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Ridiculous housing costs are pushing workers farther and farther away from their jobs in the Central Bay Area. As a result the greater region comprised of 21 counties is already planning jointly. I think eventually most of these far flung counties will be absorbed into the Bay Area statisical area and it all depends on the job market and housing market. http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfranci...egaregion.html
Ridiculous housing costs are pushing workers farther and farther away from their jobs in the Central Bay Area. As a result the greater region comprised of 21 counties is already planning jointly. I think eventually most of these far flung counties will be absorbed into the Bay Area statisical area and it all depends on the job market and housing market. http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfranci...egaregion.html
Both seem poised to get really huge. The San Francisco Bay Area is even more surprising given the lack of housing units in the area but it still does 100,000 a year. Nearly 9 million now. I think the two of them, along with Toronto, are next up as megacity metropolises. Chicagoland is already pretty huge as it is, more or less, already there now.
I also notice something about booming metropolises in the United States; at least the ones that "become" truly great (as in going from good to great). When they are booming in population, economy, and overall stature is rising prominently they also tend to have success in multiple other fields as well.
Take the 1980s for example. The 1980-1990 decade was essentially "beast mode" for Los Angeles. Not only did the area finally enhance its state of the art seaport but the metropolis added over 3 million people, its economy grew rapidly, it was the golden era for immigration into Greater Los Angeles, things all around were clicking for the city at every level. Even sports wise, the Lakers, the Showtime Lakers of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy took over the NBA. Winning 5 titles in that decade and its players winning multiple MVPs and innovating and cultivating a brand of basketball that is globally identifiable now. The Dodgers also won a world series and the city capped off its cultural prowess by successfully hosting the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Then there was the 1990s. In the 1990s, Chicagoland became resurgent. After posting dismal decades in the 1970s and 1980s, Chicagoland went off to create one of the highest paces of jobs in America, the metropolis added 1 million people, the city posted population gains for the first time in decades, the economy grew tremendously, and the city's brand grew during the decade. Immigration was its largest in Chicagoland in the 1990s as Mexican immigration and Asian immigration were reaching heights. Lots of different brands from retail to airline to businesses were expanding into Chicagoland. In addition to that, the Chicago Bulls went from a cellar dwelling franchise in the NBA with zero finals appearances, zero accolades, to 6 time world champions, two time threepeaters, several MVP awards and the establishment of the game's most recognizable brand and basketballs Greatest of all Time player (Michael Jordan).
The 2010s decade is this way with the San Francisco Bay Area. The area is seeing much success in population growth, job growth, and culturally in every way from tourism, to media and popular culture, to even sports it is on top of the country right now. If it isn't winning at things, its staying towards the top but its been winning a whole lot at a lot of things all decade. The Giants have won 3 titles, the Warriors have reshaped the NBA the way Los Angeles has in the 1980s and Chicago in the 1990s, other teams in the Bay Area have been competitive. The regions portfolio has only grown tremendously in the past 5 years, San Francisco is now an elite city for business, tourism, culture, innovation, and the like.
To me, all great cities and their surrounding metropolis (suburbs, satellite cities, sister cities) appear to have a trademark and iconic decade, where many things seem to go right and the area wins out on so many fronts. 2010s could be that decade for the San Francisco Bay Area, if it can sustain what it has up to this point for 4 more years.
Baseball currently dictates that Washington (National League East), San Francisco (National League West), and Chicago (National League Central) are the three best teams in the National League and all of baseball by record. Although in their last 10 games, none of them have really played spectacular ball. Bovada also puts all three teams at the top for best chances to win the World Series.
If baseball had any say in it, Chicago is top dog among these three, albeit slightly. This is a fun year in baseball, I personally think all three teams, while very different are in the same realm together. It'll be interesting to see how they match up against one another in the postseason run.
A super good chance that the winner of the World Series this year will be one of these three cities.
To bring this back to the actual cities: Just as actual cities and metropolises, I think Washington, San Francisco, and Chicago are overall on close to equal footing, with the slightest nudge to Chicago overall and the other two more or less tied at deadlock closely behind - in terms of importance, brand, influence, and stuff like that. All three more or less same tier. Also like the geographic set-up too; one in the east, one in the center, and one in the west.
I would say it's still Chicago but as the years go by Chicago seems to be losing much of it's stature. Let's face it, 40 years ago this question wouldn't even be asked, 15 years ago it may have been asked but the answer was obvious, and now it's a genuine conversation. Chicago has also lost a lot of ground in the Great Lakes due to Toronto.
Chicago is still a powerhouse and SF is large, a gateway, and hi-tech mecca. Washington/Balt is less so as many people don't equate the 2 together like they do the Bay Area or Dallas Fort Worth. They may have grown into each other but they are very different cities. Washington is obviously a government and political mammoth but it is seen {rightly or wrongly} as little more than that. It is also not seen as a regional centre as NY dominates the whole Atlantic Seaboard.
A lot of what you think of as SF's MSA, like Palo Alto and Cupertino, is actually in San Jose's MSA. Much of Silicon Valley is and hour away from SF and grew out of Stanford, not San Francisco.
Stanford is not an hour away from SF. I know because I lived in SF and worked at Stanford.
I then moved 20 min south to San Mateo (SF "metro") and lessened my Stanford commute (in the SJ "metro") to 20 minutes. Man...never felt like I was leaving or entering a different metro at any point...I wish someone would have put up signs!
The concept of MSAs in the inner bay area is kind of useless, and has no relation to how the region works...
Sure, you're right that the center of "Silicon Valley" skews north of SJ, and is centred on the adjacent cities of PA (SJ "metro") and Menlo Park (SF "metro"). Much of "Silicon Valley" (especially its start up scene) is happening up north these days.
Update (courtesy of the MLB). The three cities of Chicago, Washington, and San Francisco still continue to lead the National League, each one is the leader of its own division (how fitting). Washington and San Francisco are currently playing one another right now (again, how fitting).
Cubs are World Series favorites and after the trade from the New York Yankees that nabbed them arguably the best closer in baseball to go along with what was already the best starting pitching in the league; they're dangerous as hell now. Washington and San Francisco are also still towards the top for favorites to win the World Series (along with the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Cleveland Indians of the AL), although San Francisco now appears to be fading away some.
Go Cubs, GO!
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 08-06-2016 at 04:52 PM..
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