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As a student of cities I've always been interested in "under dog" cities, so talking about the same 8 cliche big cities on here doesn't really interest me much. I've been researching medium sized metros between 900k-1.1m people. Cities in this metro range tend to have decent amenities, but seem to fly on the radar on City-Data. I'm also including slightly smaller Colorado Springs in the discussion since it has upward momentum, and there aren't a lot of Mountain West metro's in this range.
How would you rank these cities based on the following:
Future outlook
Cultural Amenities
Corporate presence
Recreational amenities
Economy
National recognition
Skyline
Natural setting
Future outlook- Toss up between Greenville, B'ham and Tucson
Cultural Amenities- I'm not entirely sure what this means but as far as being dipped in their own cultures I'll say Alb wins this one, followed by B'ham and Tucson. Omaha isn't far behind either and I could see arguments for it being on top here.
Corporate presence- No clue. My gut tells me B'ham or Omaha. Could be way off on that though.
Recreational amenities- Tucson. Basketball, Hiking, skiing, Mt Lemmon area is quite pretty.
Economy- B'ham, I think.
National recognition- I'm not sure.
Skyline- Not sure.
Natural setting- Tucson.
I think a lot of these are great cities. I think this comparison would show B'ham or Tucson to be the best of the bunch. I'd personally choose one of them or Greenville. I like Omaha every time I go (my sister lives nearby), it is just too cold for me.
I have the most experience with Tucson, Grand Rapids, and Birmingham on this list.
I don't agree that Tucson is one of them that has the best future, it's in Arizona, it's home to one of the largest research universities in the country and it still has some of the weakest economic data for any of these cities. Also its population growth is below average, when it should be one of the fastest growing metros on this list based on its ingredients.
I think Rochester and Birmingham have the biggest national brands as metro's, and I think Greenville and Grand Rapids are the most under the radar.
I'd rank them this way
Future: Greenville, Columbia, Colorado Springs
Cultural Amenities (from what I know): Rochester, Omaha, Grand Rapids
Corporate presence: Omaha, Rochester, Grand Rapids
Recreation: Colorado Springs, Rochester, Grand Rapids
Economy: Greenville, Columbia, Omaha/Grand Rapids
National recognition: Birmingham, Rochester, Omaha
Skyline: Omaha, Birmingham, Dayton
Natural setting: Colorado Springs, Tucson, Rochester
My top 3 are: Omaha, Grand Rapids, and Columbia. All 3 surprised me quite a bit when I visited them.
Albuquerque has the most nicely balanced climate of any of these cities. Not too hot or cold and offering distinct seasons with an overall sunny and pleasant climate year round. The diversity of landscapes within Albuquerque and its metro area is just amazing. Everything from heavily forested mountains with springs, lakes, waterfalls, small creeks and streams to the Rio Grande with its bosque and irrigation canals and the pastoral feel of its immediate flood plain to the escarpment, volcanoes and Petroglyph National Monument on the Westside to the stark desert landscapes with sand dunes, lava flows and otherworldly rock formations and red rocks further west and northwest of town to the barren plains and grasslands east of town. These all foster many different kinds of recreation readily available here. Along with our great sense of place, strong local culture with famed art, literature and entertainment, a renowned and distinct local cuisine, means Albuquerque has many strong points and draws for people. Albuquerque is starting to grow rapidly again and has lots of big things going on right now and into the next decade which will only accelerate that growth further.
Albuquerque hasn't been a big city very long to have had enough time to build up its corporate base like some of the Midwestern cities or Birmingham and Rochester (assuming Rochester, NY), but it's growing its economy nicely in tech and tech startups and areas like the entertainment industry. In just the last year or more we've had many successes in these areas. Things like Array Technologies going public and raising more than $1 billion in its IPO to the major expansion of Sandia National Laboratories to the huge Netflix and NBCUniversal deals. A major project to bring an advanced manufacturing facility and thousands of high-paying jobs is on track to get underway this year. The project is the Orion Center, part of Theia Group's initiative to deploy a network of 112 global imaging satellites, which would be developed and built here in Albuquerque. It has been named by Forbes as one of four largest global infrastructure projects, with an overall estimated cost of $13 billion. We also have billions in renewable energy infrastructure being built in our metro area, including the single largest wind farm project ever built in North America, the $2 billion Western Spirit Wind Development project. It will be built in Torrance County and join several other massive wind farm projects recently completed there. A new transmission line is also being built to directly connect the projects with Albuquerque and the rest of the power grid. Two new huge solar fields also opened last year in Sandoval County. Altogether these projects represent about $5 billion in investment in the metro area, and are helping us become a major player in renewable energy.
Our skyline may be growing soon with a new tallest building. There is an RFP for a plot of land north of our Civic Plaza that is in a holding pattern right now because of the pandemic but which has attracted three submissions, two of which include a new tallest building. Two of the proposals also include a new performing arts center. A new downtown soccer stadium with a mixed-use element is also shaping up. The city has commissioned a national firm to come up with a firm plan as to where it will be located and what it will include. It's expected to cost about $100 million and the city has asked the state legislature to allocate $40 million this year to help fund it. There may also be a city bond question later this year for more of the money needed. A recent poll conducted shows 62 percent approval for public help building the stadium. Development in the urban areas of Albuquerque is humming along with many projects underway right now, totaling nearly two billion dollars, much of it is thanks to the new Albuquerque Rapid Transit BRT line which is the highest rated in the country and the only U.S. BRT line to ever achieve a Gold rating by the international standard.
It's a very exciting time right now in Albuquerque. There hasn't been as much going on or as much positive momentum since before the Great Recession. The pandemic has certainly been an impediment in many ways but the city has still managed to advance greatly over the last year. Last year the city saw the most new homes built since before the Great Recession and the most new apartments planned since then as well. The real estate industry is on fire here, with home prices rising nearly 18 percent in December, capping a yearlong rise that saw shattered records and impressive numbers like that in many months. Much of the country has seen a rise in real estate, but various publications recently have named Albuquerque as among the top, one naming us 7th best in the country. That's quite amazing!
Oops, I'm the only one who voted for Dayton (so far)... I like its downtown quite a bit!
I agree about Dayton. I didn’t vote for it but as I rethink I’d probably add it to my top3. Dayton has a great skyline/downtown, a few cool gentrifying neighborhoods and is just under the radar in general on here. Definitely an unsung city.
Albuquerque is probably objectively one of the worst based on QOL metrics, but I've always felt an attraction to it. New Mexico is a fascinating place.
Dayton probably is as well, but I have a couple close friends from there and I've enjoyed the few days I've spent in the city. Voted for those 2 and also Rochester --- I like its visual look and history, and having a Great Lake is cool.
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They fixed it.
