Can a town graduate from being a suburb to a stand-alone city (Dallas: live in, centers)

[true_wu]

In DFW Arlington and now Plano says that it is no longer a suburb what would qualify for a town to make that change? Would it be something like more people traveling into town, than out of town during the workday?/B]

[JamesYaya]

Plano not a suburb? That's comedy gold.

[MurphyPl1]

Plano, Irving, Garland and Arlington are all larger than every city in Illinois other than Chicago.

The problem with your question is that a suburb is in fact a city in most of the metroplex. They are not either/or terms. Plano is both a city and a suburb of Dallas.

[ThomasCrown]

Plano will always be a suburb in the traditional sense to Dallas, but when your population is almost 300,000 people... That is a city in its own right as well. Plano has their own job centers, entertainment, etc. Someone can live in Plano and have everything they need, including their workplace and never need to venture down to Dallas.

So in that respect it is a city. You could pick up Plano and put it anywhere on a map of the US and it would function just fine as a standalone city in the middle of nowhere, being a suburb to nothing.

[rantanamo]

What kind of regional governmental roles does Plano play? Outside of population, a place like Greenville or Longview plays far more of a city role than Plano does.

[DTXman34]

Originally Posted by ThomasCrown

So in that respect it is a city. You could pick up Plano and put it anywhere on a map of the US and it would function just fine as a standalone city in the middle of nowhere, being a suburb to nothing.

It wouldn't be the same economically if it was plopped in the middle of nowhere. It's relevance is tied to Dallas and Fort Worth and their amenities. Plano will always be a suburban city. I know the leaders and residents there think they're truly special and exceptional, but they are not. You can't be a suburb of nowhere. If Dallas and Fort Worth collapsed, Plano would go down with them.

[DTXman34]

Originally Posted by rantanamo

What kind of regional governmental roles does Plano play? Outside of population, a place like Greenville or Longview plays far more of a city role than Plano does.

Exactly! Plano isn't even the county seat, so it has no political relevance either. Plano is nothing special. If Dallas didn't grow, Plano would still be a tiny town of 5,000 people or whatever. Dallas can survive without Plano, but not the other way around.

[TheOverdog]

Plano isn't even the county seat, so it has no political relevance either.

Due to the fact that a powerful US Congressman's district is located there (Sam Johnson), that gives Plano some national political power - probably less than Dallas but certainly more than Greenville or Longview. Plano also dominates the DFW region - witness the Cotton Belt Rail Line being built way ahead of schedule and barely (and possibly not) prioritized behind the downtown Dallas D2 line.

I guess I could go on, though I'd argue that since Plano doesn't have a zoo and is barely starting up an arts & entertainment-type district, it's not a true city. But regional or local political power isn't its shortcoming.

[DTXman34]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

Due to the fact that a powerful US Congressman's district is located there, that gives Plano some national political power - probably less than Dallas but certainly more than Greenville or Longview. Plano also dominates the DFW region - witness the Cotton Belt Rail Line being built way ahead of schedule and barely (and possibly not) prioritized behind the downtown Dallas D2 line.

I guess I could go on, though I'd argue that since Plano doesn't have a zoo and is barely starting up an arts & entertainment-type district, it's not a true city. But regional or local political power isn't its shortcoming.

The city of Dallas, while still remaining an important DART member, should form its own City Transit Agency. I'm sick and tired of this "regionalist" approach.

[mm4]

Originally Posted by true_wu

In DFW Arlington and now Plano says that it is no longer a suburb what would qualify for a town to make that change? Would it be something like more people traveling into town, than out of town during the workday?/B]

Towns are for rich people. Cities are for everyone else. Most suburbs are cities.

What Arlington and Plano want to say is that they have strong gravitational pulls on orbital cities. They're still suburbs. Tarrant County's mass transit system doesn't even serve Arlington.

As TheOverdog said, Plano doesn't even have a zoo.