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As for your title of cities being in the shadow of their "core"...
Fort Worth is definitely overshadowed by Dallas, but Dallas is in no way the CORE of DFW. The Metroplex is multipolar and I would think the Twin Cities and SF Bay Area would be the same...
On this forum, the "second cities" in major metros don't tend to get much love. By this I mean the second-largest city in an metropolitan area. Some examples would be Cambridge, MA; Saint Paul, MN; and Arlington, VA (technically not a city, but works for these purposes).
So I have the following questions for people.
1. Which secondary city in an MSA has an identity which is most distinctive from that of the core city, and does not merely come across as a random stretch of suburbia which happens to be incorporated?
2. Are there any secondary cities which actually outshine the core city in the MSA?
3. Although general, feel free to suggest which secondary city is the "best" overall as well.
Arlington, VA is a county not a city. Alexandria, VA might be a better example to use.
As for your title of cities being in the shadow of their "core"...
Fort Worth is definitely overshadowed by Dallas, but Dallas is in no way the CORE of DFW. The Metroplex is multipolar and I would think the Twin Cities and SF Bay Area would be the same...
Gotta agree with this. Fort Worth is larger than all but fifteen of America's "first cities." The DFW/North Texas area really is it's own beast and is at a minimum a bipolar metro (even if, yes, one of those poles tends to overshadow/over shout the other).
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From my observation Fort Worth marches to it's own drumbeat. It feels like a long way from Dallas.
I'll also give a shout out to Fort Lauderdale. I'd be perfectly content spending time on FL beach and or on Las Olas and missing out on Miami just fine.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 04-30-2014 at 08:37 PM..
From my observation Fort Worth marches to it's own drumbeat. It feels like a long way from Dallas.
I'll also give a shout out to Fort Lauderdale. I'd be perfectly content spending time on FL beach and or on Las Olas and missing out on Miami just fine.
I'll also give a shout out to Fort Lauderdale. I'd be perfectly content spending time on FL beach and or on Las Olas and missing out on Miami just fine.
Good post. I wouldn't want to live in Miami but Fort Lauderdale is quite the desirable place to reside in. Beaches has nothing to do it though.
Long Beach to Los Angeles
Pasadena to Los Angeles
Santa Monica to Los Angeles
(plus a host of smaller little fiefdoms in LA County)
I think LB and Pasadena feel like the most distinct 2nd cities in LA. And of the two Long Beach feels the most like it could be its own standalone city - though both Pas and LB have solid cores with their own suburbs (South Bay + Gateway Cities for Long Beach, West SGV + Eagle Rock / Highland Park for Pasadena).
Santa Monica, Culver City, Weho, BH all sort of just bleed into the fabric of the Westside. Glendale feels and looks a lot like East Hollywood to me.
Would anyone in the Seattle area consider Bellevue Washington to be a good "second city?" I have only spent a limited amount of time in Seattle, so I'm not familiar enough to chime in with my own opinion, but it certainly looks to be a good candidate on paper. Maybe Tacoma is a better choice, but Bellevue is closer.
I think LB and Pasadena feel like the most distinct 2nd cities in LA. And of the two Long Beach feels the most like it could be its own standalone city - though both Pas and LB have solid cores with their own suburbs (South Bay + Gateway Cities for Long Beach, West SGV + Eagle Rock / Highland Park for Pasadena).
Santa Monica, Culver City, Weho, BH all sort of just bleed into the fabric of the Westside. Glendale feels and looks a lot like East Hollywood to me.
I disagree, are you saying Huntington Park, South Gate, Lynwood, Downey, Torrance, Manhattan beach etc. Feel like burbs of Long Beach? Only cities I would say feel somewhat like suburbs of Long Beach are Lakewood, Compton, Carson, and Cerritos.
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