College town's ranking among in-state cities (schools, universities, stores)
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If it wasn't for MSU, then East Lansing wouldn't rank anywhere on anyone's radar. The Lansing area is small and outside of state government and MSU there's not much going on there - at all. It's only a destination because of Lansing's status as the state capital and the fact that MSU is in East Lansing.
I'd argue that Ann Arbor is more important, given that U-Mich is considered more of a national university rather than just a state university. Ann Arbor weathered the 2008 recession a lot better than other cities in Michigan. UM-Medical is where outstate doctors send their patients if patients have issues that can't be addressed locally. Also, UM has a larger footprint in the state with UM-Dearborn/UM-Flint. Housing prices are just insane in AA.
There are a lot of similarity in what the schools offer, but as a town, East Lansing's rep isn't all that. On the other end, a lot of people tend to think that Ann Arbor is a lot more than what it really is. Ann Arbor is almost mythical in some people's minds - as in - it's the best city in Michigan - ever! And that's not really true either.
East Lansing is also different in terms of being parts urban and parts suburban. So, you also have the move from Lansing to East Lansing dynamic that you see with other movements from urban center to adjacent suburbs that occurs in pretty much any decent size area.
Ironically, the Lansing metro is the 3rd biggest in MI. So, it is bigger than all other MI metros except for Detroit and Grand Rapids.
It also has manufacturing, insurance and health care industries, along with Cooley Law School.
That does make sense. Some people consider Iowa City to be the cultural heart of the entire state.
I agree that some people feel that way, but at this point that's pretty outdated and a viewpoint that probably only exists within U of I backer circles. It's Des Moines at this point. Iowa City was, at one time, the only culturally progressive place in the state. That's no longer the case.
Lexington, KY is doing really well for itself. It's a college town, but also having the horse country surrounding it has led to many people unrelated to the university moving there. It has also led to an influx of money so there are some pretty upscale shopping and dining places popping up. It serves as a main shopping area for a large portion of the state of Kentucky that can't/won't go to Louisville or Cincinnati. The downtown is pretty great for its size. The airport is small but it does have good connecting flights.
I would argue that Ohio has 4 true college towns: Athens, Bowling Green, Oxford and Kent.
Other than Athens, the other 3 cities are located within larger metropolitan areas that range between 600k and 2.2 mil people, but the college towns themselves have all had pretty stagnant growth over the past few decades and relatively little importance with respect to the rest of the state (all have stayed within the 20-30k range).
Bowling Green isn't nearly as bad as Athens but man it's depressing. It's only gotten worse over the past 25 years. I grew up in BG and I'm freshly disappointed every time I go back. At least Athens has the scenery.
Speaking to Norman and Stillwater in OK. Sixty years ago Norman was a college town. When they built the interstate it basically started to explode as a suburban town. It is four times larger than it was in 1960 with the biggest jump right after the interstate was built. It is the third largest city in the state and kind of vies with Lawton simply because Lawton is the next largest metro area in the state despite the fact that several suburbs have passed up Lawton in size. Norman still feels like a small college town right around campus (which I find really appealling) but once you get a mile or a mile and a half away from campus it starts to feel "suburbany".
Stillwater is smaller and is between Tulsa and OKC. It has grown a lot since 1960 from about 30K to over 50K. I'd say that in terms of clout it punches above it's weight in the state and stands out among equally sized cities in terms of importance and desireability. Has to be between 5th to 8th most important cities. Probably was outside the top 10 fifty years ago.
Lexington, KY is doing really well for itself. It's a college town, but also having the horse country surrounding it has led to many people unrelated to the university moving there. It has also led to an influx of money so there are some pretty upscale shopping and dining places popping up. It serves as a main shopping area for a large portion of the state of Kentucky that can't/won't go to Louisville or Cincinnati. The downtown is pretty great for its size. The airport is small but it does have good connecting flights.
Yeah I wouldn't include Lexington on this list as it is among the major metro areas within its state.
I agree that some people feel that way, but at this point that's pretty outdated and a viewpoint that probably only exists within U of I backer circles. It's Des Moines at this point. Iowa City was, at one time, the only culturally progressive place in the state. That's no longer the case.
Do you think Iowa City recognizes Ames’ higher stature. Do you think UI recognizes the same about ISU’s?
Nevada is weird because the only two branches of UN are located in Reno and Vegas, and kids come from the smaller towns to go to college in the city, whereas the reverse is more the norm nationally. The UNR area is just a neighborhood, but I don't think it's doing particularly well in attracting businesses or educated non-student residents compared to the rest of the city. I've heard from some long-time residents that if anything, that area's been going downhill. I don't know of any less renowned four-year universities in the state that aren't either in the Reno/Tahoe or Vegas areas.
As for Illinois, I haven't spent much time in Urbana-Champaign, but it seems to have recently crossed the "major city" threshold and begun to attract more crime, blight, and poverty. With a few newer high-rises in its downtown, the sense of growth is palpable, but many seem to think it's lost its college-town charm as a result and now its urban issues are more noticeable.
I'd argue that Ann Arbor is more important, given that U-Mich is considered more of a national university rather than just a state university. Ann Arbor weathered the 2008 recession a lot better than other cities in Michigan. UM-Medical is where outstate doctors send their patients if patients have issues that can't be addressed locally. Also, UM has a larger footprint in the state with UM-Dearborn/UM-Flint. Housing prices are just insane in AA.
Housing prices are relative. Ann Arbor prices might seem high for Michigan, but Michigan is one of the cheapest 5 states for housing. The prices are on par with what you'd see in the nicer areas of big Midwest cities, like Chicago or Minneapolis. Ann Arbor is downright cheap compared to New England, NY metro, or the West Coast.
Bowling Green isn't nearly as bad as Athens but man it's depressing. It's only gotten worse over the past 25 years. I grew up in BG and I'm freshly disappointed every time I go back. At least Athens has the scenery.
As OP, I didn’t include cities like Athens or Oxford because Ohio is pretty much a one flagship state and OSU being in a real city, Columbus, would not be considered as part of the discussion
I could be wrong, but from what i can see, it is the home of the flagship or of the two flagships in states with two where the development and growth is occurring
Here in IL, we have just one flagship like you. So here, I think you can only see that dynamic in Champaign and Urbana. The nonflagship towns like DeKalb and Carbondale dont experience real change. Illinois State is not a flagship (althoughit pretty much is our state’s third best public, after Illinois and UIC. Bloomington ormal is one of the healthiest metros in state for many reasons besides ISU
I should add that Ohio is an outlier in the Midwest because in Ohio, unlike any other state, you universities like Miami and Ohio with excellent reputations and drawing the same quality of student that OSU gets. Yet as I said, I never would considered Oxford or Athens as growth centers.
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