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Yeah, me too. Philadelphia ranks high on just about every list, but it ranks at the top of none of them. (Except maybe for historical significance, but that's not really a factor in what would be considered a "Top 5" city of the present day.) If we were voting for the most persistently "runner up" city, I think this is it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by personone
True, although Chicago (#13), Boston (#14), and DC (#15) are clustered right together in that order as of March 2022. So there's not much appreciable difference between these 3. All 3 are in the top 25.
If we are posting a consensus Top 5 it gets really tricky because I believe it is really: NYC and LA.....and then I think Chicago definitely falls somewhere in the top 5, but SF/Boston/DC are all really close. It's hard to leave any of them out of a top 5. For me, a consensus top 6 is easier.
I agree. I think most would agree that New York is #1 and Los Angeles is #2. And even if one might not agree with each and every other city that follows these two in what order, I think most would agree that it's at least a reasonable opinion that the Top 6 would be rounded out by Washington, San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston. But in what order? That's where it gets trickier. Personally, I'd rank them in the order that I've listed.
I would probably put the ranking at something like this.
1. NYC
2. LA
3. DC
4. Houston/Chicago (tie)
5. San Francisco
6. Miami/Atlanta tie
7. Boston
8. Dallas/Seattle (tie)
Not really sure what Philly and Detroit are even doing on the list.
It's a super American tendency, but the equation of size with success, influence, power, etc. is really ridiculous. Metro Chicago is bigger than metro Paris and metro London. But Chicago is a parochial backwater compared to those cities. I think it's a parochial backwater compared to NYC, LA, and maybe even DC. But honestly I think most US cities are parochial backwaters of no particular global significance, so among US cities Chicago obviously is near the top--not because it is a particular interesting or important city but rather because it is a major economic and industrial hub that inevitably has an impact on America life in a way that, say, Boston does not. Houston is an extremely underrated city 8n terms of being a hub for immigration and global transportation and business. The world loves San Francisco much more than Americans do, but I'm not sure that makes it more significant. Boston is a major academic and historical center, but in certain respects so is Philly and the latter absolutely does not belong in this discussion.
I would probably put the ranking at something like this.
1. NYC
2. LA
3. DC
4. Houston/Chicago (tie)
5. San Francisco
6. Miami/Atlanta tie
7. Boston
8. Dallas/Seattle (tie)
Not really sure what Philly and Detroit are even doing on the list.
It's a super American tendency, but the equation of size with success, influence, power, etc. is really ridiculous. Metro Chicago is bigger than metro Paris and metro London. But Chicago is a parochial backwater compared to those cities. I think it's a parochial backwater compared to NYC, LA, and maybe even DC. But honestly I think most US cities are parochial backwaters of no particular global significance, so among US cities Chicago obviously is near the top--not because it is a particular interesting or important city but rather because it is a major economic and industrial hub that inevitably has an impact on America life in a way that, say, Boston does not. Houston is an extremely underrated city 8n terms of being a hub for immigration and global transportation and business. The world loves San Francisco much more than Americans do, but I'm not sure that makes it more significant. Boston is a major academic and historical center, but in certain respects so is Philly and the latter absolutely does not belong in this discussion.
If you’re going by global importance, what makes Houston and Chicago important? The same for Atlanta. Domestically, those are important regional powerhouses. From a corner office in London, Paris, or Tokyo, they’re regional. I get Miami as the de facto capital of Latin America as globally important. Boston is a boutique metro where it’s only world class in limited areas. I guess you can say the same about Houston despite the much larger population.
Yeah, me too. Philadelphia ranks high on just about every list, but it ranks at the top of none of them. (Except maybe for historical significance, but that's not really a factor in what would be considered a "Top 5" city of the present day.) If we were voting for the most persistently "runner up" city, I think this is it.
I agree. I think most would agree that New York is #1 and Los Angeles is #2. And even if one might not agree with each and every other city that follows these two in what order, I think most would agree that it's at least a reasonable opinion that the Top 6 would be rounded out by Washington, San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston. But in what order? That's where it gets trickier. Personally, I'd rank them in the order that I've listed.
I don't really think Boston belongs up there with DC, SanFran and Chicago either though.
it is a major economic and industrial hub that inevitably has an impact on America life in a way that, say, Boston does not.
What kind of stuff goes on in Houston that puts it so far ahead of Boston?
Plenty of vaccines manufactured in the Boston area get administered to patients all over the country. The area also has some larger, consumer product companies like Bose, iRobot, Reebok, New Balance. Widespread retail companies like all under the TJX umbrella (i.e. TJMaxx, Home Goods, and Marshalls) and Staples. Gillette still has a lot of operations in the area even under P&G. Boston Beer Company has a lot of household brand names like Sam Adams, Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard, and Truly. You can probably find Ocean Spray, Hood, and Welch's products in every big grocery store in the country. Raytheon Technologies is a major player in the American defense industry.
And that's not mentioning all the big-league financial companies.
Last edited by Boston Shudra; 04-12-2022 at 01:14 PM..
Yeah, me too. Philadelphia ranks high on just about every list, but it ranks at the top of none of them. (Except maybe for historical significance, but that's not really a factor in what would be considered a "Top 5" city of the present day.) If we were voting for the most persistently "runner up" city, I think this is it.
I agree. I think most would agree that New York is #1 and Los Angeles is #2. And even if one might not agree with each and every other city that follows these two in what order, I think most would agree that it's at least a reasonable opinion that the Top 6 would be rounded out by Washington, San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston. But in what order? That's where it gets trickier. Personally, I'd rank them in the order that I've listed.
I think DC is a wild card of sorts that has a reasonable argument for being anywhere from #1 to #6 depending on how and what you're weighting. I think SF, unless we're doing something I think is unreasonable which is detaching South Bay from the region, has a reasonable argument to go as high as #2 and as low as #4.
I think the answer now is a toss up, but probably between D.C and SF, with S.F taking it. In 25 years, I think the undisputed answer will be Dallas. In 15 years the undisputed answer might be Dallas.
The Bay Area is around 7.8 million
Dallas is going to explode this soon.
D.C+Anne Arundel+Howard is at 7.3 million.
Houston is at 7.2 million.
GDP wise not one of those cities is within touching the Bay Area. D.C is ahead, but Dallas and Houston are likely to chase it down and pass it.
Even Boston and Philly are well within the running when we start expanding it to CSA designations.
By 2045 however, Dallas could really separate itself on a different level not only population but honestly GDP as well.
I think the answer now is a toss up, but probably between D.C and SF, with S.F taking it. In 25 years, I think the undisputed answer will be Dallas. In 15 years the undisputed answer might be Dallas.
The Bay Area is around 7.8 million
Dallas is going to explode this soon.
D.C+Anne Arundel+Howard is at 7.3 million.
Houston is at 7.2 million.
GDP wise not one of those cities is within touching the Bay Area. D.C is ahead, but Dallas and Houston are likely to chase it down and pass it.
Even Boston and Philly are well within the running when we start expanding it to CSA designations.
By 2045 however, Dallas could really separate itself on a different level not only population but honestly GDP as well.
I think 25 years is a lot of time for things to change and for growth rates to change and for there to be growing pains as earlier boom year construction and infrastructure become brownfield sites that are in heavy need of repair and renovation and greenfield sites become further flung out. Also, I think 25 years is a lot of time for DC gentrification to spread out to Baltimore and for the two to be reasonably combined into a single metropolitan area.
I think 25 years is a lot of time for things to change and for growth rates to change and for there to be growing pains as earlier boom year construction and infrastructure become brownfield sites that are in heavy need of repair and renovation and greenfield sites become further flung out. Also, I think 25 years is a lot of time for DC gentrification to spread out to Baltimore and for the two to be reasonably combined into a single metropolitan area.
They're already combined into a single metro area if going by CSA.
If you’re going by global importance, what makes Houston and Chicago important? The same for Atlanta. Domestically, those are important regional powerhouses. From a corner office in London, Paris, or Tokyo, they’re regional. I get Miami as the de facto capital of Latin America as globally important. Boston is a boutique metro where it’s only world class in limited areas. I guess you can say the same about Houston despite the much larger population.
Yeah, I mean, as others have argued, in the US it's pretty clearly New York at1 and LA at 2. But beyond that it is pretty debatable and your rankings will likely be influenced heavily by which region of the US you live in and perhaps which industry you work in. Because DC is the diplomatic and political home of the UD in addition to being an important economic and cultural hub I would put it at #3. But there are arguments for any of SF, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, and Houston at #4. I agree that Boston's influence is mostly limited to academic and maybe some hi tech industries, and probably doesn't come near #4.
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