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Urban, I think you are correct in that Charlotte is not given enough credit for what it is. It has a very nice and thriving downtown (uptown) area. Ahead of all other tier 2 southern cities with exception of maybe Nashville. Very walkable and accessible.
I do not believe though that the tier 1 southern cities are distinguished from Charlotte because they sprawl more (as you said in an earlier post). Charlotte's amenities are almost entirely concentrated within it's relatively small cbd, while the southern mega-metros have nodes and districts of interest all over the place. Houston, Atlanta, Dallas and Miami are much, much larger in every conceivable way and therefore offer more than just more sprawl. For instance, larger and better arts districts, shopping districts. Live music. Parks. Sports, the vibe and pace is different, among other things..
I love Charlotte but there is a lot more going on in the larger metros to distinguish teir 1 cties from the Charlotte's and Nashville's...
Exactly. There points of interest offer just a little bit more then Charlotte's.
That was my point exactly!!! The 5 million plus metros of the south have points of interest outside of the central city. That my friend is sprawl. Just imagine how much more urban Houston would look and feel if its 2.2 million population was in a dense city of less than 100 sq miles instead of being in a sprawl-topia of nearly 600 sq/miles. Houston's density is almost equal to Huntington, West Virginia (I am not joking).
I stand by my earlier statements when I said that sprawl is the difference between tier one and tier two southern towns. Miami is the only exception to this.
Charlotte sprawls pretty far also. Charlotte metro almost goes to Greensboro. But the 1st tier metros just have more to do outsid of there cities and in there metros then Charlotte. Not because they sprawl, because Charlotte's sprawl is almost just as bad as the 1st tier southern cities, like Houston.
Located within the sprawl of the tier 1 metros are employment centers and edge cities that could swallow Uptown Charlotte whole.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
And I've got news for you, Charlotte is shaping up just like all the others. The sprawl spilling out past I-485 looks exactly like Atlanta's. Exactly.
Exactly. Miami is a GREAT example of this. Fort Lauderdale, West Palm are almost like there own metros, but there part of Miami's. They have there own central business districts.
Charlotte sprawls pretty far also. Charlotte metro almost goes to Greensboro. But the 1st tier metros just have more to do outsid of there cities and in there metros then Charlotte. Not because they sprawl, because Charlotte's sprawl is almost just as bad as the 1st tier southern cities, like Houston.
Charlotte's sprawl isn't THAT bad. The furthest north Charlotte sprawls is into Concord, which is still a good distance from Greensboro. No doubt that we've got a lot of it, but Charlotte's sprawl being almost as worse as Houston's is a joke.
Kinda like Midtown is directly adjacent to downtown Atlanta. The only thing South End is missing is skyscrapers. And don't you dare say that the lack of skyscrapers makes South End less urban because that's like saying Washington DC is less urban than Atlanta because DC does not have skysrapers. You and I both know that is a laugh!!!
I am not by any means suggesting that Charlotte and Atlanta are in the same class. All I am saying is that it is sad that tier one Atlanta came up with the idea for a Nascar Hall of Fame to go along with the Georgia Aquarium and lost it to tier two Charlotte. Just saying...
The problem is, you said a city like Houston and the others, because of there sprawl they have more places of interest, but Charlotte's sprawl is just as large, but it just dosen't have as much to offer as a city like Houston, or ATL, DAL, MIA, etc.
That's really their loss. Orlando's downtown is very similar to Charlotte's as far as foot traffic, places to eat, drink, listen to music, and dance. We just don't have the skyline.
Very true. Charlotte's skyline is just superior to Orlando's.
Charlotte's sprawl isn't THAT bad. The furthest north Charlotte sprawls is into Concord, which is still a good distance from Greensboro. No doubt that we've got a lot of it, but Charlotte's sprawl being almost as worse as Houston's is a joke.
Really?? You don't think so? I live in Concord. But anyways, I just think using Houston's sprawl as an excuse to why it has more places of interest then Charlotte, is just false.
Charlotte's sprawl isn't THAT bad. The furthest north Charlotte sprawls is into Concord, which is still a good distance from Greensboro. No doubt that we've got a lot of it, but Charlotte's sprawl being almost as worse as Houston's is a joke.
Charlotte sprawl may not be as bad as Houston's but it's still petty bad. My thing was that the person I was replying to tried to use Houston's sprawl as an example to why it has what it has. I think that's ridiculous, considering if Charlotte sprawled to the extent that Houston did, it still wouldn't offer as many places. The Lowes Motor Speedway, and Concord Mills Mall (Concord Mills in the biggest tours attraction in NC) are right outside of Charlotte city limits, outside of that area there are not that many more places within Charlotte to go within the metro area. Not dissing Charlotte, it is an upcoming city, I was just a little confused about the comments of that certain person. Even if Charlotte sprawled like Houston it still wouldn't have the places of intrest. It kind of felt like he was trying to talk down to Houston as a giant sprawlsville as if Charlotte was as dense as NYC or something.
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