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...some cities have almost completely fallen off the radar when considering America's top cities, especially Detroit. It would have been considered unthinkable if Detroit had not been at least a top 10 city, but since the decline of the auto industry, it has lost quite a bit of its cachet..Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Baltimore..all were considered to be much more prominant than they are today.
I guess the most obvious symptom of this would be the spectacular growth of professional sports teams. Until the late fifties, all pro sports leagues consisted exclusively of teams from the Northeast and the Midwest. Suddenly, the Dodgers and the Giants moved to the West Coast, and the first pro franchise in the South was awarded to Dallas in 1960. The Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966, and the NFL awarded franchises to New Orleans, Atlanta, and Miami. The AFL spread to the Sunbelt, and years later, hockey is being played in TN, TX , GA, FL and NC. THe changes in the postwar-II world have been simply incredible.
...some cities have almost completely fallen off the radar when considering America's top cities, especially Detroit. It would have been considered unthinkable if Detroit had not been at least a top 10 city, but since the decline of the auto industry, it has lost quite a bit of its cachet..Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Baltimore..all were considered to be much more prominant than they are today.
I guess the most obvious symptom of this would be the spectacular growth of professional sports teams. Until the late fifties, all pro sports leagues consisted exclusively of teams from the Northeast and the Midwest. Suddenly, the Dodgers and the Giants moved to the West Coast, and the first pro franchise in the South was awarded to Dallas in 1960. The Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966, and the NFL awarded franchises to New Orleans, Atlanta, and Miami. The AFL spread to the Sunbelt, and years later, hockey is being played in TN, TX , GA, FL and NC. THe changes in the postwar-II world have been simply incredible.
I agree with you. I think in the early 90s, Detroit could have easily been a solid 5 as some of the others mentioned. Baltimore is a sad story. St. Louis, seems so beautiful in the pictures, but I have heard so many bad stories about it. I really hope they are able to adjust with the times and rebound.
I'm not saying Houston doesn't have great hospitals, as I know the medical center in Houston is absolutely enormous. I also know there are some great schools in the Houston area.
I'm not trying to say other cities are bad because of this, I'm just saying Boston is very good. I think many of you are taking what I'm saying as an attack towards others, which isn't my intention at all.
While Houston has an excellent, centralized healthcare facility that will go along ways in research, I will back you up for Boston's benefit with some data from Money Magazine for best places to retire for healthcare reasons:
I'll try to make a case for Philadelphia which gets lost in the shadows of NYC and Washington but it still has some very important characteristics.
1. It was the first capital and arguably the most historic city in the USA
2. First planned city of the USA
3. Home of The First________ "Fill in the blank" in the USA.
4. Currently The 9th largest metro economy in the world(4th largest metro economy in the USA)
5.Home to #5 ranked university(Penn) 30 miles from #2 ranked Princeton.
The fact that LA is the largest manufacturing center in the Western US is not important.
The fact that the LA and Long Beach ports comprise the fifth busiest port in the world, and the most significant port in the Western Hemisphere is not important.
...as well as international trade, aerospace, technology, tourism, etc.
LA is a top city in the nation, arguably #1 or 2, with its only competition being NYC. NYC and LA are in a class of their own.
San Jose has a case as being the dominant city of the Bay Area.
I wouldn't go that far. My point is that there isn't extreme dominance from any part, so it's hard to just call any one important while accounting for the goings on 50 miles away (or across the bay).
I wouldn't go that far. My point is that there isn't extreme dominance from any part, so it's hard to just call any one important while accounting for the goings on 50 miles away (or across the bay).
I should have been more careful and said "San Francisco Bay Area."
Here's my list, and it's based directly on the largest metro areas in the nation:
1 New York
2 Los Angeles
3 Chicago
4 Dallas
5 Philadelphia
6 Houston
7 Miami
8 Washington DC
9 Atlanta
10 Boston
My test for important a city is: How the nation and world would be effected if a natural disaster completely destroyed the metro area tomorrow. If SF Bay Area left, there'd be pandimonioum in the technological world. The absence of Google in and of itself would affect our daily lives. But it's not in your Top 10. If DC disappeared, there would be far more chaos than if Dallas, Philly, Houston, Miami, Atlanta or Boston left. But it's not in your top five.
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