What about smaller or mid sized cities?

[urbanguy]

Since, there's usually a lot of discussion about larger cities and how they rank on the world stage or nationwide, what about the smaller or mid sized cities? where do they fit in and how low on the totem pole are they? We nearly always see the same ole' cities in those rankings of importance, etc ie: NYC, LA, Chicago, San Francisco, etc but rarely ever hear or see the underdogs. Does anyone have a clue or info about where the little guys fit in?

Here's a small list of some cities i'm thinking about, feel free to add on....

USA

Birmingham

Albany

Honolulu

Lexington

Fresno

Tucson

Albuquerque

Reno

El Paso

Omaha

Des Moines

Little Rock

Anchorage

Syracuse

Tulsa

Toledo

etc?

For our Canadian Friends

Hamilton

Winnipeg

London

Halifax

Windsor

Victoria

Saskatoon

Regina

etc?

For our Australian Friends

Adelaide

Newcastle

Gold Coast

Canberra

etc?

[Wendell FOX]

how low on the totem pole are they

:haha:

I thought Adelaide was Australia's 4th city and probably a fairly significant metro (I'm guessing comparable to Edmonton or so?), and Canberra is Australia's capital city after all (probably comparable to Ottawa).

Out of the NA cities you listed I think Birmingham, Honolulu, Albuquerque, Tulsa, Tucson would probably fit into the "big city wannabee" category and probably Omaha, Albany as well. Out of the Canadian cities you listed I'd say Hamilton, Winnipeg, Halifax, and probably London are in a higher tier.

[urbanguy]

^Thanks for the first reply! Yee-doggy! But what do you mean by "Big City Wannabe"?

[DruidCity]

By "big-city wanna-be," Birmingham or Honolulu are as close to "big cities" as their respective states have to offer.

Birmingham was once one of the nation's 35 largest cities & I think it's still considered one of the nation's top 50 TV markets, so even though it is small in comparison to the nation's large cities, it still seems a holy hell of a lot bigger than a Little Rock or Lexington, not that there's anything wrong with those cities.

Considering the size of the population immediately across its border, El Paso really has a rather large population, in comparison to most on this list.

[Brickell]

I think a lot of small cities are role players, that are important to the nation.

Some roles that make some small cities more important than others.

College town - Gainesville, Chapel Hill, Urbana etc

Military bases - Pensacola, Honolulu etc

State, regional Capitols - Tallahassee, Austin, Albany, Sacremento, etc

Tourist spots - Key West, Honolulu, Myrtle Beach, Biloxi

Regional hubs - Birmingham, Des Moines, etc.

[urbanguy]

^Yeah Honolulu is very important military wise its headquarters for the Pacific Command which is responsible for 3/4 of the planet.

It's also a communications hub the US & Canada are connected to Asia and the South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, etc) via Honolulu.

Its one of the few designated Foreign Trade Zones in the country, etc etc

Even though the metro is still under a million there arent many US cities that can match the vibrancy of this place that are many times larger. There is always something going and people are always out 24/7 the city is dense, walkable, clean, and mixed with residential, shops, restaurants, bars/pubs, clubs, etc and your never too far the mountains or the beach and because the weather is always nice it keeps people out the house. The city also has basically everything larger cities have to offer ie: Opera, Symphonies, Theatres, Raceways, Ice skating, Waterparks, Convention center, Arena, Stadiums, etc etc

hehe in a sense i guess it is like a big city.....wannabe

[Wendell FOX]

^ but Pearl Harbor/area doesn't have a single carrier fleet!

[samsonyuen]

What's a foreign trade zone?

[samsonyuen]

How about Rochester and Buffalo, NY, between them, they've got quite a few HQ, and almost 2.5 million people. Sacremento, Austin? Portland? In Canada, can't forget Qu

[urbanguy]

Wendell FOX, haha but its in the works Pearl used to have one until the late 90s or so but now theres talk of bringing one back and in 2006 we will have a Stryker Brigade as well one of only 6 in the country. Carrier or not its still headquarters for the entire Pacific command and beyond and we also have every branch of military ie: Airforce, Marines, Army, Navy, Coast Guard. so there! Also, i remember reading somewhere that if the commander for the Pacific fleet were to lose contact with the President he has the authority to launch an attack including nuclear! Yikes!

Here's a little info about FTZ's samsonyuen: http://www.foreign-trade-zone.com/benefits.htm

Adelaide is just over a million though its not quite a large city but important to Australia nonetheless.

samsonyuen, the other cities you've mentioned (Buffalo is a little questionable) are quite big and are very close to being among the tier type rankings. Those cities certainly have some power and importance to the country as is although not much higher on the totem pole than some of the cities i've listed in my initial post.

[DBR96]

COLLEGE TOWNS:

- Athens, GA

- Gainesville, FL

- Tallahassee, FL

- Knoxville, TN

- Columbia, SC

- Iowa City, IA

- Champaign-Urbana, IL

- Madison, WI

- Ann Arbor, MI

- Lansing, MI

- State College, PA

- Rochester, MN

- Charlottesville, VA

- Chapel Hill, NC

- Columbia, MO

- Boulder, CO

- Lincoln, NE

- Lawrence, KS

- Austin, TX

- Tempe, AZ

- Tuscaloosa, AL

- Syracuse, NY

MILITARY TOWNS:

- Columbus, GA

- Pensacola, FL

- Montgomery, AL

- Clarksville, TN

- Norfolk, VA

- Wichita, KS

- Utica, NY

- Colorado Springs, CO

HISTORIC TOWNS/TOURIST TRAPS:

- Savannah, GA

- Charleston, SC

- Richmond, VA

- Virginia Beach, VA

- Daytona Beach, FL

- Biloxi, MS

- Lancaster, PA

- Atlantic City, NJ

- Reno, NV

STATE CAPITALS:

- Salem, OR

- Boise, ID

- Salt Lake City, UT

- Lincoln, NE

- Topeka, KS

- Oklahoma City, OK

- Austin, TX

- Des Moines, IA

- Jefferson City, MO

- Little Rock, AR

- Baton Rouge, LA

- Madison, WI

- Springfield, IL

- Jackson, MS

- Lansing, MI

- Montgomery, AL

- Albany, NY

- Harrisburg, PA

- Charleston, WV

- Richmond, VA

- Raleigh, NC

- Columbia, SC

- Tallahassee, FL

- Hartfod, CT

- Providence, RI

- Trenton, NJ

SATELLITE CITIES:

- Tacoma, WA

- San Bernardino, CA

- Tempe, AZ

- Boulder, CO

- Lawrence, KS

- Waco, TX

- Glaveston, TX

- St. Cloud, MN

- Rochester, MN

- Naperville, IL

- Flint, MI

- Ann Arbor, MI

- Muncie, IN

- Clarksville, TN

- Niagara Falls, NY

- Newburgh, NY

- Long Island, NY

- Allentown, PA

- Reading, PA

- Columbia, MD

- Hagerstown, MD

- Frederick, MD

- Reston, VA

- Fredricksburg, VA

- Newport News, VA

- Durham, NC

- Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

- Athens, GA

- Rome, GA

- Macon, GA

- Ft. Lauderdale, FL

- Clearwater, FL

- Worcester, MA

- Newark, NJ

- Trenton, NJ

- Wilmington, DE

BIG CITY WANNA-BE'S:

- Fresno, CA

- Boise, ID

- Salt Lake City, UT

- Tucson, AZ

- Albuquerque, NM

- Omaha, NE

- Wichita, KS

- Tulsa, OK

- Waco, TX

- Des Moines, IA

- Springfield, MO

- Little Rock, AR

- Shreveport, LA

- Green Bay, WI

- Rockford, IL

- Jackson, MS

- Grand Rapids, MI

- Fort Wayne, IN

- Louisville, KY

- Lexington, KY

- Chattanooga, TN

- Birmingham, AL

- Toledo, OH

- Dayton, OH

- Rochester, NY

- Richmond, VA

- Greensboro, NC

- Winston-Salem, NC

- Portland, ME

- Springfield, MA

- Hartford, CT

- Newark, NJ

- Wilmington, DE

[urbanguy]

^Hmmm interesting list you got compiled there. But where the heck is my city -> Honolulu and don't forget Anchorage!

[Guest donaltopablo]

El Paso value to the area is pretty important. It's definitely the big city amongst Las Cruces, most of West Texas, and southern New Mexico.

However, to the rest of the country, it's mostly a military town. There is a decent amoutn of mfg in El Paso and a good number of offices that support the mfg plants in Juarez, Mexico, right across the border. It's also a huge port of entry from Mexico, but I think at the end of the day, this is rarely seen or felt by the rest of the country.

[urbanguy]

^Yeah El Paso isn't a common household name nor does it come off as an interesting place to visit or even live in IMO but i agree that its important to the region its in.

BTW i can't wait for this city to crack a mil but i think shortly after that (1.3 - 1.5 mil) i hope the growth slows down cause its just gonna be a mess haha and id hope that the land that isnt developed on now like the forests, mountains, farm lands, windward & westside rural areas etc dont get built on in the future. If the metro wants to build more once it passes that mark i think they should start building up!

[monsoon]

[urbanguy]

^Oh yeah thats a big one