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Are there any cities that come to mind that were prominent on the national level when you were younger, but today are no longer discussed because they have faded into irrelevance? Or on the other hand sleepy towns that have boomed into household names? I’m thinking in terms of culture, economics, “star power,” etc. not solely population.
I know some of this will correlate with population changes, but maybe not always. Pittsburgh seems to be about as relevant today as it was when I was born despite continuing to shed population. Then there are cities like Boise and Raleigh that only recently began to emerge.
What do you think?
Raleigh still doesn't have much of a national profile. Sure it has a big one in NC and nearby states, but does it have a big one outside of the south? Probably not. And I struggle to thibk of something Raleigh is very known for.
I am BY NO MEANS saying Raleigh sucks, as I'm sure it is a decent city. Just that while it might be fast growing, it doesn't seem to get discussed often. Not to the extent i.e. Nashville and Austin get discussed, anyway.
Btw while these places haven't totally faded, I'd say places like Akron and Buffalo don't have the prominence they used to decades ago. I'd also say South Bend while it hasn't lost all national prominence, has less than it used to have. Till the 1960s, South Bend had the headquarters of car company Studebaker. The Studebaker Museum btw is VERY worth checking out, if you're in South Bend.
Last edited by SonySegaTendo617; 05-08-2023 at 01:47 PM..
Raleigh still doesn't have much of a national profile. Sure it has a big one in NC and nearby states, but does it have a big one outside of the south? Probably not. And I struggle to thibk of something Raleigh is very known for.
I am BY NO MEANS saying Raleigh sucks, as I'm sure it is a decent city. Just that while it might be fast growing, it doesn't seem to get discussed often. Not to the extent i.e. Nashville and Austin get discussed, anyway.
Btw while these places haven't totally faded, I'd say places like Akron and Buffalo don't have the prominence they used to decades ago. I'd also say South Bend while it hasn't lost all national prominence, has less than it used to have. Till the 1960s, South Bend had the headquarters of car company Studebaker. The Studebaker Museum btw is VERY worth checking out, if you're in South Bend.
It's interesting because as I was reading what you wrote, I was trying to think of what Raleigh is known for. And the only things that came to mind were "economy, good jobs, pharma moved there, good quality of life, closer to the coast, mild seasons, etc"
Which are all amazing things! But it's growth and economy has really propelled it onto the national scene in the last 20 or so years. Before that, it was a mostly smaller, regional city that was the capital of North Carolina.
Raleigh is a great city, with great things happening. I think it has a strong future ahead of it, either way.
Grown in Relevance: Tampa, Charlotte, Washington DC, Boston, Miami, Austin, Orlando, Raleigh
Stayed the Same: New York City, San Antonio, Los Angeles, San Francisco (SF grew economically sure, but SF was everywhere in the 90s-00s for its culture etc)
*Dropper in Relevance, relative to other cities, but still is in the same position as before*: Chicago
Dropped in Relevance: Detroit, St. Louis, Baltimore, Philadelphia
Wait, why is San Antonio in the same category as those? The only reason I can think of is if you're strictly talking about the Spurs and their early-mid 2000s dynasty. Other than that it's a different city than it was 10 years ago.
Raleigh still doesn't have much of a national profile. Sure it has a big one in NC and nearby states, but does it have a big one outside of the south? Probably not. And I struggle to thibk of something Raleigh is very known for.
I am BY NO MEANS saying Raleigh sucks, as I'm sure it is a decent city. Just that while it might be fast growing, it doesn't seem to get discussed often. Not to the extent i.e. Nashville and Austin get discussed, anyway.
Btw while these places haven't totally faded, I'd say places like Akron and Buffalo don't have the prominence they used to decades ago. I'd also say South Bend while it hasn't lost all national prominence, has less than it used to have. Till the 1960s, South Bend had the headquarters of car company Studebaker. The Studebaker Museum btw is VERY worth checking out, if you're in South Bend.
I think Raleigh's downfall, as it relates to it's national profile, is the lack of professional sports teams. Austin is the one city without pro teams that has been able to develop a national profile, but it's the exception. You really need pro sports teams and/or a booming downtown to get national exposure. Raleigh doesn't have either. That said, it's profile has definitely increased a lot over the last 2-3 decades, as far as relevance. It just hasn't reached the point where it's a "major city" that tourists are visiting. It will need to leverage it's healthy economy to develop a more booming downtown and attract some pro teams. That is the model that Charlotte followed. Unfortunately, because of Charlotte's success, I don't think there's enough space at this time for Raleigh to really expand like it needs to, to garner a national profile.
I think Raleigh's downfall, as it relates to it's national profile, is the lack of professional sports teams. Austin is the one city without pro teams that has been able to develop a national profile, but it's the exception. You really need pro sports teams and/or a booming downtown to get national exposure. Raleigh doesn't have either. That said, it's profile has definitely increased a lot over the last 2-3 decades, as far as relevance. It just hasn't reached the point where it's a "major city" that tourists are visiting. It will need to leverage it's healthy economy to develop a more booming downtown and attract some pro teams. That is the model that Charlotte followed. Unfortunately, because of Charlotte's success, I don't think there's enough space at this time for Raleigh to really expand like it needs to, to garner a national profile.
The Carolina Hurricanes play in Raleigh. (And are quite good)
Well cultural cache usually follows economic cache. On that note, Chicago MSA's GDP grew 90% over the last two decades. The US's grew 120% during that span. A place like Dallas grew even faster 160%. Chicago is still the 3rd largest city in the US and has an urban footprint second to only NYC. But it got there because of things that happened several generations ago. It's losing ground at this point, and certainly is not as relevant as it was when I was younger.
Population growth isn't ipso facto a marker for relevance or prominence, but it's interesting that population growth in major peer cited like Houston l, Dallas, and Atlanta have spiked alongside GDP growth relative to Chicago. Chicago is now competing with Dallas and even Denver and Minneapolis for college educated transplants. It may be numerically the 3rd largest city and even economic power, but it's not really seen as a peer or NYC/LA when it comes to the country's influencers in culture, media, economy, etc. Few cities in the world's 50 largest punch as far below their weight as Chicago. So in many ways it's now just a giant regional metropolis that simultaneously functions as a museum piece for urban Americana. It's not a national destination and few people outside of the Midwest l8ve there, but it's undeniably a national treasure and so it continues to live on its legacy long after its actual prominence has waned.
I’m wondering if theft and dysfunction were the sole primary culprits. Perhaps it was also declining sales which I’m sure they would largely attribute to as customer response/ reaction to the dysfunction. Regardless, there are 3 other REI locations in the metro, and it would seem on the surface that it might be difficult to sustain healthy sales across 4 mortar and brick stores (even in the PNW) given online sales and the current state of the economy.
The Triangle’s largest pull is definitely along the East Coast. The Park and the universities created an educated white-collar environment that does well pulling businesses and transplants. It’s been particularly attractive to those leaving hcol cities in the Northeast. The cultural cache isn’t there yet, but as I said elsewhere culture follows economics. The Triangle’s profile will only grow.
The Carolina Hurricanes play in Raleigh. (And are quite good)
Even won the Stanley Cup. But Tobacco Road is still our bread-and-butter for sports. That said, the Triangle does have the most famous minor league baseball team in America.
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