Do you consider Houston to be world class? (Atlanta: hotel, airport)

[Brewzerr68]

Originally Posted by testmo

i didnt say London wasnt a world class city. but is it the most world class city of any? the person who inspired this thread kind of held it out to be. id put a few others above london.

there are tourist hot spots that are tourist hot spots. tourism does not define, in my mind, what a world class city is.

And that was my whole point. That's why I used Las Vegas and Orlando as examples. On the flip-side of that same coin, cities that are top business destinations but not tourist destinations cannot be considered true world-class cities. It has to be both.

I'm not sure who said London was the #1 world-class city. I would have to do some research, but I'm pretty sure New York is #1. Maybe Tokyo or Hong Kong. Not London.

[testmo]

if a city offers so much in 1 arena of "world class-itude" and a little less in another, like tourism, still can mean it's world class. for example, i also think basic human rights and quality of living is a part of a definition of "world class". but id still say Dubai is world class - or will be shortly.

[Brewzerr68]

Originally Posted by testmo

if a city offers so much in 1 arena of "world class-itude" and a little less in another, like tourism, still can mean it's world class. for example, i also think basic human rights and quality of living is a part of a definition of "world class". but id still say Dubai is world class - or will be shortly.

Then I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

[Cabot]

Originally Posted by testmo

i didnt say London wasnt a world class city. but is it the most world class city of any? the person who inspired this thread kind of held it out to be. id put a few others above london.

there are tourist hot spots that are tourist hot spots. tourism does not define, in my mind, what a world class city is.

I think he just used London as an example, not THE world class city although I happen to think it is but that is just my opinion! They all have different appeal but I agree that just tourism is not the definition of a world class city, other factors are involved. Houston, I do not believe can be classed as one although it is an important city.

[Cabot]

Originally Posted by Brewzerr68

And that was my whole point. That's why I used Las Vegas and Orlando as examples. On the flip-side of that same coin, cities that are top business destinations but not tourist destinations cannot be considered true world-class cities. It has to be both.

I'm not sure who said London was the #1 world-class city. I would have to do some research, but I'm pretty sure New York is #1. Maybe Tokyo or Hong Kong. Not London.

I did a search. In all catergories, New York is considered #1, with London #2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city

[TimBomb]

CapitalOne has a world-class customer service. So yes, Houston is pretty crappy too

[Dopo]

The problem is that most people's definition of World-class really mean:
"A lot of rich and famous people like Paris Hilton spend a lot of time in that city".

That's what I love about Houston,
it's World-Class (full of international businesses and people) but not full of people like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, etc.
It's like a hidden World-Class gem.

[EasilyAmused]

NO.
The architecture sucks. But hey, at least we don't have graffeti all over every building in sight. I find it depressing Eurpeons have such little respect for buildings circa 1500....

However, Texas has this little group of "under the radar rich.." that thankfully no one pays attention to.

[SouthernBoy205]

Originally Posted by Dopo

The problem is that most people's definition of World-class really mean:
"A lot of rich and famous people like Paris Hilton spend a lot of time in that city".

That's what I love about Houston,
it's World-Class (full of international businesses and people) but not full of people like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, etc.
It's like a hidden World-Class gem.

Great post. To each his or her own.

[jaxontwinz]

Ehhhhhh... not quite. Houston is a fantastic city and is underrated for the most part. Being the energy capital and a major port and great culture help a lot but it still needs to make a few more strides. For instance better transit and denser core (very walkable and livable). Maybe becoming the largest hub for United and the growing population will help. But for now, no. Maybe ten years from now.

The reason why I consider cities such as Atlanta to be world-class is because Atlanta has the largest airport and is the largest hub for Delta, it has a very good urban core, has a growing population, has world-class dining/shopping/hotels, and has hosted the Olympics. When you host the Olympics you kinda automatically get world-class status.