.

[krudmonk]

An insane amount of municipalities qualify here.

[cdw1084]

Originally Posted by MurphyKing54

Hampton, VA.

That's true. When I was stationed at Langley I was shocked that the downtown was so small. It's like one block seriously.