The South's next rising star(s)

[davidals]

^Try the Bay Area.

Oh and there's just a bit of this in the Triangle as well. The naming of Raleigh-Durham airport (pre-international, decades ago) was some sort of convoluted battle between the two (those kinds of dual-names are supposed to be alphabetical), the dust from that particular dust up has only been partially settled; Durham will lay claim to "most of" RTP whenever possible, even though the park isn't annexable by law.

[krazeeboi]

Interesting.

I notice that as far as South Carolina goes, Columbia has been getting several nods (and I agree with this). Greenville is fairly known as an up-and-coming player as well, but I wonder what people are thinking about Charleston? It's actually the fastest-growing metro in the state, the fastest-growing central city, and arguably has the best and most diverse economy of the state's large cities.

[goodbye]

I wouldn't say that Columbia is any more "up and coming" than Greenville. And yes, Charleston should be up for serious consideration as well.

[suburban george3]

lol..well on the show Greensboro was being compared with cities such as San Fransico, New York and Chicago which were the other audition cities. Greensboro is a small town when compared to New York or Chicago. I would even consider Charlotte being a small town compared to New York and Chicago.

as for the airport. If I remember correct, PTI was origionally suppose to be built more centrally between Greensboro and Winston-Salem. However some Greensboro politician were lobbying to move the airport closer to Greensboro and Greensboro won. I think that action is what caused the fierce competition between Greensboro and Winston-Salem. Winston-Salem then built its own airport which was suppose to compete with the one being built in Greensboro.

another example: More recently I-73 was suppose to go through Winston. But like the airport Greensboro politicians did some lobbying and was able to move the I-73 from Winston to Greensboro. Eventually Winston-Salem still ended up with a new interstate route (I-74). The competition between the two cities is a big reason the region isnt bigger than it is today. Greensboro had sour grapes when Winston got Dell. Greensboro is building its own research park instead of supporting PTRP in Winston. I mean im happy Greensboro is building a research park but its an example how the two cities like to operate apart from one another. I honestly dont think the two cities trust one another. High Point is in its own little world. High Point doesnt really care what Greensboro and Winston does. But Ive never seen any other metro with such fierce competition within.

The Dell Plant "fiasco" was a showing of how quick "Piedmont Triad Unity" can break down as it turned into a game of "Show me the money!!"

I wish Greensboro luck and success with their research ambitions, but I believe the longer planning and momentum already underway in Winston-Salem will lead to bigger success. I feel Greensboro is banking more on Transportation/Distribution.

High Point, IMO, is going to be nothing more than a bedroom community in the future as they are asleep at the wheel concerning the International Furniture Market. I honestly feel they are powerless to stop it's loss to Las Vegas. High Point has always seemed to be in a "cloud", never quite able to live up to it's bigger siblings of Winston-Salem and Greensboro.

[Architect]

Austin is considered more Southwest IMO; that might be the reason it's not mentioned in the South as much. It's a city definetly one the rise.

Some "Rising Stars" (no particular order)

Raleigh

Orlando

Greenville

Baton Rouge

Tampa

Chattanooga

Mobile

My own perspective here.....

I would say if a city/metro has already been awarded a major league professional sports team, then its already been recognized as having "arrived" - so scratch Raleigh, Orlando & Tampa (all regarded as major metros in their own right). This post is entitled "The South's NEXT Rising Stars".

Secondly, I don't imagine that any NC metros are ever going to fully grow out from under the shadow of Charlotte and Raleigh - not to say that they won't grow signficantly.

Baton Rouge is a pretty gritty place - the one thing going for it is New Orleans demise

Chattanooga - I can see that as its quite progressive and is widely known for its sophisticated urban renewal.

Mobile - why does this keep cropping up on everyone's list? I'm not being critical, I'm just curious.

Edited November 30, 2006 by Architect

[krazeeboi]

I'm interested about what's going on in Mobile myself. I know the Daphne/Fairhope area of the metro is seeing some pretty rapid growth.

[Rardy]

Baton Rouge is a pretty gritty place - the one thing going for it is New Orleans demise

Why would you say that? Just curious... BR is a state capital and home to one of the largest universities in the South. It's more of a white-collar town than most cities in the South...

[nowensone]

^ Depends on if your familiarity with it is mainly via the interstate and only brief excursions off of it versus having actually been around it. I was initially scared of Baton Rouge after staying at a motel off of the interstate in what was clearly a seedy section, but once I got to know it better my opinion changed quite a bit.

As to Mobile, I have no idea why it is prospering, but each time I visit (or just drive through it) seems like it has built something new, or has spread it's borders, become more sophisticated, etc.. I am one of those that listed it, and have no real proof to have done so, just a feeling.

[gs3]

If I could only pick one, all my money would go on Huntsville, Alabama.

[kayman]

My pick is Huntsville. That place is getting it act together, and I mean fast! If Birmingham doesn't get its act together, it will have something to worry about via Huntsville. The only thing that holding Huntsville back from greatness at this point is lack of direct interstate access besides I-565.

On Mobile, it has somehow found its way throught the lack of aid from the State of Alabama. It's also the oldest city in Alabama (and is actually older than the state itself), so it has learned to roll with the punches.

[krazeeboi]

Why would you say that? Just curious... BR is a state capital and home to one of the largest universities in the South. It's more of a white-collar town than most cities in the South...

I was looking at an online presentation that was comparing SC metro areas to other Southern metro areas in terms of innovation, which includes patents, R&D, etc. I was actually surprised to see Baton Rouge rank highly in certain categories. You learn something new every day.

[richyb83]

would say if a city/metro has already been awarded a major league professional sports team, then its already been recognized as having "arrived" - so scratch Raleigh, Orlando & Tampa (all regarded as major metros in their own right).

Raleigh, a professional sports team ?? Is that NHL Hockey Carolina Hurricanes?? My bad, I do not keep up with Hockey.

Orlando has "arrived" in the entertainment world since long ago of course, I am thinking in terms of new projects growth in the actual CBD itself; not Disney,etc.

Raleigh with the Research Tri-angle may have put it over the top, I still think of it as rising when compared to big-time cities such as Atlanta, Houston, Charlotte, Miami, etc.

Edited December 1, 2006 by richyb83

[rnc]

My pick is Huntsville. That place is getting it act together, and I mean fast! If Birmingham doesn't get its act together, it will have something to worry about via Huntsville. The only thing that holding Huntsville back from greatness at this point is lack of direct interstate access besides I-565.

On Mobile, it has somehow found its way throught the lack of aid from the State of Alabama. It's also the oldest city in Alabama (and is actually older than the state itself), so it has learned to roll with the punches.

I don't think there is any reason for Huntsville and Birmingham to compete. Huntsville is the aerospace/high tech center and Birmingham the medical center. I don't know much about Birmingham, but everyone one here seems to think the city needs to get its act together. There is no reason that both can't succeed. In fact, I think that the success and development of each city helps the other. As two of Alabama's flagship cities improve, the image of the whole state improves. This can only help to attract new talent to the state.

Edited December 1, 2006 by rnc

[JWCJ]

Not to be bias but I think the south's next raising star is either going to be Richmond or Norfolk Virginia.

[nowensone]

I think to make a guess here in this thread you should be required to choose a place that you have not lived.

[mcheiss]

I think to make a guess here in this thread you should be required to choose a place that you have not lived.

I agree. This thread is starting to sound like a boosterism thread for one's city.

[davidzLA]

I think to make a guess here in this thread you should be required to choose a place that you have not lived.

Then, of course, you have a system where you can trade your vote, and that kids is the United States Congress. :-)

[gs3]

Then, of course, you have a system where you can trade your vote, and that kids is the United States Congress. :-)

[davidals]

Hmmm - what exactly would a "rising star" really be?

We are excluding the biggest metropolises, obviously. This would include some "new South" boomtowns, and some traditional older centers (which - regardless of what ups and downs they are currently experiencing, they are still very solidly established)

Next up; a number of other places mentioned: Huntsville, Charleston SC, Greenville SC, Columbia, Richmond, Louisville, Lexington KY, Chattanooga, Asheville, Savannah...just from the top of my head.

IMO all of those cities are well on their way, all very solidly established at at least regional (if not national) levels as something of substance. Not the "next" rising star; those cities are "current" rising stars, I would guess. Louisville is well-known nationally, Richmond was one of the only Southern cities (alongside Atlanta and Miami) to be mentioned in the "international cities" study recently discussed on U.P. and elsewhere; for various things (tech or tourism), Savannah, Charleston, Asheville and Huntsville have enough name recognition that I would bet any number of other places would envy. If any of those places are "star" cities, such a definition isn't dependent on city (or metro) size alone - Orlando and Santa Fe NM are respectively internationally known as a tourist mecca and an arts center; neither is the biggest city (or metro) in the world, the country, or even the states in which they are found. By such reckoning, Charleston, Asheville or Huntsville, even at the size they currently are, most definitely have the makings for national or international recognition in some fashion or another.

So if I were to try to prognosticate some future rising stars, I think - after some thought - I'd probably look at places like Johnson City TN, Ocala FL, Dothan AL, Beckley WV, Florence SC, Blacksburg VA, Rocky Mount NC, or Monroe LA. Those are places no one is counting on in such forcasting - why (or why wouldn't) those kinds of places pop up on a radar 10 or 20 years hence? Some of those are very depressed places - how might that condition be arrested in some of those cities (which will probably happen), while deepening in some of the others (which will also probably happen)? I don't of course have the answers (I just like throwing questions out there); though methinks the answer in reinventing onesself and becoming the next new South hot spot is something more complex than simply getting a new interstate, or building one more of the many many research parks popping up, but is instead something more radical and structural.

Maybe we need a "Micropolitan America Think Tank" (headquartered - of course - in one of those small-ish cities).

[sunshine]

Miami is the next rising star. It ever expanding skyline and international appeal will continue to propel it to the international center stage in the same level as NYC, LA, SF, Chicago.

Other cities in the south are just going to develop the way it is and getting bigger like all other cities in the country without major break thru.

[skylinefan]

Although Washington, DC is classified as the Northeast in UP it actually is technically a Southern City since physically it is below the Mason Dixon Line (Maryland/Pennsylvania). I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a more prosperous rising star in the South. Some parts of Northern Virginia have unemployment rates of 1.2%. Find a place in Country with unemployment that low.

[Rardy]

Although Washington, DC is classified as the Northeast in UP it actually is technically a Southern City since physically it is below the Mason Dixon Line (Maryland/Pennsylvania). I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a more prosperous rising star in the South. Some parts of Northern Virginia have unemployment rates of 1.2%. Find a place in Country with unemployment that low.

You can't lift an unemployment rate for a suburban area and make it the unemployment rate for the entire metro. Suburbs almost always have lower unemployment rates than the central city. Metro D.C.'s unemployment rate for October 2006 was 3.2%, per Dept. of Labor. While good, it is higher than almost every metro in Florida, Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, and Lafayette, LA; and is comparable with Baton Rouge and Raleigh, NC.

[rnc]

Although Washington, DC is classified as the Northeast in UP it actually is technically a Southern City since physically it is below the Mason Dixon Line (Maryland/Pennsylvania). I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a more prosperous rising star in the South. Some parts of Northern Virginia have unemployment rates of 1.2%. Find a place in Country with unemployment that low.

How in the world can DC be a rising star! Sorry, but I think it has risen already.

[rnc]

Miami is the next rising star. It ever expanding skyline and international appeal will continue to propel it to the international center stage in the same level as NYC, LA, SF, Chicago.

Other cities in the south are just going to develop the way it is and getting bigger like all other cities in the country without major break thru.

Again, I think Miami has risen. The city already has international recognition, Europeans seem to love the place. I could be wrong, but I don't think Miami will ever be on par with NYC, LA, SF and Chicago. There is too much ground to make up and it isn't like those places are in a decline.

[bobby255BR]

It seems as if people are posting cities that are already known. My list are rising stars(doesn't mean that they will ever get New York or Miami status or even New Orleans or Atlanta status) are Mobile, Ala., Baton Rouge, La., Shreveport La., Birmingham Ala., and Knoxville, Tn.

Cities like Austin, Charlotte, Orlando, and Nashville have already began to make names for themselves, but the cities listed above have yet to emerge as the next hot places of the south.