Comparing LA and SFO

[spenser1058]

I liked this comparison of Cali's Bay Area vs. LA economies and how it might play out in the future.

Orlando has been like a mini-LA in many ways and so there may be lessons for us.

One interesting takeaway: the article notes some of the challenges LA has in terms of regional cooperation. That's one thing we've had some success with in central FL.

Another item discussed is the possibility of a megaregion developing between SFO and LAX, similar to that of the Boston, NYC, DC corridor. The author seems skeptical due to density issues in central Cali but it set me thinking of the connection between us and Tampa (dubbed Orlampa by developers.) It's a much shorter distance for us and, not only is there some burgeoning density but also the possibility of a well-trained workforce if Florida Poly is successful.

We, of course, are at a much different stage of development than our Left Coast brethren, so such comparisons may be meaningless. Nevertheless, the piece seems to indicate things may work out well in both CA regions; hopefully, that will be true for us as well.

One last thing I thought of as I read this and that's how some regions progress while others falter. An example of that would be Birmingham vs. Atlanta. In the 1950's, the two cities were pretty equal. As it turned out, Atlanta jetted ahead and B'ham stalled, thanks to the former's embrace of diversity and corresponding infrastructure (especially Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.) Much of that was driven by leadership from Coke, Delta and other businesses. Our success in working together as a region relative to the turf battles of Tampa Bay suggest we may pull ahead of them for that reason.

From CityLab:

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2016/04/the-diverging-economies-of-la-and-san-francisco/479685/?utm_source=SFFB

[jrs2]

^^

of note, Hotlanta lost a couple of auto factories over the past 20 years and Birmingham gained like 6 of them.  They expanded Birmingham's airport to handle more Delta flights the past 3-4 years also.

LA & SF: yeah.  There's even a noticeable gap between LA and SD along I-5.  LA is a monster.  I like it or certain elements within it.  SF is great and always will be.  It's geography and climate is simply mystical.

I can see HSR connecting them.

Orlando & Tampa- what's interesting is that Polk is growing.  The US 27 corridor is in Polk.  And East Polk is a continuation of development from Plant City.  Volusia is growing and West Volusia is pretty much part of the metro.  Brevard- Titusville is really close ala SR 50.  The Port is relatively close ala 528.  It's growing too.  So, by the time Polk fills in substantially, so will Volusia and Brevard and it will be a big sudden jump in metro population overnight.

Same with Manatee & Hillsborough.

[spenser1058]

From 2010-2016, Atlanta grew 9.5%; B'ham grew 1.75%. In 1980, B'ham was larger than Orlando; today, we're the 23rd largest MSA and they are at #49 (not far from their 1980 ranking.)

Apparently, building cars is not the holy grail (as Detroit no doubt can attest.)