Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Richmond City had a population density of 5945 in 37.0 square miles in 1960. The difference from then and now? By 1960, Richmond's core was already experiencing decline due to suburbanization, white flight, and the construction of I-95 . Since roughly 2005, the inner core of Richmond has seen enormous reinvestment and people have moved back into the core by the shipload.
Like many of the cities that hit their peak population in the middle of the 20th Century but have more recently gentrified and renewed, housing stock that used to house families is now often filled with childless couples and singles. It's unreasonable to expect that any of these cities will match their peak populations without significant new housing stock built as infill. Often white flight is cited as the reason for lower population and density when, in fact, a strong argument can now be made that it's the poor and working class that are getting squeezed out of urban areas and many cities proper.
Buffalo and Birmingham are getting a couple of new developments downtown but overall falling behind. SLC and Richmond are probably going to seperate themselves from this group. . I can see a bright future now that it doesn’t have parking minimums in the city building in the city is now cheaper than a comparable building in the suburbs.
Rochester and Grand Rapids are noticeable smaller than the others. They seem more like big towns than small cities.
Economy: Salt Lake City
Access to recreation: Salt Lake City
Nightlife: New Orleans
Future outlook: Richmond
Urbanity: Buffalo
Suburbs: Hartford
Downtown/Core Vibrancy: Grand Rapids
Visibility: New Orleans
Salt Lake City & Richmond are going to be growing well in the future decade, with my guess.
Grand Rapids is already doing well and attracting tons of new jobs and good demographics as well.
I'd rank them, based on the criteria, like this, from best to least:
1) Salt Lake City
2) Richmond
3) Grand Rapids
4) New Orleans
5) Buffalo
6) Birmingham
7) Louisville
8) Hartford
9) Rochester
10) Tucson
Buffalo and Birmingham are getting a couple of new developments downtown but overall falling behind. SLC and Richmond are probably going to seperate themselves from this group. . I can see a bright future now that it doesn’t have parking minimums in the city building in the city is now cheaper than a comparable building in the suburbs.
Rochester and Grand Rapids are noticeable smaller than the others. They seem more like big towns than small cities.
Yes. By Urban area it’s pretty clear too. Buffalo about 30% larger than Rochester for example. Buffalo feels like a big city compared to Rochester I don’t know why statistically the actual inner cores aren’t that different.
Also there is a vibe in Buffalo that doesn’t really exist is Rochester.
Yes. By Urban area it’s pretty clear too. Buffalo about 30% larger than Rochester for example. Buffalo feels like a big city compared to Rochester I don’t know why statistically the actual inner cores aren’t that different.
Also there is a vibe in Buffalo that doesn’t really exist is Rochester.
I can’t speak for Rochester, but Grand Rapids should feel smaller compared to these other cities seeing as it was a much smaller city/metro when most of these cities peaked. Though saying it feels like a big town is a tad on the hyperbolic side. In the last 50 years GR’s metro pop has doubled in population where cities like Rochester, Buffalo, Birmingham, and New Orleans have not seen near that growth. It definitely performs well in this group when it comes to core investment and downtown developments. Which might speak more to the stagnation struggles in those cities than anything else.
I can’t speak for Rochester, but Grand Rapids should feel smaller compared to these other cities seeing as it was a much smaller city/metro when most of these cities peaked. Though saying it feels like a big town is a tad on the hyperbolic side. In the last 50 years GR’s metro pop has doubled in population where cities like Rochester, Buffalo, Birmingham, and New Orleans have not seen near that growth. It definitely performs well in this group when it comes to core investment and downtown developments. Which might speak more to the stagnation struggles in those cities than anything else.
It’s more than size. Its a culture. SLC is the center for an entire religion and state it carries with it a major importance and”brand”. Richmond has a deeply important history and again is the primary city for an entire state. Louisville has Bourbon, the Derby, And is the City for Kentucky.
Buffalo is “the city” for Upstate NY. It has wings, Buffalo Wild Wings, the Bills, Sabres, some cultural weight as “that snowy city”. Wings spread across the country and Pizza Logs and Beef on Weck spread across most of Upstate, the Sabres have fans all the way to Albany. Buffalo gets the big tours. Rochester has much less cultural projection. When politicians say they want to “revive Upstate” they mean Buffalo. They got MetroRail, the Buffalo Billion pt I and II.
Basically there is something intangible about Buffalo and these other cities not names Grand Rapids and Rochester that makes them larger centers of regional culture. For example I went to school in Rochester and one of my classes was an environmental history class. Like 65% was about Buffalo. Niagara Falls (first state park is nationally notable), Love Canal, Buffalo river water keepers. And then something like “oh yeah the Genesee was pretty bad too”.
Yes. By Urban area it’s pretty clear too. Buffalo about 30% larger than Rochester for example. Buffalo feels like a big city compared to Rochester I don’t know why statistically the actual inner cores aren’t that different.
Also there is a vibe in Buffalo that doesn’t really exist is Rochester.
Buffalo has always been a little bit bigger, but I was thinking terms of that statement and in terms of urban areas, they aren't that far apart in multiple factors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...10_urban_areas
Basically there is something intangible about Buffalo and these other cities not names Grand Rapids and Rochester that makes them larger centers of regional culture. For example I went to school in Rochester and one of my classes was an environmental history class. Like 65% was about Buffalo. Niagara Falls (first state park is nationally notable), Love Canal, Buffalo river water keepers. And then something like “oh yeah the Genesee was pretty bad too”.
That’s where I might challenge a bit. There’s no doubt from a branding stand point these other cities are much more well known. Grand Rapids is very much the regional center for the western half of Michigan. It is “the city” from Traverse City down to Kalamazoo and Benton Harbor. The Lakeshore cities to the western suburbs of Lansing. There are more than 2 million people within a 60 mile radius of Downtown Grand Rapids. While Rochester may have a struggle being in the shadow of Buffalo, GR is the largest city within 150 miles.
It’s more than size. Its a culture. SLC is the center for an entire religion and state it carries with it a major importance and”brand”. Richmond has a deeply important history and again is the primary city for an entire state. Louisville has Bourbon, the Derby, And is the City for Kentucky.
Buffalo is “the city” for Upstate NY. It has wings, Buffalo Wild Wings, the Bills, Sabres, some cultural weight as “that snowy city”. Wings spread across the country and Pizza Logs and Beef on Weck spread across most of Upstate, the Sabres have fans all the way to Albany. Buffalo gets the big tours. Rochester has much less cultural projection. When politicians say they want to “revive Upstate” they mean Buffalo. They got MetroRail, the Buffalo Billion pt I and II.
Basically there is something intangible about Buffalo and these other cities not names Grand Rapids and Rochester that makes them larger centers of regional culture. For example I went to school in Rochester and one of my classes was an environmental history class. Like 65% was about Buffalo. Niagara Falls (first state park is nationally notable), Love Canal, Buffalo river water keepers. And then something like “oh yeah the Genesee was pretty bad too”.
This will depends on where in Upstate NY you are living, as cities in Canada like Montreal or Ottawa are much closer(i.e.-the North Country), as are the other Upstate cities along I-90. It is the most well known, but for the people living there, it will vary.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
