What keeps Atlanta from reaching LA, Chicago, or NYC levels?

[10023]

I'm just going to stay out of this one. You're all welcome.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by pizzaguy

Black American culture is internationally relevant and has been for quite some time.

Absolutely. It's one of our biggest and most distinct cultural exports.

[mademan404]

Originally Posted by 10023

I'm just going to stay out of this one. You're all welcome.

Well Played

[mello]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I thought that was San Diego.

Yes San Diego/Tijuana is the busiest (he said one of the busiest). The Detroit/Windsor dynamic is a bit more one sided with large Detroit (metro above 5.5 million don't know exact number) and a much smaller Windsor. Here we have San Diego obviously being bigger at 3.8 million metro but Tijuana also coming with a decent 2.2 million and a lot of manufacturing. TJ actually has a Tokyo and Shanghai flight that is how much production is done there.


My two cents on Atlanta from a West Coast perspective is yeah it has the whole Black Hollywood thing and a huge corporate presence but people out here just look at it as kind of a blah city. No mountains or Ocean hot, flat etc. (yes I know it is kind of hilly in parts but compared to West coast).

I find more people talking about Nashville or Austin frankly. Atlanta is kind of seen as a giant hastle more traffic hard to get around too corporate. Where as Austin and Nashville are perceived as being more "fun" creative etc.

[testarossa50]

Originally Posted by mello

Yes San Diego/Tijuana is the busiest (he said one of the busiest). The Detroit/Windsor dynamic is a bit more one sided with large Detroit (metro above 5.5 million don't know exact number) and a much smaller Windsor. Here we have San Diego obviously being bigger at 3.8 million metro but Tijuana also coming with a decent 2.2 million and a lot of manufacturing. TJ actually has a Tokyo and Shanghai flight that is how much production is done there.


My two cents on Atlanta from a West Coast perspective is yeah it has the whole Black Hollywood thing and a huge corporate presence but people out here just look at it as kind of a blah city. No mountains or Ocean hot, flat etc. (yes I know it is kind of hilly in parts but compared to West coast).

I find more people talking about Nashville or Austin frankly. Atlanta is kind of seen as a giant hastle more traffic hard to get around too corporate. Where as Austin and Nashville are perceived as being more "fun" creative etc.

The Shanghai flight is much more due to aircraft payload restrictions coming out of MEX than any market forces, FWIW. Mexican longhaul demand is almost 100% MEX and the beaches; a small amount to Monterrey.

[dc_denizen]

Originally Posted by ThePhun1

I'm a Houston homer and there's no way Houston is more well known than Atlanta internationally except perhaps in a few locales. At worst, they are equal.

houston is known for the oil business, and for urban (lack of) planning.

[Verge]

Originally Posted by jayden

I like most consider Atlanta to be an international city, and easily one of the most well known within the US, but still a step or two below the Chicago's, LA's and NYC's of the world.

Aside from population, obviously, what keeps Atlanta from reaching these heights?

I would say it's a mixture of heavy rail transportation, and remnants of Old-South conservatism prohibiting more explosive multi-cultural growth.

Atlanta has an extremely diverse population and is one of the most liberal cities (the city proper anyway) in the nation-- the metro area went solidly for Hillary Clinton (as did most large cities)...

[Pemgin]

Originally Posted by initiald

This is everything that was built in just the last 10 years in midtown Atlanta:

I love that this picture is only about 12-18 months old but already feels dated.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I thought that was San Diego.

San Diego only has 5.1 million people, versus Detroit's 5.7 million.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by mhays

Maybe it'll get to the Chicago level someday. But for now:

It's has a lot of TV shows but nothing like LA's cultural profile, in size or type. This takes decades to build, and it's also about being connected to certain types. No beach, no image for stars or captains of entertainment industries.

The huge airport and business travel presence haven't translated into (my perception) that people go to Atlanta as pleasure tourists unless they're from the South. Densification and growth in entertainment should help over time. Densification's results would be an easier sell minus the parking podiums. It'll go well with the narrow curvy streets and tree canopy however.

Edit: Global health is certainly a plus, and known as a core industry. It's probably not at the level of Houston we have a problem, and it's shared with other cities to some extent, but it's important.

Regarding other cities, Detroit is still synonymous with the auto industry, much like LA is with movies even if its share has decreased. And San Francisco is absolutely connected to tech...suburbs tend to accrue to the core city.

LA's film production share might have gone down to being more expensive to shoot in (for the time being) but it's domination of studios, production outits and other entertainment related companies hasnt changed at all. In fact, with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Hulu all expanding production facilities/offices in LA, I'd even say LA's share has went up.

I can't recall a time in the last 17 years where more creative office space has been built here either. It's booming.

[mademan404]

Originally Posted by mello

. . . My two cents on Atlanta from a West Coast perspective is . . .

I find more people talking about Nashville or Austin frankly. Atlanta is kind of seen as a giant hastle more traffic hard to get around too corporate. Where as Austin and Nashville are perceived as being more "fun" creative etc.

The simple fact that Austin and Nashville are the perceived competition is a hell of an indicator as to just how much work has to be done in therms of Atlanta's vibrancy at street level. The experience is hard to beat if you know what you're looking for, but Little 5 Points and East Atlanta Village don't come close in comparison to more notable enclaves like Williamsburg, or Wynwood. Maybe if Old 4th ward is given the push it deserves, then it could come close, but the growth has to be organic. Hollow developments like Atlantic Station won't do it.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

houston is known for the oil business, and for urban (lack of) planning.

Houston's not really the center of the *global* oil industry though.

It's home to a lot of the support companies for US production, but the only supermajor based there is ConocoPhillips, while production in Texas is dwarfed by production in the Middle East.

[Street Advocate]

Originally Posted by mademan404

The experience is hard to beat if you know what you're looking for, but Little 5 Points and East Atlanta Village don't come close in comparison to more notable enclaves like Williamsburg, or Wynwood. Maybe if Old 4th ward is given the push it deserves, then it could come close, but the growth has to be organic. Hollow developments like Atlantic Station won't do it.

I'm hoping south downtown's revitalization and proximity to castleberry hill and edgewood avenue boom throughout and bleed out towards Midtown, O4W, Inman Park, West Midtown, and Grant Park. While L5P and EAV are fun, my gosh are they tiny little islands of activity. Having numerous options of different things to do in a close proximity is really what is holding Atlanta back. Also, if we could just get all of the restaurants and diversity along Buford Highway to become a neighborhood in the city, that would be incredible.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by mademan404

The simple fact that Austin and Nashville are the perceived competition is a hell of an indicator as to just how much work has to be done in therms of Atlanta's vibrancy at street level. The experience is hard to beat if you know what you're looking for, but Little 5 Points and East Atlanta Village don't come close in comparison to more notable enclaves like Williamsburg, or Wynwood. Maybe if Old 4th ward is given the push it deserves, then it could come close, but the growth has to be organic. Hollow developments like Atlantic Station won't do it.

I disagree.

I love Nashville. It's an awesome town with a very bright future IMO.

That said, it's on a completely different level. Nashville (like Austin) has an "IT" factor to it, but they can never compete with the big city experience that a place like Atlanta offers from a practical standpoint. There's no reason for Atlanta to try and compete with Nashville / Austin.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

San Diego only has 5.1 million people, versus Detroit's 5.7 million.

Ah, metro area. I thought you were referring to city proper population.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Ah, metro area. I thought you were referring to city proper population.

No.

Just as many people refer to Atlanta by its metro area, I'm referring to Detroit by its metro area.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by Pemgin

I love that this picture is only about 12-18 months old but already feels dated.

Agreed.

Sure, Atlanta's not on the level of Chicago / NYC (and probably won't be in the foreseeable future), but I also tend to feel many people minimize how far Atlanta has come in terms of urbanization and critical mass in its core, at least since the 1990s / early 2000s.

[DCReid]

I beg to differ that Atlanta is not well known internationally. For the US, I really think it comes down to two or three cities that are near the top - NYC and LA, and perhaps SF. Notice that those cities are in states with the large populations and have been influential for years and years. Chicago is well known, but it may not be in the same tier as NYC/LA because the state is not large, even though the Midwest is large (my opinion). I think Atlanta may end up the same as Chicago, but it may take several decades for that to happen. As for Dallas/Houston, I think they are becoming in the league of Chicago, but I can't see them becoming top tier like NYC/LA, perhaps they split up the state too much along with Austin. maybe it also has something to do with regional identity, NYC/LA/SF. Interesting, DC is probably on par now with at least Chicago because of the importance of government and international affairs. If anything, DC may join the NYC/LA/SF club more so than Atlanta or even Chicago, or the Texas cities.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by mello

Yes San Diego/Tijuana is the busiest (he said one of the busiest). The Detroit/Windsor dynamic is a bit more one sided with large Detroit (metro above 5.5 million don't know exact number) and a much smaller Windsor. Here we have San Diego obviously being bigger at 3.8 million metro but Tijuana also coming with a decent 2.2 million and a lot of manufacturing. TJ actually has a Tokyo and Shanghai flight that is how much production is done there.


My two cents on Atlanta from a West Coast perspective is yeah it has the whole Black Hollywood thing and a huge corporate presence but people out here just look at it as kind of a blah city. No mountains or Ocean hot, flat etc. (yes I know it is kind of hilly in parts but compared to West coast).

I find more people talking about Nashville or Austin frankly. Atlanta is kind of seen as a giant hastle more traffic hard to get around too corporate. Where as Austin and Nashville are perceived as being more "fun" creative etc.

I'm quite certain DTW has better air connectivity than San Diego / Tijuana.

In fact, DTW is only second to Hartsfield-Jackson amongst the Delta hubs when it comes to combined Asia / Europe connectivity.

[One ATLien]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

San Diego only has 5.1 million people, versus Detroit's 5.7 million.

Are you referring to metro population? If so those numbers are way off.. as of 2015 Metro San Diego has about 3.3 Million and Detroit has about 4.3 Million.
In comparison Atlanta has 5.7 Million