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.
How is that a head-scratcher? Atlanta has arguably more influence in a general sense in the u.s. than San Francisco does. Yes San Fran has the larger economy but when you start thinking of culture, social, sports, music, regional impact, entertainment, diversity of economy, history, etc... than Atlanta is higher imho...
That's pretty arguable! For music, Atlanta has recently made heatwaves in hip-hop, but here's how I see both SF and Atlanta:
culture: tie (SF does have hippies, and Atlanta is nowadays the Black Hollywood, but I feel both areas have a hold on pop culture so it's a push)
social: tie (both cities are the meccas for Asians in SF and for blacks in Atlanta, and both cities have large concentrations of LGBT, so it's another push)
music:Atlanta (SF used to be where the hippies congregated during the 1960's, and the Bay Area was where groups such as En Vogue and Tony! Toni! Tone! got their start, coming from Oakland in the 1990's, and don't forget Hammer as well as Too Short and E-40 from nearby Vallejo, but now Atlanta has a major piece of the hip hop pie, as well as gospel. It is a shame that R&B isn't as strong as it was during the 1970's to the early 2010's)
sports: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta is a sports desert, especially owing to the fact that most of the population growth has come from residents of other states like NY, NJ, IL, MI, and CA so different loyalties are going to be be there, plus the fact that the city couldn't even sustain a hockey team, let alone two, and it doesn't help that the Braves left Atlanta for Cobb County after playing in that city for 50+ years. The SJ Sharks did make the Stanley Cup Finals a few seasons ago, so that's a start, and this past decade, The SF Giants won 3 World Series and in the latter half, the Golden Star Warriors won three NBA championships when I felt it should've been four but oh, well!)
regional impact: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta is clearly the capital of the South and I won't deny that, but the Bay Area is clearly the financial, tourism, medical, and technological capital of not only the entire Western United States, but most of the Pacific Rim, and it's that doesn't affect an entire hemisphere, then I don't know what does!)
diversity of economy: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta has Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Georgia-Pacific, and Delta, but in addition to the numerous Silicon Valley companies like Apple, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Facebook, and Twitter, it's still has banking, apparel, a major port in Oakland, and a robust tourism economy only comparable to NYC, Miami, and Orlando. Atlanta's tourism is only limited to the fact that it's a black Mecca and the hub of the Southern United States, while SF has been the most diverse city in the West Coast, even more diverse than LA in many measures.)
entertainment: tie (depends on what you're looking for. If you like the opera, art museums, gallieries, and photography, SF/Bay Area wins hands down, but if you like pop culture, hip hop, and black culture in general, than it's Atlanta!)
history: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta's current modern history didn't start until during the 1960's when MLK was already a prominent minister, prior to MLK, Atlanta was a regional urban center as well as a state capital, nothing more, nothing less, while SF has been considered a major urban center ever since gold was discovered in 1849 and has been in the Top 10 US Census from 1860 until 1920 when LA surpassed it to become CA's largest city, and even then, it hasn't stopped SF from being a major world-class city while Atlanta is already starting to become a world-class city in it's own right, although Miami is blowing it away according to GaWC {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization_and_World_Cities_Research_Network#Al pha_2}. SF has been considered a major American city for the longest as it's practically America's first boom town while Atlanta became considered a major player during the 1960's, so SF has the advantage).
It seems although Atlanta is surging, SF/Bay Area is still the pre-eminent region and as it seems to reach 10 million people by 2020, that's going to put the Bay Area in a new echelon!
That's pretty arguable! For music, Atlanta has recently made heatwaves in hip-hop, but here's how I see both SF and Atlanta:
culture: tie (SF does have hippies, and Atlanta is nowadays the Black Hollywood, but I feel both areas have a hold on pop culture so it's a push)
social: tie (both cities are the meccas for Asians in SF and for blacks in Atlanta, and both cities have large concentrations of LGBT, so it's another push)
music:Atlanta (SF used to be where the hippies congregated during the 1960's, and the Bay Area was where groups such as En Vogue and Tony! Toni! Tone! got their start, coming from Oakland in the 1990's, and don't forget Hammer as well as Too Short and E-40 from nearby Vallejo, but now Atlanta has a major piece of the hip hop pie, as well as gospel. It is a shame that R&B isn't as strong as it was during the 1970's to the early 2010's)
sports: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta is a sports desert, especially owing to the fact that most of the population growth has come from residents of other states like NY, NJ, IL, MI, and CA so different loyalties are going to be be there, plus the fact that the city couldn't even sustain a hockey team, let alone two, and it doesn't help that the Braves left Atlanta for Cobb County after playing in that city for 50+ years. The SJ Sharks did make the Stanley Cup Finals a few seasons ago, so that's a start, and this past decade, The SF Giants won 3 World Series and in the latter half, the Golden Star Warriors won three NBA championships when I felt it should've been four but oh, well!)
regional impact: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta is clearly the capital of the South and I won't deny that, but the Bay Area is clearly the financial, tourism, medical, and technological capital of not only the entire Western United States, but most of the Pacific Rim, and it's that doesn't affect an entire hemisphere, then I don't know what does!)
diversity of economy: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta has Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Georgia-Pacific, and Delta, but in addition to the numerous Silicon Valley companies like Apple, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Facebook, and Twitter, it's still has banking, apparel, a major port in Oakland, and a robust tourism economy only comparable to NYC, Miami, and Orlando. Atlanta's tourism is only limited to the fact that it's a black Mecca and the hub of the Southern United States, while SF has been the most diverse city in the West Coast, even more diverse than LA in many measures.)
entertainment: tie (depends on what you're looking for. If you like the opera, art museums, gallieries, and photography, SF/Bay Area wins hands down, but if you like pop culture, hip hop, and black culture in general, than it's Atlanta!)
history: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta's current modern history didn't start until during the 1960's when MLK was already a prominent minister, prior to MLK, Atlanta was a regional urban center as well as a state capital, nothing more, nothing less, while SF has been considered a major urban center ever since gold was discovered in 1849 and has been in the Top 10 US Census from 1860 until 1920 when LA surpassed it to become CA's largest city, and even then, it hasn't stopped SF from being a major world-class city while Atlanta is already starting to become a world-class city in it's own right, although Miami is blowing it away according to GaWC {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization_and_World_Cities_Research_Network#Al pha_2}. SF has been considered a major American city for the longest as it's practically America's first boom town while Atlanta became considered a major player during the 1960's, so SF has the advantage).
It seems although Atlanta is surging, SF/Bay Area is still the pre-eminent region and as it seems to reach 10 million people by 2020, that's going to put the Bay Area in a new echelon!
Mostly agree with these. I think Entertainment-wise SF has it beat for me and it's not even close though. SF Bay area has many more amenities and things to do. It's also much-much-much more important globally speaking than Atlanta.
That's pretty arguable! For music, Atlanta has recently made heatwaves in hip-hop, but here's how I see both SF and Atlanta:
culture: tie (SF does have hippies, and Atlanta is nowadays the Black Hollywood, but I feel both areas have a hold on pop culture so it's a push)
social: tie (both cities are the meccas for Asians in SF and for blacks in Atlanta, and both cities have large concentrations of LGBT, so it's another push)
music:Atlanta (SF used to be where the hippies congregated during the 1960's, and the Bay Area was where groups such as En Vogue and Tony! Toni! Tone! got their start, coming from Oakland in the 1990's, and don't forget Hammer as well as Too Short and E-40 from nearby Vallejo, but now Atlanta has a major piece of the hip hop pie, as well as gospel. It is a shame that R&B isn't as strong as it was during the 1970's to the early 2010's)
sports: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta is a sports desert, especially owing to the fact that most of the population growth has come from residents of other states like NY, NJ, IL, MI, and CA so different loyalties are going to be be there, plus the fact that the city couldn't even sustain a hockey team, let alone two, and it doesn't help that the Braves left Atlanta for Cobb County after playing in that city for 50+ years. The SJ Sharks did make the Stanley Cup Finals a few seasons ago, so that's a start, and this past decade, The SF Giants won 3 World Series and in the latter half, the Golden Star Warriors won three NBA championships when I felt it should've been four but oh, well!)
regional impact: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta is clearly the capital of the South and I won't deny that, but the Bay Area is clearly the financial, tourism, medical, and technological capital of not only the entire Western United States, but most of the Pacific Rim, and it's that doesn't affect an entire hemisphere, then I don't know what does!)
diversity of economy: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta has Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Georgia-Pacific, and Delta, but in addition to the numerous Silicon Valley companies like Apple, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Facebook, and Twitter, it's still has banking, apparel, a major port in Oakland, and a robust tourism economy only comparable to NYC, Miami, and Orlando. Atlanta's tourism is only limited to the fact that it's a black Mecca and the hub of the Southern United States, while SF has been the most diverse city in the West Coast, even more diverse than LA in many measures.)
entertainment: tie (depends on what you're looking for. If you like the opera, art museums, gallieries, and photography, SF/Bay Area wins hands down, but if you like pop culture, hip hop, and black culture in general, than it's Atlanta!)
history: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta's current modern history didn't start until during the 1960's when MLK was already a prominent minister, prior to MLK, Atlanta was a regional urban center as well as a state capital, nothing more, nothing less, while SF has been considered a major urban center ever since gold was discovered in 1849 and has been in the Top 10 US Census from 1860 until 1920 when LA surpassed it to become CA's largest city, and even then, it hasn't stopped SF from being a major world-class city while Atlanta is already starting to become a world-class city in it's own right, although Miami is blowing it away according to GaWC {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization_and_World_Cities_Research_Network#Al pha_2}. SF has been considered a major American city for the longest as it's practically America's first boom town while Atlanta became considered a major player during the 1960's, so SF has the advantage).
It seems although Atlanta is surging, SF/Bay Area is still the pre-eminent region and as it seems to reach 10 million people by 2020, that's going to put the Bay Area in a new echelon!
I think the regional impact category is debatable. Looking at the entire West Coast, San Diego, LA, and Seattle all have their areas of dominance/significant influence. I also wouldn't say that the Bay Area is clearly the tourism capital of the West Coast when there's LA, Honolulu, and even Vegas to consider. In terms of tech (biotech excluded), I think of that as having more of a national/global impact than a regional one in particular, much in the same way of Atlanta's TV/film industry. I'm inclined to say that Atlanta edges out the Bay Area on this one due to Atlanta having a lack of competitors historically and its status as a huge rail/transportation/logistics hub, but it's close.
Overall though, this looks to be a great and fair assessment.
history: SF/Bay Area (Atlanta's current modern history didn't start until during the 1960's when MLK was already a prominent minister, prior to MLK, Atlanta was a regional urban center as well as a state capital, nothing more, nothing less, while SF has been considered a major urban center ever since gold was discovered in 1849 and has been in the Top 10 US Census from 1860 until 1920 when LA surpassed it to become CA's largest city, and even then, it hasn't stopped SF from being a major world-class city while Atlanta is already starting to become a world-class city in it's own right, although Miami is blowing it away according to GaWC {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization_and_World_Cities_Research_Network#Al pha_2}. SF has been considered a major American city for the longest as it's practically America's first boom town while Atlanta became considered a major player during the 1960's, so SF has the advantage).
...
You must've forgotten Atlanta's crucial and prominent role in the American Civil War.
How did this thread become a SF vs Atlanta one .... on second thought. I clearly know why and typical how one city in particular takes over being claimed as most important vs another hyped. No use trying to pit a Georgia against the behemoth of mighty California either or lessen the Bay area to even the National economy. Few ever stick to city-proper debates either.
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.
