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When all is said is done, I think Richmond needs to start looking South again in the future. The last few decades have seen it look north for inspiration but the cities to the north are old and decaying -- people are leaving them for the South. North Carolina is now one of the most moved to states in the country.
Virginia has to get it's act together and forget about twisting Maryland's arm in the Northern VA area. Maryland is no longer a major competitor, it is a weak player. It's child's play.
Raleigh will now have a new Apple office and of course, Google too. This is major competition (or could be cooperation) right in our backyard. We need to stop looking at D.C. (dependent on federal dollars) and cities to the north of us and start competing with Raleigh, Charlotte and Atlanta. Forget Baltimore -- its stagnant.
Why do people want Richmond to look north? What good does that do for us today when the South is thriving?
Who's arguing about "looking" north or south? This thread is about which metro area does Richmond have more in common with.
And maybe you missed the news about Northern VA winning this little thing called Amazon's HQ2?
When all is said is done, I think Richmond needs to start looking South again in the future. The last few decades have seen it look north for inspiration but the cities to the north are old and decaying -- people are leaving them for the South. North Carolina is now one of the most moved to states in the country.
Virginia has to get it's act together and forget about twisting Maryland's arm in the Northern VA area. Maryland is no longer a major competitor, it is a weak player. It's child's play.
Raleigh will now have a new Apple office and of course, Google too. This is major competition (or could be cooperation) right in our backyard. We need to stop looking at D.C. (dependent on federal dollars) and cities to the north of us and start competing with Raleigh, Charlotte and Atlanta. Forget Baltimore -- its stagnant.
Why do people want Richmond to look north? What good does that do for us today when the South is thriving?
I've made that exact same point in other threads as well. Realistically, people don't look to the north like they once did, but C-D, and the North are behind the times.
Well Baltimore’s GDP is over twice that of Raleigh’s. To claim that the city is languishing is completely disingenuous. It’s a major city and one of the wealthiest cities in the country with a strong and growing job market. Have y’all even been to Baltimore?
There is no reason for Richmond or anywhere in Virginian to “look south”. The future isn’t suburban sprawl and voter suppression. The future is a global economy, smarter land use (higher density suburbs like those found in Washington and Baltimore) and a WASP minority. Recently Richmond has moved on from trying to make what worked for Raleigh and Charlotte 30 years ago and it has accelerated growth.
As for the pine trees, that may be the case in the southern and eastern parts of the metro but I’m just not seeing a lot of pine trees in Richmond and western/northern Henrico or Midlothian. I grew up in Tidewater where they really are everywhere so from my perspective, Richmond is in a deciduous forest with just a sprinkling of pine.
Not to get too much in the weeds but...
Henrico hasn’t stolen Navy Hill. Henrico has a dream of developing the land at Parham and I95. It hasn’t been approved. It hasn’t been funded. There are no committed developers or tenants. If it happens, it’s years out.
The Navy Hill land will be redeveloped before Henrico has an arena at this location (three buildings have been approved for parts of the Navy Hill area and the city just voted to put the remaining parcels up for sale).
The counties don’t really offer much in the way of culture and entertainment. The city already has all of the parks and cultural attractions, performance venues, universities, art galleries (in addition to the breweries, restaurants, boat slips, bowling alleys and movie theaters)... the counties have to catch up big time. And the city isn’t sleeping. The VMFA is about to break ground on a 100,000sq feet addition. The Virginia Historical Society is actively building its expansion too. A casino (with its own performance venues) will be built in the city too. Aside from the housing boom in Richmond (eclipsing the suburban boom) companies continue to expand in the downtown area. Rumor has it that CoStar will build the states tallest building on their riverfront site in downtown.
Last edited by spencer114; 04-28-2021 at 06:32 AM..
Dude...the counties -- particularly Henrico -- have the most non-state government, white collar jobs. Innsbrook is now like a mini RTP.
The Northern cities are decaying. GDP is only a fraction of the story, look at out-migration from Baltimore (not just the city but county too). People are moving away from high density cities and suburbs and flocking to areas with newer suburban "sprawl" in the South -- which Richmond has plenty of. That's why Richmond is growing, its certainly not because of it's miniature "urbanity". I'm not talking close-in suburbs like Lakeside or Ginter Park either, I'm talking Chester, Midlothian, Moseley, Short Pump and Mechanicsville even.
Baltimore is redeemable though, but it must look south as well.
Nothing is happening in your Philadelphias or NYC's today -- they are stagnant. If not, then why are so many people moving from them to Richmond and points south?
Meanwhile Atlanta is now a major city, Charlotte too. Raleigh is quickly getting there -- right in our own backyard. Houston, Dallas? The list goes on and on.
Northern VA is all government contract work -- not particularly innovative. Who cares if they got Amazon, that means nothing for Richmond.
Last edited by Going Rural; 04-28-2021 at 06:54 AM..
Dude...the counties -- particularly Henrico -- have most of the non-government, white collar jobs. Innsbrook is now like a mini RTP.
The Northern cities are decaying. GDP is only a fraction of the story, look at out-migration from Baltimore (not just the city but county too). People are moving away from high density cities and suburbs and flocking to areas with newer suburban "sprawl" in the South -- which Richmond has plenty of.
Baltimore is redeemable though, but it must look south as well.
Nothing is happening in your Philadelphias or NYC's today -- they are stagnant. If not, then why are so many people are moving from them to Richmond and points south?
Meanwhile Atlanta is now a major city, Charlotte too. Raleigh is quickly getting there -- right in our own backyard. Houston, Dallas? The list goes on and on.
Northern VA is all government contract work -- not particularly innovative. Who cares if they got Amazon, that means nothing for Richmond.
Ugh what? Have you seen the construction in DC, Boston, Philly, NYC and he’ll even Baltimore? No one in their right might would say any of those cities are stagnant
The census just came out and it’s all but confirmed that while yes the south grew at a quicker rate in population everything was overestimated and they didn’t grow as much as estimates claimed they did.
It really shouldn't be looked at as a competition between the city and the counties. Jupiter(Going Rural), you seem to hold some sort of ill regard toward Northern cities or maybe just cities in general. You can't honestly believe that Richmond is only growing due to having a surplus of newer suburban sprawl. That doesn't make very much sense or seem quantifiable in any real, meaningful manner. There are literally sprawly suburbs all over the country. No one is moving here solely because they were wowed by the offerings of Powhatan. You haven't really addressed how you were mistaken in your earlier statements in regards to Dominion, Navy Hill and the development inside the city. You should want the entire metro to do well. I always find it odd when suburban residents of any metro root for the core city to do poorly or almost delight in dismay. Its a very high-horsey view of civic pride.
Ugh what? Have you seen the construction in DC, Boston, Philly, NYC and he’ll even Baltimore? No one in their right might would say any of those cities are stagnant
The census just came out and it’s all but confirmed that while yes the south grew at a quicker rate in population everything was overestimated and they didn’t grow as much as estimates claimed they did.
D.C. area is a bit different from the rest on your list and is experiencing a boom like the southern cities are. It was never as big as it is today and still gaining population. Northern Va. is the contributing factor here though -- it's actually less about the city of Washington D.C. than you would think.
The other cities you mentioned are indeed stagnant -- their glory days are behind them. Shells of their former self.
Philly is probably the worst off unless all you care about is urban living or eating at new restaurants. It's economy is in a tailspin.
It really shouldn't be looked at as a competition between the city and the counties. Jupiter(Going Rural), you seem to hold some sort of ill regard toward Northern cities or maybe just cities in general. You can't honestly believe that Richmond is only growing due to having a surplus of newer suburban sprawl. That doesn't make very much sense or seem quantifiable in any real, meaningful manner. There are literally sprawly suburbs all over the country. No one is moving here solely because they were wowed by the offerings of Powhatan. You haven't really addressed how you were mistaken in your earlier statements in regards to Dominion, Navy Hill and the development inside the city. You should want the entire metro to do well. I always find it odd when suburban residents of any metro root for the core city to do poorly or almost delight in dismay. Its a very high-horsey view of civic pride.
That is not at all what I am rooting for.
I'm saying Richmond needs to advertise itself better to position herself advantageously in the 21st century. This means being more competitive to attract major employers and competing with the likes of Atlanta, Charlotte or Raleigh instead of the dying cities of the North. It means becoming "New South".
Don't get me wrong, Richmond is growing and doing a great for a metro of it's size but the city can only do so much.
Just like when we're talking about Raleigh-Durham we're not just talking about their downtown cores but their entire metros, including their suburbs, we must speak of Richmond the same way.
D.C. area is a bit different from the rest on your list and is experiencing a boom like the southern cities are. It was never as big as it is today and still gaining population. Northern Va. is the contributing factor here though -- it's actually less about the city of Washington D.C. than you would think.
The other cities you mentioned are indeed stagnant -- their glory days are behind them. Shells of their former self.
Philly is probably the worst off unless all you care about is urban living or eating at new restaurants. It's economy is in a tailspin.
DC had well over +800k in 1950.. so you’re actually wrong. That being said DC & Boston’s populations have just rebounded better than NYC, Philly & Baltimore’s. NoVa has boomed because of its geographic access to DC not the other way around.
Cultural Significance - sure
QoL - can be debated
Economics - I’ll have whatever you’re smoking.
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