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Just in terms of California, I don't think it would take too much effort to claim the Bay Area is more relevant (general spectrum) at this brief moment in time than LA though. While I'm not saying that is the clear cut case, I think the argument can definitely be made. But yeah, longevity is the key, which LA has been able to maintain for the last ~century. Only time will tell.
Just in terms of California, I don't think it would take too much effort to claim the Bay Area is more relevant (general spectrum) at this brief moment in time than LA though. While I'm not saying that is the clear cut case, I think the argument can definitely be made. But yeah, longevity is the key, which LA has been able to maintain for the last ~century. Only time will tell.
It takes a lot more effort to make an argument for any city to dethrone Los Angeles as the #2, the gap as of now is pretty clear and wide IMO, LA is soundly #2, it's the #3-5 slots that are not as clear.
But are you just looking at simple size? There is nothing, in my opinion, about LA that punches far above its weight. It is nearly the size of New York. If you were to put it side by side to New York in just about any category, New York would be so far and away ahead. If you were to put SF, DC, or Chicago up against LA across a variety of categories, LA is not clearly "so far ahead".
There are so many things DC, SF, and Chicago do so much better than LA. In SF's particular case, it basically matches LA in a lot of things, and yet there is that huge size difference. I think that says a lot. LA is definitely no longer a clear cut #2, in my mind. Maybe if you're just looking at sheer size. Which means nothing (there are a lot of cities in the world even bigger than LA that frankly don't matter).
My question is if people perceive Chicago as somewhat 'falling off', what has LA done (or avoided) in recent history to avoid this same criticism? I think the roll both SF & DC have been on of late when compared to Chicago has more to do with Chicago's [perceived] fall from grace than any actual (or significant) decline on Chicago's part. I think the same can be said of LA. So I think the general question is that since it appears to be a forgone conclusion that SF & DC have been the biggest movers in recent history among this upper echelon (excluding NYC), is it enough to throw the 2 - 5 spots into flux? Or has this hot streak merely clouded judgement? Personally I'm on the fence about this, I can definitely see a case to be made that these spots are up in the air - but at the same time, traditionally it feels very strange that a possibility exists where LA & Chicago can somehow be usurped of their top 3 spots. One possible factor of this for traditionalists is that subconsciously it makes it harder to process due to the perceived size of SF & DC versus LA & CHI, especially in city proper terms.
I only said falling off for Chicago to mean that is hasn't really done anything. DC & SF are skyrocketing in most measures, NYC is making modest gains in most measure, & LA is making slight gains in most measures. Chicago isn't declining, but it isn't really advancing either. I give LA the strong #2 spot due to its rapidly growing subway/light rail system that I believe will change the city completely in the next 30 years
I only said falling off for Chicago to mean that is hasn't really done anything. DC & SF are skyrocketing in most measures, NYC is making modest gains in most measure, & LA is making slight gains in most measures. Chicago isn't declining, but it isn't really advancing either.
LA and Chicago have been falling off lately while D.C. and S.F. have been on the rise. LA still has glitz, glamour and fame to it though and many people still dream of living in L.A. across the world to live a dream, however Chicago has gotten negative press since President Obama took office and right now, it's economy is average to below average. I don't think it's as influential in the world as it used to be.
I mean, how far away are we from the Bay Area potentially overtaking Chicago area in population? Bay Area has a continuous amount of high wealth being poured into the city...same as D.C. Chicago just does not have the wealth that these two cities are acquiring and quite frankly, wealth is influence in this world.
Maybe we'll see Chicago rebloom one day, but for now, I'd say, it's fallen off....it just hasn't gotten to rustbelt levels because of how large and influential it became in the first place. It's still the city of the Midwest and nothing comes close.
People have to remember. LA is still a rather young city compared to some of these cities we're mentioning. It didn't really blow up until 1940 or so. By that time, many cities in the east, midwest, and SF had already matured.
L.A. has a lot of potential....it has achieved a lot for not being a mature city for very long. Once it gets it's infrastructure in place, I don't know...
People have to remember. LA is still a rather young city compared to some of these cities we're mentioning. It didn't really blow up until 1940 or so. By that time, many cities in the east, midwest, and SF had already matured.
L.A. has a lot of potential....it has achieved a lot for not being a mature city for very long. Once it gets it's infrastructure in place, I don't know...
If LA is to flourish in the future they need to figure out their water problem. Either adopting smart conservation efforts to recycle water, or desalinization, they need something
But are you just looking at simple size? There is nothing, in my opinion, about LA that punches far above its weight. It is nearly the size of New York. If you were to put it side by side to New York in just about any category, New York would be so far and away ahead. If you were to put SF, DC, or Chicago up against LA across a variety of categories, LA is not clearly "so far ahead".
There are so many things DC, SF, and Chicago do so much better than LA. In SF's particular case, it basically matches LA in a lot of things, and yet there is that huge size difference. I think that says a lot. LA is definitely no longer a clear cut #2, in my mind. Maybe if you're just looking at sheer size. Which means nothing (there are a lot of cities in the world even bigger than LA that frankly don't matter).
Did I ever say anything about LA punching above its weight or its size? I dare you or anyone else to make the case as to why LA should be dethroned of its #2 status, and if you bring up federal government than shouldn't we also dethrone NYC of its #1 status?
People have to remember. LA is still a rather young city compared to some of these cities we're mentioning. It didn't really blow up until 1940 or so. By that time, many cities in the east, midwest, and SF had already matured.
L.A. has a lot of potential....it has achieved a lot for not being a mature city for very long. Once it gets it's infrastructure in place, I don't know...
Agree with all of this. People are prisoners of the moment, so it's easy to forget how jaw-dropping LA's boom was from 1940-1990. No 1st world city will boom like that again in our lifetime.
And while it's true that the city has experienced growing pains for the last 20 years or so, it still managed to grow. Even in this brutal recession, it made modest gains. If it booms again, look out.
I think it's still the clear #2, warts and all.
Last edited by RaymondChandlerLives; 03-21-2015 at 10:11 PM..
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