Is it common to think that Austin is bigger than San Antonio?

[Austinite101]

Originally Posted by NBTX11

Virtually all Texans know that Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, and El Paso are the 6 largest cities in Texas. I didn't even look up populations when writing this either.

Aslo, some people may PERCEIVE city size to be based on a skyline, however, what I said was that was a POOR way to decide city size. Very poor. Literally some cities have decided to build more buildings than other cities. That has zero to do with how big they are. I can name tons of cities that are smaller that have impressive skylines, and tons of bigger ones that have smaller skylines. Take a look at Phoenix, for example. Phoenix has 5 million people, metro, and they have hardly any towers. Are they any less improtant, or perceived as less important or smaller.

You’re not understanding my point. I never said it was a good or valid way to determine a city’s size. The question was why people would mistake that Austin’s bigger than San Antonio. And my answer to that is that San Antonio’s skyline is notably smaller and shorter than Austin’s. So when people who don’t keep with the latest population lists see both cities, it’s not surprising they think Austin is bigger.

Furthermore, I think you give people too much credit. I bet you they could tell you the 6 largest cities, but it’s clear to me that if you asked them to order them there would be a large chunk of people that put them in the wrong order.

That’s evident enough by the existence of this thread. Because if “virtually all Texans” knew their population order, there wouldn’t be a thread asking why a ton of people think San Antonio is smaller than Austin. I’d bet an even larger chunk would think SA is smaller than Dallas proper due to their skylines.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by gabetx

Here is how Austin looks today... Literally:

Downtown Austin Panorama, on Flickr


I hope to get an aerial panorama of San Antonio very soon! Ideally, I'd love to get one of every large city in TX... well minus El Paso, because it is literally 1/3 of the country away from me. Anyways, Corpus is probably next though.

I have to admit in even the nearly three years I've been here, the skyline has really transformed.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

What exactly happened in Austin that enabled its change when it was so tightly kept in check prior? Just curious here.

Tech went nuts. It started with the two national projects that selected Austin. Sematech was one. Forget what the other was. Those were magnets.

And the anti-growth people realized by the 90s that their short-sighted policies had degraded the quality of life, not improved it. The city still hasn't recovered from the mistakes of the 70s and 80s leaders.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by CosmicAries

Exactly. I mean Chicago has more skyscrapers than LA but that doesn't make it bigger.

Houston has more skyscrapers than LA, but it certainly doesn't seem bigger.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

I have to admit in even the nearly three years I've been here, the skyline has really transformed.

I understand it, but I really don't like the reorientation of the city away from following Congress and instead shifting 90 degrees and oriented along the river.

I liked the towers lining Congress and emphasizing the Capitol and the Tower. The downtown, the government buildings and the university all flowed. Now its kind of disjointed.

[Need4Camaro]

I guess it does kind of seem odd because there's not much depth to it when approaching it from a North / South orientation. I think those towers on / near Rainey were already there when I moved here though. The Waller Creek Tower is going to be in that same area from my understanding.

Originally Posted by bu2

Houston has more skyscrapers than LA, but it certainly doesn't seem bigger.

LA definitely punches below its weight in towers. Houston doesn't feel as big as LA but they both take a long time to drive through.

[NBTX11]

I may be in the minority, but I think San Antonio has a very cool skyline. Looks really good, especially at night. The TOA is very unique, and the Tower Life, New Frost, Weston Ctr, Marriot Rivercenter, Grand Hyatt, and Bank of America Towers are all good towers and bring something to the skyline.

I never took anything away from Austin's skyline. Austin has a great skyline, I just don't judge city size off a skyline. I have backed up Austin on the US forum all the time.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by SweethomeSanAntonio

San Antonio is more dense and considerably larger by just comparing Travis and Bexar County where the bulk of the metro population is located for both cities. Both counties are comparable in land size as well. I included Dallas county which is over 900 square miles just for comparison sake.

San Antonio is more dense and has a bigger city feel and it is apparent driving around the city. San Antonio's urban core footprint is also larger than Austin's but it is not developing as fast, but at a solid steady pace.

San Antonio has a larger historical center core more on the lines with the older cities up north than cities of the Sunbelt.

Bexar= 2,050,000 people 1,200 sq. mi



Travis= 1,250,000 people 1,023 sq. miles


Dallas= 2,600,000 909 Sq. Mi

San Antonio is well known to be the bigger city by Texans because of road trips. S.A. has a very good freeway system compared to Austin (THE Freeway). Americans have to fly to the middle of Texas and don't know that 2 major interstates intersect in the city, while Houston to Austin requires U.S. 290 or I-10 exit 695 (SH-71).