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The biggest joke we have been playing on this thread is the one suggesting a university (Northwestern) about 2 miles north of a city limits (Chicago) and whether that university should count as being Chicago's.
For another thread, I did a google search into what are the largest cities in the world. I looked at numerous websites and not one gave me the information I wanted.
Seems nobody gives a flying whatever over the size of a city, a figure for all intents and purposes is meaningless.
The population used on all those websites is metropolitan population, the only one that has true meaning. What does city population tell you....other than who pumps water into your house, polices your streets and puts out an out-of-control fire. There is nothing organic about a city. Its population tells you nothing. Cities aren't real...but metro areas are. They are what they grow (or contract) to be
So, yes, I am more than comfortable in giving Chicago the campus at Northwestern. I'm comfortable giving San Francisco the view from the Marin headlands, Las Vegas the outside of the city Strip, Washington the Pentagon and Arlington cemetery. Hell, in giving Los Angeles Disneyland.
Chicago can claim Northwestern as its own. All it has to do is to convince Evanston to become part of the city. That's basically what Chicago and every other city has done downtown through the years...annex suburbs. And a careful redrawing of the northeastern IL map could allow Chicago to pass up LA as the second largest city (frankly we are getting tired of the San Fernando Valley failing to secede from the city, giving Chicago back its "We're #2" title without lifting a finger.)
Or maybe Chicago should look to Indianapolis or Miami as a model and incorporate all of Cook County (and for good measure, all the other counties in the metro area....even those in IN and WI) and #1 Chicago can sing "those little town blues are melting away, I want to be a part of it, Chicago, I L"
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