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I think Columbus is being listed being Indianpolis because of its cultural growth plus economic growth. The arts/cultural scenes and progressive/diversifying nature of its urban neighborhoods are increasing its ranking with many.
For example, when rising artists/bands book shows its common to see Columbus, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, sometimes Minneapolis as the only places they go in the Midwest. For example, Muse, Robyn (presently) the Killers (before they were big) all chose Columbus as one of their few midwest stops. It's really a testament how the city has risen in alternative music scene terms above Cincinnati/Pittsburgh, for example.
I think Columbus is being listed being Indianpolis because of its cultural growth plus economic growth. The arts/cultural scenes and progressive/diversifying nature of its urban neighborhoods are increasing its ranking with many.
For example, when rising artists/bands book shows its common to see Columbus, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, sometimes Minneapolis as the only places they go in the Midwest. For example, Muse, Robyn (presently) the Killers (before they were big) all chose Columbus as one of their few midwest stops. It's really a testament how the city has risen in alternative music scene terms above Cincinnati/Pittsburgh, for example.
that's a testament to the fact that columbus is a giant college town with a large concert-going population more than any indication of the city's importance on a regional or national level. just because a city gets more concerts than other cities doesn't necessarily make it more influential.
This pretty much invalidates everything that you write here. That you think that St. Paul AND Minneapolis are two of the top 5 most important cities in the Midwest tells me that you really need to get out more, or study more. Also, there is no way in hell that Milwaukee should be on that list. I would put Kansas City, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Cleveland before Milwaukee.
Top 5 most important cities in the Midwest:
1. Chicago
2. Minneapolis/St. Paul
3. Detroit
4. St. Louis
5. Cleveland
After that it's a really close call between Kansas City and Cincinnati for 6th and 7th place. Indianapolis, Columbus, and Milwaukee compete for 8th, 9th, and 10th place.
that's a testament to the fact that columbus is a giant college town with a large concert-going population more than any indication of the city's importance on a regional or national level. just because a city gets more concerts than other cities doesn't necessarily make it more influential.
It has nothing to do with Columbus having a sizeable college aged population. That is myth number2. If that was the case Ann Arbor would have the same cultural offerings as Columbus.
It is that Columbus is around 2 million metro with a large, young, young professional, high income population that has made it one of the most attractive arts markets in the midwest only since after 2000.
If OSU was the only factor Columbus would have always been this way. I think you are forgetting Columbus is now home to many large headquarters, has new wealth (including the wealthiest man in the state, owner of Limited Brands/Victorias Secret, etc.), and one of the youngest cities in the country (not counting college students.) Columbus is much more than a university (even though there are 12 total in the metro.) I think this is more a testament to your lazy analysis than anything else. When looking at (a combination of) cultural factors, gentrified urban neighborhoods, progressiveness, and number of corporations Columbus has just recently surpassed Cincinnati and has long surpassed Milwaukee.
LIST:
1) Chicago
2) Tie: Minneapolis and Detroit
3) Cleveland
4) St. Louis
5) Columbus
your comparison to ann arbor is flawed. ann arbor is about 45 miles from detroit, so it competes with a much larger city for traveling shows, etc. columbus does not have a larger city adjacent to it with which it would have to compete. furthermore, columbus is located more centrally between cleveland and cincinnati and also along the i-70 corridor between the east coast and major markets in the midwest, so it is a natural stopping point for a number of traveling acts due in large part to its relative convenience. and of course the fact that it is home to the largest public university in the country doesn't hurt either. that said, columbus has plenty of merits as a city in its own right (especially as the capital city), but it's still less important than other larger, more established metropolitan areas. austin probably gets more musical acts than both dallas and houston combined, yet no one would argue that it's the most significant city in texas.
your comparison to ann arbor is flawed. ann arbor is about 45 miles from detroit, so it competes with a much larger city for traveling shows, etc. columbus does not have a larger city adjacent to it with which it would have to compete. furthermore, columbus is located more centrally between cleveland and cincinnati and also along the i-70 corridor between the east coast and major markets in the midwest, so it is a natural stopping point for a number of traveling acts due in large part to its relative convenience. and of course the fact that it is home to the largest public university in the country doesn't hurt either. that said, columbus has plenty of merits as a city in its own right (especially as the capital city), but it's still less important than other larger, more established metropolitan areas. austin probably gets more musical acts than both dallas and houston combined, yet no one would argue that it's the most significant city in texas.
Honestly, I am not basing this soley on musical acts that was an example of how Columbus' economic growth has yielded a young, progressive population and gentrification of its urban neighborhoods. The musical/arts scences are only indicators of this.
Today in Columbus you see things you cannot find in Pittsburgh/Cincinnati/Indianapolis.
1.Local fashion designers making their own local clothes and now distributing nationally, columbus has a its own fashion week. This a result of the many international retailers based in the city.
2.complete gay districts on the cities main street, arts districts/urban retail districts outside of downtown that are in growing and gentrifying urban neighborhoods.condo towers 20 stories tall.
3. progressive political stances (columbus just past a bill last night for citywide domestic partner benefits).
4.the fastest growing Broadway series in the us. The Wexner Center for the Arts bringing international contemporary arts to the city. And thus a population that can support (demand) the supply of contemporary/modern/progressive music and arts.
These are things you don't usually see in a metro of 2 million and yes are indicators of a city reaching levels of cosmopolitanism that do warrant being noted when considering which city is the most important in the midwest in 2010.
These are signs of a city that is going through economic growth that has yielded the indicators we speak of.
I70/I71/OSU these are things that have been in Columbus for a long time, but the changes I speak of only occurred following economic growth thus leading to more prominence. Again your logic = flawed.
Last, The Austin/housing/Dallas scenario doesn't really apply to Ohio. These days all the 3 Cs are within equal ranges of metro sizes. Houston/Dallas are much larger in metro than Austin. Columbus is very close to Cincinnati in terms of GDP output, possibly has more prominent local headquarters, and has an urban core that was the same size as Dallas' in 1930. It may be silly to compare Austin to Houston. But Columbus is in many ways Ohio's second important city these days. Cincinnati and Columbus are comparable on many levels.
i can't speak for pittsburgh or cincinnati, but i will tell you that st. louis has its own fashion week as well (one of the largest in the usa), and st. louis has had domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples since 1996. every city has its "gay districts" whether they are lined with pride flags or not. st. louis just capped off a 26-story condo tower downtown, in addition to another 28-story tower a few years ago in the central west end (one of the city's very "gay" neighborhoods). the trends you are describing are characteristics of cities in general. i know pittsburgh is considered very progressive in reinventing itself and its economy for the 21st century. i am originally from philadelphia and i have seen a dramatic change in pittsburgh's social and economic climate. in fact, i would be very surprised if pittsburgh hasn't had a domestic partnership registry for gay couples for years now. cincinnati is a more conservative place, i concur.
please don't think i am anti-columbus because i am not. it is definitely a more white-collar city than most major midwestern cities and it is bucking a lot of trends that have kept other places stagnant. columbus is growing and becoming increasingly more relevant and respectable. i just think there are certain attributes of a city that comes with age and maturity. columbus is a younger, new economy city with entirely different dynamics than its post-industrial counterparts. it hasn't weathered the same urban conditions in the same way. it's a great city, no doubt, but i still think it's a tier behind places like cleveland, pittsburgh and st. louis, which were all much larger, much more urban and much more influential for much longer periods in their history.
This pretty much invalidates everything that you write here. That you think that St. Paul AND Minneapolis are two of the top 5 most important cities in the Midwest tells me that you really need to get out more, or study more. Also, there is no way in hell that Milwaukee should be on that list. I would put Kansas City, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Cleveland before Milwaukee.
Top 5 most important cities in the Midwest:
1. Chicago
2. Minneapolis/St. Paul
3. Detroit
4. St. Louis
5. Cleveland
After that it's a really close call between Kansas City and Cincinnati for 6th and 7th place. Indianapolis, Columbus, and Milwaukee compete for 8th, 9th, and 10th place.
Not sure what you're basing that on. As far as Fortune 500 Cincinnati, Columbus and Milwaukee are all tied with 6. Kansas City, Indianapolis and Cleveland are not on the list of those cities with 5 or more. What, exactly, are you basing your "opinion" on?
i can't speak for pittsburgh or cincinnati, but i will tell you that st. louis has its own fashion week as well (one of the largest in the usa), and st. louis has had domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples since 1996. every city has its "gay districts" whether they are lined with pride flags or not. st. louis just capped off a 26-story condo tower downtown, in addition to another 28-story tower a few years ago in the central west end (one of the city's very "gay" neighborhoods). the trends you are describing are characteristics of cities in general. i know pittsburgh is considered very progressive in reinventing itself and its economy for the 21st century. i am originally from philadelphia and i have seen a dramatic change in pittsburgh's social and economic climate. in fact, i would be very surprised if pittsburgh hasn't had a domestic partnership registry for gay couples for years now. cincinnati is a more conservative place, i concur.
please don't think i am anti-columbus because i am not. it is definitely a more white-collar city than most major midwestern cities and it is bucking a lot of trends that have kept other places stagnant. columbus is growing and becoming increasingly more relevant and respectable. i just think there are certain attributes of a city that comes with age and maturity. columbus is a younger, new economy city with entirely different dynamics than its post-industrial counterparts. it hasn't weathered the same urban conditions in the same way. it's a great city, no doubt, but i still think it's a tier behind places like cleveland, pittsburgh and st. louis, which were all much larger, much more urban and much more influential for much longer periods in their history.
I find myself agreeing with both of you.
Although people don't understand Cincy's politics too well. The city is conservative, but not as much as Hamilton County puts it out to be. West Chester, Mariemont, Blue Ash, Cheviot, etc. All very conservative suburbs of the city.
Cincinnati is really becoming a progressive-minded city. Probaly has the second most amount of construction going on in the Midwest outside of Chicago. The new Queen City Square building which is the city's new tallest, the billion dollar Banks Project, Cincinnati Riverfront Park, Fountain Square, Broadway Commons, the rapid amount of gentrification in Over-The-Rhine, and the streetcar.
Now all they need to do is expand light rail like Cleveland and St. Louis and they are set.
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