Why is Fayetteville treated like it does not exist? (Charlotte: how much, lawyers)
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It's a good argument to peg it to a triad city if anything if anything it has more oomph due to the base
Fayetville is conservative and military and so it inclines people to hate it
Heck it's bigger than greenville
Democrats in Cumberland County, with Fayetteville making up most of the county, outnumber Republicans two to one, so I don't know that I would call it conservative in the sense of being in lockstep with a hard right Republican worldview. I would modify that to "traditionalist" as a more precise description, in that the population doesn't have a large number of left wing activists, like Asheville, Chapel Hill, or Durham would, for example. Much of that is due to having a large military based minority population, who have traditional values ( allegiance to God, country, family etc.), but don't automatically pair those values with the current Republican party the way politically conservative, Caucasian, evangelical people frequently do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ozmoe571
Finally, Fayetteville has got to market itself better as a reason why families should move there beyond relatively affordable housing. Other than being close I-95 and 90 minutes or so away from beaches between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, its advantages seem quite sparse for becoming a resident there.
The tough thing about Fayetteville's economy being so intertwined in the military is that if it tries to compete with health care, technology, higher education, tourism, golf, finance/real estate, or even advanced manufacturing, there are cities and towns across the state that have been so focused on building those amenities for decades or that have some natural features (beaches, mountains) to draw people. If Fayetteville tries to build around those aspects as a central theme and loses sight of its military presence, it's just going to lose focus and get blown away by the places that are so many years ahead of it. It can certainly try to improve those attributes but if it were to try to compete with high tech industry against RTP, RTP is going to blow Fayetteville away. Like it or not, Fayetteville's focus isn't on these things anymore than Greensboro's focus is being North Carolina's premiere beach city.
It needs to focus on being a place that attracts traditionalists since that's really its core DNA, and embrace that it is a military city, but strive to be a high amenity military city, and work hard to build and improve on that.
The tough thing about Fayetteville's economy being so intertwined in the military is that if it tries to compete with health care, technology, higher education, tourism, golf, finance/real estate, or even advanced manufacturing, there are cities and towns across the state that have been so focused on building those amenities for decades or that have some natural features (beaches, mountains) to draw people. If Fayetteville tries to build around those aspects as a central theme and loses sight of its military presence, it's just going to lose focus and get blown away by the places that are so many years ahead of it. It can certainly try to improve those attributes but if it were to try to compete with high tech industry against RTP, RTP is going to blow Fayetteville away. Like it or not, Fayetteville's focus isn't on these things anymore than Greensboro's focus is being North Carolina's premiere beach city.
It needs to focus on being a place that attracts traditionalists since that's really its core DNA, and embrace that it is a military city, but strive to be a high amenity military city, and work hard to build and improve on that.
Fayetteville simply doesn't have what it takes to establish itself as a force in most of those industries you mentioned. For instance, it doesn't have enough of a significant higher ed presence to be a leader there or in tech. It doesn't have the bank HQ or financial institutions to lead in banking finance. And so on and so forth. Out of the things you listed, golf is probably what the greater Fayetteville region does better than the state's other urban regions, but the golf courses are found on the fringes of the region in smaller towns and Fayetteville itself really gets none of the economic benefits and you really can't build upon golf all that much to create a larger tourism sector unless the region is coastal or in another geographically distinct/desirable area. That said, I think the area can do better when it comes to landing more manufacturing/distribution centers. They are low-hanging fruit in that they don't require large, skilled workforces and usually only require good interstate/port access as far as transportation connections go. It's not far from Wilmington and is on I-95 (also giving it access to the ports of Savannah and Charleston), the nation's premier north-south highway. Start with those advantages and it's possible some sort of cluster could begin forming which would allow the region to carve out a competitive economic niche for itself which it could then start building on.
I'm not sure what you mean by a "high amenity military city," but I'd say it's difficult to have high-quality amenities without the larger tax base to pay for and sustain them that more industry would provide. Fort Bragg provides economic benefits but it doesn't contribute to the city's property tax base as it is a military installation and a rather large one at that.
I'm not sure exactly what city and county governments in Fayetteville/Cumberland County can do to bolster Fayetteville's image. I think they are trying, though. The new ballpark is definitely a step in the right direction. There has been talk of a DPAC sized arts venue downtown. I think that would be a great idea. The Airborne/Special Ops Museum is a big draw downtown. I think the Civil War Museum could be too, but it would also be nice to have a good arts venue or science museum or something like that. There was an Andy Warhol exhibit at Methodist recently and two of my Facebook friends in the Triangle went down to see that.
In addition to making it nicer for current residents of Fayetteville with refurbished parks and museums and arts venues, it is also attractive to businesses looking to expand or relocate. I agree that I-95 is a resource for Fayetteville. Dunn got the Rooms To Go distribution center a few years ago. Something like that could have come to Fayetteville.
And finally, reducing crime is very important. People don't want to move their business or employees to a place with a bad crime rate.
Democrats in Cumberland County, with Fayetteville making up most of the county, outnumber Republicans two to one, so I don't know that I would call it conservative in the sense of being in lockstep with a hard right Republican worldview. I would modify that to "traditionalist" as a more precise description, in that the population doesn't have a large number of left wing activists, like Asheville, Chapel Hill, or Durham would, for example. Much of that is due to having a large military based minority population, who have traditional values ( allegiance to God, country, family etc.), but don't automatically pair those values with the current Republican party the way politically conservative, Caucasian, evangelical people frequently do.
The tough thing about Fayetteville's economy being so intertwined in the military is that if it tries to compete with health care, technology, higher education, tourism, golf, finance/real estate, or even advanced manufacturing, there are cities and towns across the state that have been so focused on building those amenities for decades or that have some natural features (beaches, mountains) to draw people. If Fayetteville tries to build around those aspects as a central theme and loses sight of its military presence, it's just going to lose focus and get blown away by the places that are so many years ahead of it. It can certainly try to improve those attributes but if it were to try to compete with high tech industry against RTP, RTP is going to blow Fayetteville away. Like it or not, Fayetteville's focus isn't on these things anymore than Greensboro's focus is being North Carolina's premiere beach city.
It needs to focus on being a place that attracts traditionalists since that's really its core DNA, and embrace that it is a military city, but strive to be a high amenity military city, and work hard to build and improve on that.
I'm from the area and I know the hairs you're trying to split about Democrats quite well but it's kind of a distraction they're conservative Dems
I'm from the area and I know the hairs you're trying to split about Democrats quite well but it's kind of a distraction they're conservative Dems
It's ultimately an irrelevant point. Nobody hates Fayetteville because it's conservative, whether socially or politically. Greenville, SC is conservative in both senses and folks love that place. People don't care for Fayetteville because it doesn't have all that much going for it, it doesn't have a lot of aesthetic appeal, and it has a reputation for high crime. Economically, it has the military--which doesn't produce much in the way of economic spin-off--and that's pretty much it besides the basic places needed for any town to function.
It's ultimately an irrelevant point. Nobody hates Fayetteville because it's conservative, whether socially or politically. Greenville, SC is conservative in both senses and folks love that place. People don't care for Fayetteville because it doesn't have all that much going for it, it doesn't have a lot of aesthetic appeal, and it has a reputation for high crime. Economically, it has the military--which doesn't produce much in the way of economic spin-off--and that's pretty much it besides the basic places needed for any town to function.
If you are talking about culturally, yes and no. Certainly lots of guns and religion in Fayetteville, but lots of strip clubs, too.
Fayetteville is not really cutting edge on anything except military-related stuff. It lags behind on pretty much everything else. Take the ballpark downtown, for example. Hickory, Burlington, and Kannapolis, all have teams playing before Fayetteville got the Woodpeckers, not to mention Charlotte, Durham, Raleigh/Zebulon, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Wilmington, and Asheville.
And yeah, I agree with Muntiny77. I think Fayetteville could do a LOT more with what it has. The river area could be a draw like it is in other cities, but Fayetteville just is still clawing its way out of the hole that it sunk into in the 1970s when it was inundated with drafted soldiers going off to fight in Vietnam. It was actually a pretty nice little town before that, with a thriving downtown where you would take the family to shop in the many department stores. Check out photos here: https://www.fayobserver.com/photogal...509009995/PH/1 But with the advent of the Vietnam war, bars downtown got seedier, department stores fled for Cross Creek mall built in 1975, and downtown just went to heck in a handbasket. https://www.fayobserver.com/photogal...312099671/PH/1
It has taken a LONG LONG time to make downtown Fayetteville back into a nice place to be.
@poppydog those photos are amazing! I love all those old signs. It's a shame they're mostly all gone. From what I can see online, The Capitol and Horne's signs are still there. I love all the signs on the 500 block of Hay street.
If you are talking about culturally, yes and no. Certainly lots of guns and religion in Fayetteville, but lots of strip clubs, too.
Fayetteville is not really cutting edge on anything except military-related stuff. It lags behind on pretty much everything else. Take the ballpark downtown, for example. Hickory, Burlington, and Kannapolis, all have teams playing before Fayetteville got the Woodpeckers, not to mention Charlotte, Durham, Raleigh/Zebulon, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Wilmington, and Asheville.
And yeah, I agree with Muntiny77. I think Fayetteville could do a LOT more with what it has. The river area could be a draw like it is in other cities, but Fayetteville just is still clawing its way out of the hole that it sunk into in the 1970s when it was inundated with drafted soldiers going off to fight in Vietnam. It was actually a pretty nice little town before that, with a thriving downtown where you would take the family to shop in the many department stores. Check out photos here: https://www.fayobserver.com/photogal...509009995/PH/1 But with the advent of the Vietnam war, bars downtown got seedier, department stores fled for Cross Creek mall built in 1975, and downtown just went to heck in a handbasket. https://www.fayobserver.com/photogal...312099671/PH/1
It has taken a LONG LONG time to make downtown Fayetteville back into a nice place to be.
Love the photos from the 1950s and 1960s. Those are the types of walkable downtowns that many of us crave today!
Fayetteville better than Durham? Not a chance. Not even close. Durham is literally leaps and bounds better than Fayetteville in literally every way possible. It really isn't even a question. You're actually the only person I've met who has this opinion? Fayetteville better than Durham? You must have mistyped but if not, please explain. FWIW, I have lived in both Fayetteville and Durham, so really curious to see what you have to say
I live in Durham now, and while it is much better, there are many parts of Durham which are mirror images of Fayetteville. NC Central/East Durham is much like the Murch in Fayetteville, for example. Even Raleigh has its own "little Fayetteville" in the Capital Blvd area.
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