Models for growth

[krazeeboi]

Are there any bigger cities that the "Big Three" cities in SC in particular emulate as far as growth and economic/urban development is concerned? I think one time I heard of a Columbia/Austin relationship. Are there any others, or should there be?

[teshadoh]

Interesting query - for Charleston, that would be tough - as another similar city Savannah is nearby & New Orleans isn't the perfect model for these cities. I can't think of any medium sized cities that is comparable, only much larger cities that combine their tourist base with commerce - Boston & San Francisco.

As for Columbia - I definitely see Austin, massive govt. employee base with the big college. I would also wonder Raleigh - since Raleigh could also be seen as modeled slightly after Austin (please don't take me literally ).

Greenville - that is tough - but I would venture that Charlotte would be the ideal model city for it. Maybe?

[btoy]

I would not want Greenville to be modeled after Charlotte. Charlotte destroys everything historical to build new. Not a model to follow.

[UrbanSoutherner]

I would not want Greenville to be modeled after Charlotte.  Charlotte destroys everything historical to build new.  Not a model to follow.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree that Charlotte has a bad historic preservation record. Downtown is nice with lots of housing coming in, but it lacks a decent number of historic buildings to give the city some sense of place and authenticity. On the hand, Charlotte does have some nice historic neighborhoods once you get away from the downtown area.

[UrbanSoutherner]

Charleston is kind of unique it seems to me. There are few other urban heritage tourism destinations that can match what Charleston already has done (I would argue Charleston may need to level off the tourism at this point). If I had to pick a larger area that seems similar (history southern seaport, tourism, military installations-granted Charleston lost most of its military stuff), it would be Norfolk and the Hampton Roads region in VA. But frankly, I would not recommend that area as a model to follow. So, I think Charleston is really unique.

Columbia is most defined by its being a state capital and a major university town. I think Austin and Raleigh are both good models for Columbia to learn from in terms of the future. I would hope Columbia would take a less suburban sprawl path than these cities (the location of the USC research campus downtown is a hopeful sign there). But clearly it would be nice to replicate the economic prosperity that those two regions have created by utilizing their research universities as economic development tools. In that sense, they are rather good models.

Like Charleston, I think Greenville is rather unique. It is very multi-nodal. It has been successful as a industrial center by getting high end manufacturing establishments in an increasingly post-industrial economy. I can not really think of a real role model for Greenville. Charlotte is too much a little Atlanta in terms of being a major corporate city. I do not see Greenville developing so much in that direction.

[Spartan]

Interesting query - for Charleston, that would be tough - as another similar city Savannah is nearby & New Orleans isn't the perfect model for these cities.  I can't think of any medium sized cities that is comparable, only much larger cities that combine their tourist base with commerce - Boston & San Francisco.

As for Columbia - I definitely see Austin, massive govt. employee base with the big college.  I would also wonder Raleigh - since Raleigh could also be seen as modeled slightly after Austin (please don't take me literally ).

Greenville - that is tough - but I would venture that Charlotte would be the ideal model city for it.  Maybe?

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Charleston is kind of unique it seems to me. There are few other urban heritage tourism destinations that can match what Charleston already has done (I would argue Charleston may need to level off the tourism at this point). If I had to pick a larger area that seems similar (history southern seaport, tourism, military installations-granted Charleston lost most of its military stuff), it would be Norfolk and the Hampton Roads region in VA. But frankly, I would not recommend that area as a model to follow. So, I think Charleston is really unique.

Columbia is most defined by its being a state capital and a major university town. I think Austin and Raleigh are both good models for Columbia to learn from in terms of the future. I would hope Columbia would take a less suburban sprawl path than these cities (the location of the USC research campus downtown is a hopeful sign there). But clearly it would be nice to replicate the economic prosperity that those two regions have created by utilizing their research universities as economic development tools. In that sense, they are rather good models.

Like Charleston, I think Greenville is rather unique. It is very multi-nodal. It has been successful as a industrial center by getting high end manufacturing establishments in an increasingly post-industrial economy. I can not really think of a real role model for Greenville. Charlotte is too much a little Atlanta in terms of being a major corporate city. I do not see Greenville developing so much in that direction.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Savannah is smaller than Charleston, and it isn't experienceing anything close to the growth that Charleston is.

Charleston is probably more similar to Boston than anything, but there isn't really any city you can compare it to, which is a good thing.

I hope Columbia doesn't follow Raleigh. What a mess. It is already following in Charlotte's footsteps- knocking down many things of historical significance (in the past mostly), and having unabated sprawl in multiple directions.

Austin does seem ilke a good city to model, but I don't know that much about Austin.

Greenville... well, I dunno. I have always thought of Greenville-Spartanburg as a miniature Dallas-Fort Worth, so maybe that should be a model for our future?

[krazeeboi]

In another thread, it was stated that Cleveland, OH may be a good city for Greenville to emulate in some respect.

[goodbye]

I think one reason Greenville stands out among the other cities in South Carolina is because it has incorporated its strengths into a vision that includes both hints of other international cities and totally original concepts. It has (almost by accident) become a positive role model for cities across the U.S. and even around the Globe. I say, "almost by accident," because it took the loss of the textile industry's local dominance to really jump-start the brainstorming and creative-thinking process.

[krazeeboi]

^Good points. Never thought about it like that.

How did Greenville come to harness its strengths in this way? Many Carolina towns were negatively impacted by the decline of the textile industry, including Rock Hill. What conditions were present in Greenville that obviously weren't present in some of these other places?

[The_sandlapper]

I think Columbia's models for growth are a no brainer(Austin, Raleigh-Durham). Take two mid-sized college towns and incorporate economic growth in the public private sector. you get places like Austin, & Raleigh two cities 20 years ago that were much ado about nothing, and today they are continuously in the national spotlight as "the places to be". I dont think it was by accident this happened. These cities planned for a change in there local economy just as Columbia is doing "today", with the research campus being the most obvious piece of evidence to that. The results won't happen overnight but it will without a dought happen within my lifetime.

[krazeeboi]

Great points. And I think that Columbia has actually fared quite well in several national rankings; the research campus, as well as the other developments in the city, will only give the city more visibility.

[Spartan]

I just don't like the idea of modeling after Raleigh. RDU has some serious sprawl, and Chapel Hill is a separate entity. If the Triangle was all compressed into one compact city, then it would truely be a grat place to be and model.

Columbia should only model the RTP develeopment strategy, and incorporate that into downtown rather than constructing a satellite campus anywhere.

[krazeeboi]

I would not want Greenville to be modeled after Charlotte. Charlotte destroys everything historical to build new. Not a model to follow.

Of course Greenville shouldn't model Charlotte in THAT respect. There are many good things going on there and many other areas in which Greenville could emulate Charlotte, despite the past demolition of historic structures.

I just don't like the idea of modeling after Raleigh. RDU has some serious sprawl, and Chapel Hill is a separate entity. If the Triangle was all compressed into one compact city, then it would truely be a grat place to be and model.

Columbia should only model the RTP develeopment strategy, and incorporate that into downtown rather than constructing a satellite campus anywhere.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I believe that this is the only way that Columbia is emulating Raleigh. As Coble said in his speech:

Our partnership with the University of South Carolina with the USC Research Campus initiative, will allow Columbia and South Carolina to create wealth here, just as has been done in the Silicon Valley, Austin Texas, Route 128 in Boston and the Research Triangle in North Carolina. Our intercity Chamber trips to Austin and Raleigh clearly show what impact the University of Texas and North Carolina State have had on Austin