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If our four largest were gone...

krazeeboi

By krazeeboi
in USA South

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satalac Burg

satalac

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Well if close proximity to bigger cities is such a prevailing factor, as far as Tennessee is concerned I would put my money on Chattanooga.

chattanooga is nowhere near the size or economic strength that memphis and nashville are. it will become a big player in the state however .

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northernbizzkit1 Hamlet

northernbizzkit1

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both of those cities were made big by oil, not their proximity to the population (well maybe houston a little). if it wasn't for that, then they wouldn't be there, or at least nowhere near as large as they are. i just see nashville and memphis being very similar. both cities are booming and attracting the same kind of growth. it's just that nashville happens to be geographically closer to other big cities.

true, but Memphis is right on the banks of arguably the most important waterway in the country. Also, Memphis is growing due to bio-med and its being a logistics hub. I could certainly see Memphis and Nashville possibly being the next Houston and Dallas, but that would be only if we didn't have to tack on a Florida city...or maybe San Antonio could be dropped.

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northernbizzkit1 Hamlet

northernbizzkit1

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Well if close proximity to bigger cities is such a prevailing factor, as far as Tennessee is concerned I would put my money on Chattanooga.

Doubtful...I'm in the boat that Chattanooga stands to be part of an Atlanta MSA reaching into TN...Furthermore, what industy makes Chattanooga significant in growth? Memphis and Nashville are just too big of economic powerhouses to let Chatt get in front of them.

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satalac Burg

satalac

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true, but Memphis is right on the banks of arguably the most important waterway in the country. Also, Memphis is growing due to bio-med and its being a logistics hub. I could certainly see Memphis and Nashville possibly being the next Houston and Dallas, but that would be only if we didn't have to tack on a Florida city...or maybe San Antonio could be dropped.

great points.

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krazeeboi Gigalopolis

krazeeboi

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chattanooga is nowhere near the size or economic strength that memphis and nashville are. it will become a big player in the state however .

Understand that my statement was made in light of proximity to other larger cities being a significant factor as stated by another poster. Also, I don't think this would be as farfetched as Chattanooga was a significant rail hub back in the day, so if Atlanta had never existed (which is one scenario), it could very well be the case that Chattanooga could at least enjoy some of the economic benefits and growth that Atlanta now has.

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satalac Burg

satalac

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Understand that my statement was made in light of proximity to other larger cities being a significant factor as stated by another poster. Also, I don't think this would be as farfetched as Chattanooga was a significant rail hub back in the day, so if Atlanta had never existed (which is one scenario), it could very well be the case that Chattanooga could at least enjoy some of the economic benefits and growth that Atlanta now has.

i understand. i was also that poster. i guess i didn't make it clear that my point was cities of similar size and economic strength would come down to proximity to other larger cities. and good point about chat-town's history with the railroad and atlanta.

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NcSc74 Burg

NcSc74

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Its really hard to tell who would be big. History has formed alot of these cities to what they are now. Alot of these cities were formed around the civil war or were influence heavily. Its not just that these areas are interstate or airport hubs.

I will agree with you on that. Just taking history in to account I would say NC would be dominated by 2 metros instead of three. Winston-Salem was NCs largest in the early 1900's and you can tell be the neighborhoods and of course Reynolds tower. Which is one of my favorite scrapers. I see Norfolk taking Miami's spot though. Even though it is not close to Latin America it does have a rich maritime history and people will go where there are jobs and opportunity.

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Brent Hamlet

Brent

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Norfolk has never been killed off. VA slow growth policies and strict zoning laws have kept Norfolk and the rest of VA growing steady (without any boom or bust) albeit slowly. I for one think that we have better cities as a result, though our land use policies need a serious overhauling in light of the sprawl of the last two decades.

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Plasticman Hamlet

Plasticman

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Jacksonville, Memphis, Charlotte, New Orleans

Those would probably be my picks as well. Although I would throw Nashville in as a tie with Charlotte.

An interesting thing to note (and correct me if I'm wrong): Memphis suffered such a tremendous loss of population due to small pox in the early 1800s that many historians believe it would be bigger than Chicago now had that not happened.

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rusthebuss Metropolis

rusthebuss

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Those would probably be my picks as well. Although I would throw Nashville in as a tie with Charlotte.

An interesting thing to note (and correct me if I'm wrong): Memphis suffered such a tremendous loss of population due to small pox in the early 1800s that many historians believe it would be bigger than Chicago now had that not happened.

Norfolk went through the same thing with Yellow fever.

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NCB Metropolitan Area

NCB

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New Orleans also experienced multiple outbreaks of Yellow Fever in the 19th century. Over 41,000 people died of yellow fever in New Orleans between 1817-1905, and over 15,000 people died between 1852-55 alone.

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suburban george3 Town

suburban george3

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Those would probably be my picks as well. Although I would throw Nashville in as a tie with Charlotte.

An interesting thing to note (and correct me if I'm wrong): Memphis suffered such a tremendous loss of population due to small pox in the early 1800s that many historians believe it would be bigger than Chicago now had that not happened.

Memphis did suffer several devestating yellow fever outbreaks in the 1870's which led to drastic population reduction and the eventual bankruptcy of the city. The Tennessee legislature revoked the city charter in 1879. However, the city was able to rise up from this challenge and did regain it's charter in 1893.

As for now, Memphis does have a lot going for it as a transportation hub....

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Plasticman Hamlet

Plasticman

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Memphis did suffer several devestating yellow fever outbreaks in the 1870's which led to drastic population reduction and the eventual bankruptcy of the city. The Tennessee legislature revoked the city charter in 1879. However, the city was able to rise up from this challenge and did regain it's charter in 1893.

As for now, Memphis does have a lot going for it as a transportation hub....

Maybe it was yellow fever. I just know it killed a large % of the population.

Yes, Fedex has been a Godsend for the city of Memphis.

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AlabamaGuy2007 Hamlet

AlabamaGuy2007

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Birmingham was pretty much left behind after Atlanta took off. Birmingham would probably be the sprawling mass that Atlanta is today had Atlanta never existed. Birmingham would probably recover if those four cities just up and vanished. It's in a good central location. It already has a large metro area. It has a VERY VERY good medical school in UAB. Also, the infrastructure, as far as roadways go, are already in place, they just need to be widened. Mass transit could come into light because of new business. So, I think that Birmingham would pretty much take up the business lost in Atlanta and Miami if they suddenly didn't exist.

New Orleans would probably take over business lost in Houston and share with Memphis or Nashville what was lost with DFW.

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