Quote:
Originally Posted by g500
Size does matter, and Phoenix is 33% larger by population. Phoenix-Mesa is currently the 10th largest metro in the US. That last sentence to me is important. Beyond that I don't think I can give you any arguments.
MSP performs extraordinarily well on its corporate presence (Target, Best Buy, 3M, UNH, General Mills, many other prominent Fortune 500 companies). I do not have any horses in this so-called race, I am just a city nerd who enjoys rankings. I suppose I could see it either way. Maybe MSP is in fact #14. I guess I could concede. It's just weird to see that Phoenix is so massive and yet underperforms in the ranking.
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So, based on everything going on in our nation, Minneapolis has definitely moved to the forefront of the national discussion about racism, police reform, and the related political implications, etc.
I think it is very safe to declare Minneapolis is solidly cemented at the #14 most important city in the USA (definitely behind #13 Detroit). Then a decent gap followed by #15 Phoenix. I retract any prior arguments I made for Phoenix over Minneapolis.
Minneapolis, while smaller than Phoenix, has urbanity, corporate presence, and overall cultural and economic influence that Phoenix just does not possess. When I argued for Phoenix I was really relying on its population advantage, which is insufficient to overcome the aforementioned factors and criteria.
Edit: just to add, Minneapolis should not rest on its laurels or become complacent. Phoenix still has a population advantage, and if it can capitalize on this/translate it into economic influence, surely it could possibly leap ahead of Minneapolis in the future. Though Minneapolis (and St. Paul) still have their urban form and character, which Phoenix quite thoroughly lacks overall.
Edit continued: Also, I am a bit surprised Minnesota does not have a larger population, given its large land area and resources relative to its 5.6 million+ residents. A larger population base would further strengthen MSP's position, since everything statewide funnels into MSP. MN is also a potential battleground state frequently giving Minneapolis national political attention, but then again AZ is too (although Phoenix must "share" its attention with Tucson, whereas Minneapolis completely dominates MN). Lastly, MN is one of the most developed states in the USA (currently ranked #3 most developed by Human Development Index, or HDI), which also definitively bolsters Minneapolis's position/ranking in this thread. In contrast AZ is ranked #34, however I imagine some of the rural areas of AZ could weigh negatively on its score (many Indian Reservations tend to struggle with serious poverty).
Edit (final point): I still rank Detroit at #13, especially for historical reasons. Detroit still maintains a very important international border connection with Canada, and held the prestige of being the USA's #4 or #5 city for a couple decades. Its lasting influence in the auto industey, Motown, and black culture cannot be discounted. It also has a population advantage over Minneapolis, as well as a slightly larger economy (though I'm sure Minneapolis performs better per capita). So yeah, that's my two cents.
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