Quote:
Originally Posted by bigstick
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The biggest metric all of these studies fail to capture is
population growth. Any city Amazon selects has to demonstrate it has a strong propensity to attract out to of state immigration. The diagram below is data from the 2015 Census Bureau. If you go back the previous 10 years, the data looks similar.
So when I hear people say Amazon is going to Chicago, Philly, Pittsburgh, Baltimore or Boston I can't wrap my head around their logic. Or when someone says Amazon is going to Philly because the Schuylkill Yards development is the best site - Or Amazon is coming to Chicago because the Post Office redevelopment is the best site...etc.
Folks - Amazon is not coming to your city because you have a nice building or site. They are going to select a city that meets their short term infrastructure and business criteria, but most importantly is a city that embraces growth and is a place where people want to move to.
There are only 2 cities that I feel meet this measure - Atlanta and Dallas. However, I think Atlanta has demonstrated it attracts more Millennials and has a better higher education system that can produce more STEM talent.