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I think Dallas could definitely apply. The broader DFW area, in it's entirety, is certainly stronger than Dallas itself would suggest.
Dallas isn't *the* anchor city of 7 million people. There are literally 2 anchor cities in DFW -- Dallas & Fort Worth. Each has their own suburbs. You simply cannot discount Fort Worth from this topic if you're referring to DFW as a whole. If anything, Fort Worth would be considered the weaker core city in the metro due to a large number of Tarrant County residents working in Dallas County. Downtown Dallas itself may be weak, but it's still the largest and densest employment center in the entire metro. The city proper alone has more employment centers and corridors than any of the suburbs.
The OP brings up some valid points as downtown and mid-town Phoenix often competes against its suburbs and even itself (Biltmore/Camelback Corridor, Deer Valley, Desert Ridge, Kierland, etc.) when it comes to infrastructure and jobs. According to this link from Wallethub yesterday - https://wallethub.com/edu/best-cities-for-jobs/2173/, Chandler (#1), Scottsdale (#2), Peoria (#4), Gilbert (#5), Tempe (#20), and Mesa (#56) outshine Phoenix (#60) as 2018 best places to find a job in the U.S.
Unfortunately, the OP also presents downtown/mid-town Phoenix as dormant which couldn't be further from the truth and is typical of the OP. OP also fails to point out the significant strides that Phoenix has made in the past few years regarding infill - specifically tons of low-mid-rise projects. While certainly no Austin, there are projects currently under construction as well as proposed:
Dallas isn't *the* anchor city of 7 million people. There are literally 2 anchor cities in DFW -- Dallas & Fort Worth. Each has their own suburbs. You simply cannot discount Fort Worth from this topic if you're referring to DFW as a whole. If anything, Fort Worth would be considered the weaker core city in the metro due to a large number of Tarrant County residents working in Dallas County. Downtown Dallas itself may be weak, but it's still the largest and densest employment center in the entire metro. The city proper alone has more employment centers and corridors than any of the suburbs.
I think, in the most backwards way, you agree with me?
Florida cities that I have been to have all been impressive for their population. I have never been to Jacksonville but would assume that as a city that represents a vast majority of it's metro population that it would have some decent vibrant areas just not maybe the core.
I know my hometown Colorado Springs has a weak core for a city of 450,000 people but since the city annexes everything and there are only a few small suburbs, most of the areas amenities are in the city itself just not contained in a vibrant center.
The have the Channel District next to downtown, Ybor City is a huge area of former warehouses and factories that is a massive entertainment area and the massive University of South Florida is in the city limits.
Tampa is above it's weight on amenities for it's size population. I have heard that about Jacksonville though.
Phoenix is in a class of it's own though for being such a low-amenity city of 1.6 million people. I am sure the suburban areas are glad that Phoenix is so weak for a city of it's size.
The Mayo Clinic is in Scottsdale, Arizona State Main Campus is in Tempe and pro-football is played in Glendale.
The nightlife is bustling on the weekend in Glendale, Gilbert, Scottsdale and Tempe. By contrast unless the Diamondback's are playing, downtown Phoenix is about as vibrant a small college town in the middle of nowhere after rush-hour.
At least the state of Arizona has been generous enough to be very progressive on interstate construction so residents can get to Scottsdale and Tempe for a more entertaining and vibrant climate.
I doubt there is another devoloped city anywhere in a first-world country that has core neighborhoods and a core city as unvibrant as Phoenix. The suburbs luckily are glad to make the difference in a big way and there are many great, lively and fun suburban areas.
The best they can do in Phoenix is the area around 24th and Camelback which has a couple of mid-rises and small shopping mall and a few grocery stores.
Downtown Tampa isn’t impressive, and Channelside is dead during the day, but Ybor City and Hyde Park makes up for it at least, some decent core areas. But then again, coming back from the other point I made, Tampa’s Metro Area isn’t much to talk about outside of St.Pete and Clearwater. Which is what I was talking about earlier, this is harder than it actually looks. Most cities aren’t going to have extensive suburbs along of the lines of what Phoenix has...
I think, in the most backwards way, you agree with me?
If you're referring to just Downtown Dallas or Dallas's urban core, then yes. The city of Dallas itself? No.
When you factor in employment centers, employment corridors, CBD's, etc., Dallas city limits still comes out ahead. Downtown, Uptown, Victory Park, Preston Center, and pretty much anything south of I-635 in the city is where most people are commuting to work. It's definitely not the same as Detroit. No doubt that Dallas has many growing and successful suburbs. They have a higher growth rate and are becoming more and more independent, but they're not yet as established as a major business center as Dallas. Major events, festivals, nightlife, vibrant neighborhoods, etc. definitely leans in Dallas's favor over its suburbs.
Fort Worth doesn't count. It's not a suburb of Dallas and is an independent city in its own right. Remember its Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), which means 2 core cities. Dallas's urban core is getting a lot better and is more entertaining than any of its suburbs, but it's still fairly weak for the Dallas-side of the metro. Contrary to popular belief on CD, Downtown Dallas isn't the anchor of 7 million people. They're forgetting Downtown Fort Worth as well.
I am starting to rethink whether Fort Worth really is a core city. I saw a map a few days ago that showed that Tarrant County actually has a met loss in population due to people commuting to work. Weird since all the surrounding counties besides Denton and Dallas are so rural. Even more so considering people Fort Worth are so very adamant about Arlington being Fort Worth's suburb and only Fort Worth's suburb.
I am starting to rethink whether Fort Worth really is a core city. I saw a map a few days ago that showed that Tarrant County actually has a met loss in population due to people commuting to work. Weird since all the surrounding counties besides Denton and Dallas are so rural. Even more so considering people Fort Worth are so very adamant about Arlington being Fort Worth's suburb and only Fort Worth's suburb.
I think Fort Worth would qualify as a "weak core city" from an economic standpoint. For cultural attractions, it holds up pretty well.
Well yeah Phoenix, Atlanta and Dallas where the first three places that came to mind. Although I don't think any of those cities cores are as weak as many people seem to believe. Their suburbs are just so massive and sprawly that they dwarf the inner city. If I had to pick one city with a subpar core and great suburbs, Dettr
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