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With a top 6 urban core in the United States, the last way I'd describe DC's core is "so-so".
Eh the downtown is fairly so so IMO. It's an office district without the urban amenities you find in mixed used urban cores like Chicago or SF. But, my broader point is DC has the massive advantage of being the capital of a global superpower. It should blow places like Boston and Philly out of the water.
Eh the downtown is fairly so so IMO. It's an office district without the urban amenities you find in mixed used urban cores like Chicago or SF. But, my broader point is DC has the massive advantage of being the capital of a global superpower. It should blow places like Boston and Philly out of the water.
Philadelphia especially, as it is a larger version of Baltimore. A big "nothing burger".
This is a very good pick. Despite it being in the beautiful mountain west where virtually every city is desirable, it still lags. Personally I think they should copy the Santa Fe look and go all in on the Native American theme.
As I said in the previous post, Albuquerque has grown. It just hasn't grown at the astonishing pace of places like Phoenix or Las Vegas or the Texas and Florida cities. Albuquerque before World War II was a tiny town of about 40,000 people. Albuquerque now is nearing a metro population of one million. That's quite large growth in its own right. There are people still alive who can remember when Albuquerque was that small. As I said, the 2010s were an anomaly and all signs are pointing to great growth again in Albuquerque.
Intel is currently expanding again with its largest investment ever at its plant in suburban Rio Rancho. The $3.5 billion project is underway. It will create an additional 700 high-paying jobs at the site. Intel once had over 5,000 employees in Rio Rancho and got down to as little as 1,100 in the last decade. That job loss alone probably contributed the most to Albuquerque’s slowdown in growth in the last decade. Intel is now again investing in and growing its workforce in Rio Rancho. They've added and announced over 1,600 jobs in the last three years. When this expansion is completed they will employ more than 2,700 people in Rio Rancho.
Just today it was announced that the film and television industry in New Mexico had its greatest year ever in FY22, with a direct spend of $855 million. That figure has been growing greatly in recent years. Netflix is currently expanding its Albuquerque Studios complex in a $500 million project. NBCUniversal officially opened its new studio complex just north of Downtown Albuquerque last year. Both of those entities combined have pledged spending of $2.5 billion on productions in New Mexico over the next ten years.
Countless projects like these have been announced in recent years. Albuquerque is turning the corner again on growth.
Albuquerque has plenty of Southwestern charm already. We don't have to try to be like Santa Fe or make every building adobe. That's actually what helped set Albuquerque apart and allowed us to become the leading city in the state, we didn't have great restrictions on growth and building here.
Still, Albuquerque has lots going for it and offers much in the way of historic adobe structures. Old Town, the UNM campus, all the old historic adobe churches, KiMo theater, the old Main Library, Monte Vista fire station, the old airport terminal, the old VA Hospital, etc., etc. The list is endless of neat old adobe and adobe revival structures in Albuquerque. But we allow for new structures as well, and that has helped us to grow over the years. I'd rather have that growth than not.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jpdivola
Eh the downtown is fairly so so IMO. It's an office district without the urban amenities you find in mixed used urban cores like Chicago or SF. But, my broader point is DC has the massive advantage of being the capital of a global superpower. It should blow places like Boston and Philly out of the water.
You said urban core, not downtown. The urban core (which expands beyond downtown) is as mixed use and amenity filled as any major city in the country. It's not in discussions for being "so so". The District itself is a small geographic federal capital. Much of your earlier post becomes moot at the metro level.
But even as a city it's ahead of Philadelphia and Boston:
Washington D.C. proper 2020 (pop. 689,000)
Real GDP $122 billion (2021 "state" estimates= $156 billion)
Philadelphia (County), PA 2020 (pop. 1,584,064)
Real GDP $97 billion
Suffolk County, MA (includes Boston, Chelsea, Revere, Winthrop) 2020 (pop. 797,000)
Real GDP $117 billion
Washington D.C. proper 144 million sq ft of office space
Philadelphia (Center City 42 million) city wide between 59-70 million sq ft of office
Boston proper 71 million sq ft of office space
Michelin starred restaurants city proper:
Washington- 22
Philadelphia- 0
Boston- 0
Washington DC city budget 2023: $19.5 billion
Philadelphia proposed budget 2022: $5.5 billion
Boston proposed operating budget $3.99 billion
So umm yeah... not sure why you've singled DC out here...
Last edited by the resident09; 07-15-2022 at 12:32 AM..
Eh the downtown is fairly so so IMO. It's an office district without the urban amenities you find in mixed used urban cores like Chicago or SF. But, my broader point is DC has the massive advantage of being the capital of a global superpower. It should blow places like Boston and Philly out of the water.
I'd take Downtown DC over "Downtown" SF any day. SF rested on its laurels during the tech boom and now has to actively clean up its primary economic engine (the Downtown/Fidi/SOMA areas) while trying to build new housing.
With a top 6 urban core in the United States, the last way I'd describe DC's core is "so-so".
While not wrong I will say being in the middle of the federal zone of DC on a weekend is killer when looking for food options that don't involve museums. It's massive blocks upon blocks of unrelenting heat while you scurry to the edges to find a city again. Most other cities have better integrated their tourism areas with the city, so it jumps out more in DC.
You said urban core, not downtown. The urban core (which expands beyond downtown) is as mixed use and amenity filled as any major city in the country. It's not in discussions for being "so so". The District itself is a small geographic federal capital. Much of your earlier post becomes moot at the metro level.
But even as a city it's ahead of Philadelphia and Boston:
Washington D.C. proper 2020 (pop. 689,000)
Real GDP $122 billion (2021 "state" estimates= $156 billion)
Philadelphia (County), PA 2020 (pop. 1,584,064)
Real GDP $97 billion
Suffolk County, MA (includes Boston, Chelsea, Revere, Winthrop) 2020 (pop. 797,000)
Real GDP $117 billion
Washington D.C. proper 144 million sq ft of office space
Philadelphia (Center City 42 million) city wide between 59-70 million sq ft of office
Boston proper 71 million sq ft of office space
Michelin starred restaurants city proper:
Washington- 22
Philadelphia- 0
Boston- 0
Washington DC city budget 2023: $19.5 billion
Philadelphia proposed budget 2022: $5.5 billion
Boston proposed operating budget $3.99 billion
So umm yeah... not sure why you've singled DC out here...
The 4% GDP advantage over Boston isn’t really what he is taking about. He means it’s not Mexico City or Beijing or Madrid or Berlin where is not the primate city it’s right on the mix, rather than clearly in the third tier or something with the Boston, Philly and Dallas’s of the world
Which isn’t really a good argument. DC is pretty typical of New World Capitals, for every Mexico City or Buenos Aries there is a Brazilia or Ottawa
Last edited by btownboss4; 07-15-2022 at 07:11 AM..
Seriously how old are you? You can't make a normal response without sounding like that?
Albuquerque clearly doesn't have the charm of it's much smaller brother. Santa Fe embraces it's Native American roots much more which fits with the region. There is no reason that Albuquerque can't do something similar.
Also if Phoenix could grow quite large with a much hotter region Albuquerque can do the same. Engineers can figure out a way to ration water in these areas, otherwise Tucson/Phoenix wouldn't exist as large as they are today. They have made choices to make it work and so could Albuquerque. The reason this isn't happening is because Albuquerque isn't as desirable as other western cities.
PHX has a better water source....this has kept it from reaching crisis level. I remember wondering how in the heck all these people could congregate in a freaking desert. Then I was informed about the Salt River, etc. and how that city has lots of reserves. I was shocked.
So the "hotter" part isn't really the deterrent I thought it would be.
The problem with ABQ growing is twofold. One is that it's one of the most dangerous cities of its size. High crime. Second, it's in New Mexico - that is a state that just doesn't scream "moving forward". It's beautiful, sure, but it just doesn't have anything really modern and hip compared to its neighbors. It's the state that's left behind.
Think about its two flagship universities. They are in non-power 5 conferences. Whereas Arizona's, Colorado, even Utah has schools with much more following/notoriety.
New Mexico has a SW Wyoming feel. ABQ is MUCH larger than anything in Wyoming, so there's that.
The 4% GDP advantage over Boston isn’t really what he is taking about. He means it’s not Mexico City or Beijing or Madrid or Berlin where is not the primate city it’s right on the mix, rather than clearly in the third tier or something with the Boston, Philly and Dallas’s of the world
Which isn’t really a good argument. DC is pretty typical of New World Capitals, for every Mexico City or Buenos Aries there is a Brazilia or Ottawa
Yeah, this what I meant. It has an unrivaled network of parks, museums, cultural institutes, and a massive federal workforce all subsidized by the federal government. But, it hasn't been able to leverage it's federal base to become a big major world city. As you point out this is an issue for all planned capitals. Obviously it will never be London or Tokyo. But it could be a lot more than it is. The MSA has some non fed related private sector. And yes, it's fairly dense and walkable by US standards. But DC proper is still a midsized company town.
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