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Charlotte's metro is larger than the Triad and Triangle and is the leading city for the state.
"leading city"....every state has a city/metro that is larger than the rest. But unless that is the ONLY large metro area or is significantly larger than the next few below it...hard to really call it a "leading city". Charlotte's metro population is only marginally larger than that of The Triangle.
"leading city"....every state has a city/metro that is larger than the rest. But unless that is the ONLY large metro area or is significantly larger than the next few below it...hard to really call it a "leading city". Charlotte's metro population is only marginally larger than that of The Triangle.
I don't totally agree with your last sentence, but I do understand the point that you're trying to make. However, I don't think that you're trying to understand the point that other posters are trying to make. I agree with you in that NC is not defined by Charlotte. I can understand why some folks might think that NC is defined by Charlotte though.
Metro populations aside, Charlotte is pound for pound in its own league within NC. I'm talking pro-sports, downtown focus, mass transit, city population, number of Fortune 500 companies, Theme Park, Water Parks, Nascar events, a White Water center, one of the busiest airports in the US etc. Even among NC's Fortune 1,000 companies, more than half of them are located within 20 miles of Charlotte's downtown. When it comes to media prints within the state's two largest newspapers (The Charlotte Observer and The Raleigh News and Observer) both are edited and designed at a Charlotte production center (yes, much of the work behind Raleigh's local paper is done within the Charlotte Observer building in downtown Charlotte).
When it comes to politics, the DNC Convention was held in Charlotte. Logic would suggest that if Charlotte and Raleigh were in the same leagues, such an event (first ever for NC at that) would have been held in the state capital right? Also since we're on politics, Charlotte's most elected mayor ever was recently elected governor of North Carolina with the full backing of North Carolina's biggest businesses (again, over half of them having their headquarters in or near Charlotte). Much of that backing came from the new governor's former Charlotte-based employer Duke Energy; which BTW recently became the largest utility company in the US by buying out Raleigh-based Progress Energy.
^^^Much of the above are just some examples of state and regional influences that ranks Charlotte quite aways ahead of all other NC metros. If you don't believe me, then maybe you will believe a third party that does these sort of rankings for business. Back in 2000, the GAWC ranked Charlotte as a Gamma-minus city; that same year no other NC city made the list. GaWC - The World According to GaWC 2000
Then there are the skylines that every first time visitor of these two cities get to see. Raleigh Skyline Charlotte
^^^Clearly, NC is NOT in a Georgia situation. However, NC isn't in an Ohio situation either. Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus can atleast hold their own against each other as stand-alone cities. The same claim does not hold true for NC's #1 and #2 cities. Still though, the Triangle is MUCH more than just Raleigh and its weak skyline, which is the main reason why Charlotte doesn't define the state. If NC cities were South Carolina sized metros, things might be different. The fact that NC is not truly a one-trick pony is a good thing IMO. I hope that never changes.
Last edited by urbancharlotte; 12-12-2012 at 12:04 AM..
^^^Clearly, NC is NOT in a Georgia situation. However, NC isn't in an Ohio situation either. Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus can atleast hold their own against each other as stand-alone cities. The same claim does not hold true for NC's #1 and #2 cities. Still though, the Triangle is MUCH more than just Raleigh and it's weak skyline, which is the main reason why Charlotte doesn't define the state.
When I was thinking of where to put North Carolina, I thought of how it compared to my home state of Tennessee.
Nashville is clearly larger than Memphis in terms of metro population, GDP, tv market, has one more pro sports team, has a larger skyline, etc...but when it comes down to it, it doesn't dominate Memphis in terms of defining the state. Memphis is a huge cultural center with a rich history, and most certainly a hub of economic activity and tourism in West Tennessee.
If Memphis were taken out of the equation, it would probably make Tennessee fall in what I outlined as category 3, with one dominant city, but with some very important other cities like Knoxville and Chattanooga (and to a small extent, the Tri Cities). But with Memphis in the picture, Tennessee just has too much going on for one single city to come to mind when thinking of Tennessee.
Now I am not well versed in North Carolina culture, or how things are perceived within the state. I've visited a number of times, but not enough to really get a handle on how North Carolinians think of their cities within the state...but I have to imagine it is at least a similar situation.
Charlotte gets a ton of attention, and as a city alone, it is superior within the state (which isn't quite the case in Tennessee)...but with the Triangle and it's trio of powerful and well-known universities, and large research park, and the home of the state capital, Raleigh (and Durham/Chapel Hill) is a major player. And similar to Tennessee, there are other decent sized players within the state (The Triad, and to a lesser extent, Asheville, Fayetteville, and Wilmington). The primary difference between Tennessee's situation and North Carolina's is that rather than having a Memphis or a Knoxville -- single focal point cities -- you have groups of mid sized cities that operate together as a multi-core metro (Raleigh--Durham, Winston-Salem--Greensboro).
So while the Triangle and Triad don't really stack up to Charlotte as stand-alone cities, they do operate as large metropolitan areas or regions. Raleigh itself doesn't feel like a 1.75 million CSA hub...but it doesn't really feel like a small city of 400,000. It's hard to describe.
Edit: you probably could've avoided using a crappy instagram photo of Raleigh's skyline. We all know Charlotte's is far bigger. But damn. It's got an industrial wasteland in the foreground.
^^^Agreed!!! And yes, you did find a MUCH better pic of downtown Raleigh. BTW, you just called Raleigh's Warehouse District an "industrial wasteland". Raleighites are quite proud of that downtown area's recent progress so don't be so quick to diss.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nashvols
Edit: you probably could've avoided using a crappy instagram photo of Raleigh's skyline. We all know Charlotte's is far bigger. But damn. It's got an industrial wasteland in the foreground.
^^^Agreed!!! And yes, you did find a MUCH better pic of downtown Raleigh. BTW, you just called Raleigh's Warehouse District an "industrial wasteland". Raleighites are quite proud of that downtown area's recent progress so don't be so quick to diss.
Oh, that's fine. We have that sort of thing, too. And from the right angle, it can look like a wasteland.
I guarantee you that most people don't know or think that Charlotte is bigger than Raleigh. The Research Triangle is well known around the country.
Yes they do....probably because Charlotte has professional sports teams bearing its name, whereas the Research Traingle doesn't. Besides, Charlotte MSA IS bigger than Raleigh/Durham...
I'm not sure if the average joe knows what the research triangle is. A professional person may, but the average blue collar person may not. On the flipside, Charlotte only has the bobcats bearing the Charlotte name so if a person doesn't follow basketball, they may not know the city has sports teams.
I don't think Charlotte stands out that much more than Raleigh and in no way "defines" the state.
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And yes, you did find a MUCH better pic of downtown Raleigh. BTW, you just called 
