Could Savannah be the next New York?

[Newnan]

Ok, a lot of you may be thinking that I'm absolutely crazy, but think about it. Savannah is located on the extreme southern part of a river that empties into a harbor just like New York, It has Hutchison Island which could be like Manhattan and already has many people living in the inner city. Doesn't it seem like Savannah has the potential now? After your vote, explain your reasoning

[teshadoh]

Didn't you already make a similar remark in another thread? Why do you want so much of historic Savannah destroyed?

[ironchapman]

I'm not going to vote yet, but I don't think it ever will. It's got too much competition from ports nearby. Think about it, Charleston, Jacksonville, and even Wilmington, NC to some extent.

It definitely has the potential to become a much bigger and better city than it is, but certainly no New York. If anything, Jacksonville would probably become a New York City-like port because it is already bigger in population and is utilising it's potential. I've always thought of Savannah and Charleston (for that matter) as more like miniature Bostons.

However, I think that the New York City's of the South (when you consider importance to the South as a whole) will always belong to the current major Southern cities like Atlanta, Miami, Nashville, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, and perhaps New Orleans (if it is able to rebound from Katrina).

EDIT: I voted "No"

[Newnan]

I know Savannah could never be as big as New York, but I'd just like to see it get bigger. And no Teshadoh, I DON'T want the historic district to be destroyed . I never even said that!

[teshadoh]

I know Savannah could never be as big as New York, but I'd just like to see it get bigger. And no Teshadoh, I DON'T want the historic district to be destroyed . I never even said that!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Then do you know how a city develops? How would Savannah increase as dramatic it would require without any historic structures in downtown being destroyed? What it sounds like is building a new city center outside of the city. If that was the case - what would the point be, it wouldn't even be Savannah but some enourmous edge city.

[ironchapman]

Then do you know how a city develops?  How would Savannah increase as dramatic it would require without any historic structures in downtown being destroyed?  What it sounds like is building a new city center outside of the city.  If that was the case - what would the point be, it wouldn't even be Savannah but some enourmous edge city.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The only hope Savannah has for building a new city center that doesn't stray too far from the old one is if they can utilize Hutchinson Island, but the island is too small to really create a new downtown area for the city.

Of course, New Orleans had the French Quarter, which is the oldest part of the city, and a new CBD.

[Newnan]

That's what I'm saying, Ironchapman

[SavannahGa]

This poll is crazy.

[ironchapman]

That's what I'm saying, Ironchapman

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I also said that the island was too small to become a new city center.

[Lady Celeste]

Ummmmmmmmmm..........NO! Not gonna happen.

Like Teshadoh said, why would anyone even want such development in Savannah. I wouldn't mind quality low to mid-rise development west of downtown and mid-rise to some high rise development on Hutchinson Island but even this would not be enough to even get close to New York.

The next New York..........okay, I'll just be quiet now. I think he comprehends my feelings on the matter.

[monsoon]

New York became the city it is today because city leaders made significant investments in infrastructure that no other city in the USA made and it catipulted NY far ahead of any other port on the East coast.

Probably the biggest and most important project to NY's size was the building of the Erie Canal. Once it was completed, the output of the entire Midwest had a cheap port to the Atlantic via NYC. That is why Philly and Boston got left behind.

These days in modern times, I don't see anything similar happening to put Savannah ahead of Charleston, Miami, Jacksonville, or Norfolk. And none of these places are anywhere close to being the size of NYC.

[Rickydavisfan21]

the crime is worse in savannah than NYC, Savannah is doomed into eternity, Savannah College of Art and Design can only do so much to revitalize the city....

[teshadoh]

Ricky, move out of Savannah then - it's not that hard.

If Savannah is doomed into eternity for anything - it will continue to be one of the most beautiful cities in the nation. If you can't see that, and only concentrate on the crime - you have a problem with cities.

Yes - I do hope crime goes down in Savannah - it is a very high crime rate. But it's not an impossible situation.

[Newnan]

Ok, I give up. I now realize that Savannah could never be the next new York. I've been to the city and I wouldn't want the historic architecture to be torn down either. I guess I'd just like to see Savannah get more hoghrise buildings on Hutchinson Island and see more people living in the city. I don't want ti to be as big as New York, but I want it to have a NYC feel. This poll is CLOSED

[jervais]

I voted yes, to say it can have new york like characteristics but never in population or as many skyscrapers. When I think of new york I think of culture and dense downtown living and I do think savannah has so much potential for both. Example Broughton street stores/restuarant on the 1st floors of building and living on the upper levels.

[Florida]

I think a major part of NY's enormity is the fact that it grew during a time of major migratory action. I don't see that happening anymore, for any city.

But Savannah is much better than NY, it doesn't need to go all crazy like that.

[rbensen1]

I think a major part of NY's enormity is the fact that it grew during a time of major migratory action. I don't see that happening anymore, for any city.

But Savannah is much better than NY, it doesn't need to go all crazy like that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How do you figure that Savannah is better than NY? That is quite a bold statement.

[teshadoh]

^ Well you can't expect everyone to have the same opinion regarding urbanity can you? Just as some prefer historic & densely populated urban cores such as New Orleans, others prefer cities with a lightly populated inner suburban core with newly built towers in the city center like Charlotte.

The same with NYC & Savannah, I love them both & would prefer NYC, but I can easily understand why someone would prefer a small city that is very historic that is laid back & very much at a human scale - as opposed to NYC's gigantism.

It's just some people's tastes.

[rbensen1]

^  Well you can't expect everyone to have the same opinion regarding urbanity can you?  Just as some prefer historic & densely populated urban cores such as New Orleans, others prefer cities with a lightly populated inner suburban core with newly built towers in the city center like Charlotte.

The same with NYC & Savannah, I love them both & would prefer NYC, but I can easily understand why someone would prefer a small city that is very historic that is laid back & very much at a human scale - as opposed to NYC's gigantism.

It's just some people's tastes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very true. I was looking for an explanation along those lines. Personally I love both types of cities. But if I had to choose, I'd head to NYC. Aomong the five burroughs I think there is something to satisfy any taste, big or small.

[Florida]

How do you figure that Savannah is better than NY?  That is quite a bold statement.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There is a quality about Savannah unmatched by any other U.S. City. I'm not overly impressed with the City of New York. To me, when it comes to cities, size does not matter so long as the ammenities are there. Savannah's natural beauty, its southern charm, its spanish moss, set it well out of reach of cities like New York suffering from over growth and congestion.

If forced to choose a big city, I'd choose Chicago as a gem. But you can give me Savannah any day.

[SavannahGa]

^

[Spartan]

The simple answer is no.

NYC is what it is becuase it had access to the Hudson/Mohawk/Erie Canal system at the right time in history and that basicly gave it market dominance over the other cities as THE shipping port to Europe and the rest of the Old World.

Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, Norfolk, and Charleston all had their roles, but the lack of connections to the west/midwest led to the order of things today.

Savannah does not have that luxury. The River is only navigable up to Augusta (which is why Augusta exists). On top of that, the River does not lead to anywhere particularly productive that could or would use it as a way to get goods down to Savannah to be shipped. Not to mention they have damed up the river all over the place.

The other option is rail. The South has less rail than the North- and during the industrial age when that was critical, the North was well connected. The South was not.

Both of these factors contributed greatly to Charleston and Savannah not keeping up with the other large colonial cities in terms of size.

The only way that this could happen is if some sort of new transportation option were to come available that somehow had to rely on port cities as a transition point.

I don't see it as a bad thing though. Savannah has a certain charm to it. IMO the rest of Savannah and Chatham County should continue to build on the original grid network that was layed out. That would give the city a uniqueness that no other American city can match.

[Unifour]

I did vote no, but I must say no one knows what COULD happen in the future. At one time Philadelphia and Boston were larger than New York in the USA. A lot of the time, things happen by chance that give certain cities advantage over others. Sometimes a city can completely reinvent themselves and boom all on thier own, such as a Charlotte or Atlanta. Most people don't realize that Charlotte is actually one of this country's oldest cities, even thought it is thought to be a new city. If I am not mistaken, Charlotte is OLDER than Atlanta. Yet Charlotte lagged way behind Atlanta for many decades when Atlanta was in hot pursuit of growth and prosperity. Now that Charlotte is also a boomtown, it has completely changed from what it was several decades ago, just the same as Atlanta changed from what it was in the decades before it reinvented itself. At one time, no one would have ever guessed that Atlanta would be what it is today, so one never knows. I think it is possible that Savannah could grow larger than it currently is. Both Boston and Philadelphia and New Orleans grew larger without destroying thier historic districts. I think for Savannah to boom, it would have to reinvent itself just like the once sleepy town of Atlanta up the road. It's important to remember that New York is NO longer a "port" city. It's economy hasn't been based on shipping for many years, and New York is no longer the world's biggest port. It has been surpassed by mostly Asian cities. Hong Kong, Singapore, and several others handle more cargo. New York has also had to reinvent itself. It is now a white collar town, and is based on business, finance, technology, etc., and not shipping, manufacturing, etc. of the past. I think the question is HOW does Savannah keep its history and charm while reinventing itself out of being a static southern city dwelling in the past (if that is the case, I don't know)? In NC, there are TWO large booming cities. Both Charlotte and Raleigh are very successful and for different reasons. Both used to be sleepy southern towns that nobody paid attention to.

[Southron]

I guess I'd just like to see Savannah get more hoghrise buildings on Hutchinson Island and see more people living in the city.

This is already happening in a big way. There is a real concern, however, that development efforts will focus on hotels for tourists and high priced condos for out-of-town investors rather than affordable housing for actual residents of the city.

[SkyDave]

Savannah will NEVER be another or the next New York City. Why, would even want to emulate NYC. Thank God for your own uniqueness.