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Also if Philly ever figured out what to do with it's waterfront there is a ton of room for high density gorwth, some even started but the economic conditions stalled many projects. Plus the area is severed by I-95 from the city. After being in Chicago recently and seeing all the new development South of loop on the lake there truly is room to grow if Philly would ever step up and actually do something with it's great river frontage asset.
No.
1-Phoenix pop is younger than Philly pop
2-Phoenix is an affordable city for californian residents, since 30 years many of them flee California to go there, these trends will continue.
Pheonix right now is being humbled by this recession, so its not as hot right now. However I think the recession will make them even stronger. Cause the same thing that made it grow: low housing cost and low cost of business is stronger than ever since home prices are at an all time low. Since Pheonix has yet to reach its pinnacle I think Pheonix will pass Philly because it is still growing like crazy. As much respect as I have for Philly in the population numbers it's going to lose ground for a while...
The problem is not that Philly doesn't have any more land to build on. There are literally hundreds of vacant lots through out the city.
The problem is the Philly is gaining the young (20s-30s set who don't have kids or have kids that aren't school age yet) and the rich old (kids off to college or married) folks. And so, most families in Philadelphia aren't going to be huge families. The same densely packed row homes that used to have hundreds of people per block will now have dozens fewer because of these reasons.
Thus, the problem for Philadelphia is its weak business climate (local taxes, govt red tape, govt corruption, etc.), and the fact that its suburbs are far more competitive when it comes to afforable housing, good public schools, and good public safety....Philly has great amenities, but it doesn't yet have greatness in those basic things that everyone needs in a place before they decide to stay and plant roots.
Will Philly regain the 5th spot in population? It hardly matters, really. Boston hasn't been in the population top 10 for decades or even a full century perhaps. Yet, it seems to have more of a cache as a destination than does either Philadelphia or Phoenix. What about that? In terms of those intangibles, Philadelphia has a lot going for it no doubt.
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
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This is how I see it;
Right now in this decade yes, they're so close like almost neck in neck right now, and Phoenix's economy is hit hard where as Philadelphia is better off this decade economically and growth wise than it has been in decades.
This decade I will say that yes, Philadelphia will surpass Phoenix yet again, but later this decade, they'll trade places again and this time Phoenix will go in to keep it.
My reasons are the same as what Renaud says.
And yes, in 40 years when USA's population hits 400 million, I can see Philadelphia getting back up to the 2 million mark.
And I agree with Kidphilly, Chicago has had some nice development going on south loop. I have some pictures of the ENTIRE downtown/loop area, 530+ pictures and such (just for Chicago). And I'm slowly uploading those if anyone is interested to see what Chicago's got going on, or what it's architecture looks like! I also have spent this past 5 days in Cleveland, Indianapolis, Detroit, Ann Arbor (my former school), Urbana-Champaign, and Columbus. I have videos to them all and pictures as well, if anyone is interested in seeing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SweethomeSanAntonio
San Antonio has over 1.4 million and is growing pretty fast so there is a chance it could surpass philly in a few years.
San Antonio has to worry about Dallas. From every source I have read in the last few days, it appears Dallas's population has also reached 1.4 million mark. In 2008 it was at 1.28 million.... that's a huge change for Dallas...
Right now in this decade yes, they're so close like almost neck in neck right now, and Phoenix's economy is hit hard where as Philadelphia is better off this decade economically and growth wise than it has been in decades.
This decade I will say that yes, Philadelphia will surpass Phoenix yet again, but later this decade, they'll trade places again and this time Phoenix will go in to keep it.
My reasons are the same as what Renaud says.
And yes, in 40 years when USA's population hits 400 million, I can see Philadelphia getting back up to the 2 million mark.
And I agree with Kidphilly, Chicago has had some nice development going on south loop. I have some pictures of the ENTIRE downtown/loop area, 530+ pictures and such (just for Chicago). And I'm slowly uploading those if anyone is interested to see what Chicago's got going on, or what it's architecture looks like! I also have spent this past 5 days in Cleveland, Indianapolis, Detroit, Ann Arbor (my former school), Urbana-Champaign, and Columbus. I have videos to them all and pictures as well, if anyone is interested in seeing.
San Antonio has to worry about Dallas. From every source I have read in the last few days, it appears Dallas's population has also reached 1.4 million mark. In 2008 it was at 1.28 million.... that's a huge change for Dallas...
Dallas is growing fast, I hope we become the 7th largest city in the USA and the 2nd largest city in Texas.
Most of PHX is just glorified suburbia compared to Philly, so yes its city population may be higher, and might remain higher, but that's only because its not a city in the same sense that Philly is a city.
PHX still has alot of growing up to do.
Dallas and San Antonio are also typical sunbelt style, not that there's anything wrong with that. Its just kind of odd to compare those kinds of cities to a city like Philly.
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