23 replies to this topic

[vbfl85]

Port Saint Lucie, Fl.  A suburban community with no downtown.
1970 population: 334
2000 population: 88,769
2006 population (estimate): 150,000+

Edited by vbfl85, 12 December 2006 - 08:13 PM.

[reednavy05]

Port St. Lucie, thats just rediculously outta control. my hometown, incredible example of a small university town blowin it up, go Murfreesboro

[hustle4alivin]

Quote

Nobody's mentioned Orlando but that's perhaps the best case of a smaller town becoming a major league city, of course we all know the reasons why this happened.

I think O-town is the best example of this phenomenon as well. Orlando was little more than a sleepy town surrounded by orange groves before the Mouse House opened back in '71. Today, it is in the process of turning into a decent sized metropolis of 2 million or so. I-4 is pretty much urbanized from end to end nowadays (Daytona to Tampa) save a few gaps between Lakeland and Davenport and Deltona and Daytona.

[Justiceham]

hustle4alivin, on Dec 15 2006, 01:05 AM, said:

I think O-town is the best example of this phenomenon as well. Orlando was little more than a sleepy town surrounded by orange groves before the Mouse House opened back in '71. Today, it is in the process of turning into a decent sized metropolis of 2 million or so. I-4 is pretty much urbanized from end to end nowadays (Daytona to Tampa) save a few gaps between Lakeland and Davenport and Deltona and Daytona.

That's what city I was trying to think of. Whenever I visit Orlando I noticed the traffic is not that bad even with only one interstate. It actually seems that the city has been really good at planning ahead as far as growth is concerned and downtown is coming along nicely. But merely driving through, you would never know that the metro is around 2 million. I live in Murfreesboro and the city has uncontrolled growth, pure and simple. The urban qualities you might find in cities around the same size (Athens, Macon, Wilmington) and even cities much smaller (Paducah, Charleston, Huntington) are lacking. Downtown has been stagnant for over 15 years. However, Murfreesboro does have a 25 year road plan and is changing a few ordinances to make the city more aesthetically pleasing.