The Largest Cities in The South (southeast)

[GSS]

Originally Posted by KB0679

I would place New Orleans ahead of Charlotte easy. Its downtown is much denser than our's and feels bigger.

N.O. feels somewhat more dense, but with the Duke tower now in the picture, and the Vue coming I'd say Charlotte's skyline downtown feels bigger than N.O.

[GSS]

Here's my list of top ten cities in the SE.

-Charlotte
-Charleston
-Savannah
-Atlanta
-New Orleans
-Nashville
-Miami
-Birmingham
-Memphis
-Jacksonville

[downtown blogger]

I really don't know how anything can be solved with this type of list. The point of any city ranking besides population would be listing:

1) Amenities
2) Colleges and Universities
3) Medical Centers
4) International Business
5) Transportation
6) Architectural Style and significance
7) Culture
8) Diversity
9) Economic Strength
10) National areas of excellence

Those ten items ought to get a real discussion going.

[bayou15]

1) Amenities
2) Colleges and Universities
3) Medical Centers
4) International Business
5) Transportation
6) Architectural Style and significance
7) Culture
8) Diversity
9) Economic Strength
10) National areas of excellence

"The Gulf South" (Destin to Lake Charles)

[Roy McDowell]

The list of each city number one in each subject category.

Atlanta - office skyscrapers, fortune 500 companies, and world's busiest airport
Miami-Ft-WPB - residential highrises, cultural diversity and more transit options
Charlotte - top banking center (#2 in the nation)
Raleigh-Durham - Duke along with the likes of Yale, Havard, Princeton etc. one of the world's top institutions for higher learning. Top cancer reseach facility
Birmingham - industrial capital of the southeast (I think)
New Orleans - Est. 1718 a large major colonial historic city with the most dense neighborhood at ground level the French Quarter. The city with most local dialects.(exclude foreign countries) world famous restaurants and JAZZ. Nation's oldest street car system and city market. Nation's largest street party...Madis Gras only 2nd to Rio
St Augustine - Est. 1564 technically the nation's oldest city even though not a major city
Memphis,TN - The nation's official Blues city

[Roy McDowell]

Tampa - Skyway Bridge (metro with the best bridge)
Orlando - theme parks

[RockMont]

Originally Posted by Muskavon

badrock, don't forget the Saints. That team relies pretty heavily on the rest of us Gulf Coast idiots to survive. N.O. couldn't do it for them alone even before Katrina. That is probably why the owner wanted to up his move date after the hurricane. It was already a bad market before. I can't blame the man. But that is probably South Bama's pro team. And supposedly mine in NW Florida. That should give you a hint as to why we are so college-centered. The Saints? I could never do it. I developed a true and total hate for the Saints because, as a small kid, I wanted to see good football like the Raiders, Steelers and Cowboys were playing (the Golden Age of the NFL...the 1970's). Everyone else got to see those games. What I got to watch each week on WALA (Mobile) or WKRG (Mobile) was the Saints. The Saints playing the 0-10 Patriots, or Colts, or Oilers. Only to lose 6-3. It didn't matter. The 2-12 Saints. Every Year. Week after week. Just watching the Saints play in that dingy Dome could suck the energy out of even a 12 year old kid. I'd rather run outside and bang my head into a concrete wall. There is nothing special about the Saints. The "aura" sucks, the teams sucks, the ownership sucks, the superdome sucks, the "being forced to watch them" sucks. I'd rather watch leaves turn in the mountains starting in May waiting for November. Without winking.

And thus I hate the NFL. I can't imagine caring about anything in the NFL. Certainly can't imagine spending that type of money to go to their boring game.

You sound like one very bitter human being.

[Nautica]

I think its ludicrous not to include cities from Texas (yes, they consider themselves Southerners) just to bump up the stature of the rest of the other Southern cities. Therefore:

1. Houston
2. San Antonio
3. Dallas
4. Et al.

[KB0679]

Originally Posted by Nautica

I think its ludicrous not to include cities from Texas (yes, they consider themselves Southerners) just to bump up the stature of the rest of the other Southern cities.

Uhhh, no. Texas has its own forum. This is the Southeast forum. Texas is not in the Southeastern US.

[Nautica]

The title originally stated South. And what is the purpose of this thread anyway? Anyone can Google the Census Bureau and get the results. Now you can go back to celebrating the greatness that is the Southeast.

[UglymanCometh]

You mean to tell me that the Calcasieu Parish Megaplex doesn't get any credit here?

Blasphemy.

[professor]

If we rearrange the cities by "urban area" which is population within 100 miles of the city center, we would have a different story:

1. New York
2. Los Angeles (includes San Diego)
3. Chicago
4. Washington, D.C. (includes Baltimore and Philadelphia)
5. Dallas (includes Fr. Worth, and Houston)
6. Charlotte (includes, Columbia, Winston Salem, Greensboro, Greenville)
7. San Francisco (San Jose, Oakland)
8. Atlanta
9. Boston
10. Miami (Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach)

When looking at these cities, one must consider that a couple of them are bordered by oceans that stop growth outward from the center, ie. Miami, Boston, and San Francisco. Atlanta has a smaller urban area than Charlotte as some of the nearby cities, ie. Greenville, S.C. are within the urban area of Charlotte.

[Tourian]

I don't bother with scientific reasons to rank cities - so overall population, industry rankings, college enrollments, sports teams, Fortune 500 lists, etc don't matter to me.

Here is how I determine if a city is big time or not:

1. How often is the city mentioned in movies, tv, rap videos or house DJ shout outs?

2. How often are that city's residents' picked to participate in a reality TV show?
a. If the contestant is later found to live in a very distant town that is barely considered a suburb, it COULD gain extra points because that person would rather be associated with it then their home town. But only if they aren't a tool.
b. If the contestant is compelled to name the STATE right after saying the city name for fear of people not knowing where they are talking about it LOSES points. No one says "Georgia" or "Florida" any more after saying Atlanta or Miami.

3. If while watching a nationwide weather report like on the The Weather Channel or the TODAY show, the city is actually shown on the big national map.
a. A few points can be awarded if the city shows up after a regional zoom in.
b. Several points deducted if it doesn't show up after a state zoom in.

4. If a natural disaster occurs in, or fatal shooting of a dozen or so people, or a tremendous accident happens and national news crews are sent in - do the networks send their A reporters, or do they only mention it in passing using some junior grade flunky to report on it?

BONUS: If the city has a cool nickname that people outside of that state actually recognize. Compare and contrast: "The Big Easy" to "The Salty 'Ham" or "The Magic City."

Using that scale we can precisely deduce that:

1(tie). Atlanta
Miami
3. New Orleans
4(tie). Nashville
Orlando
6. Charlotte
7. Memphis
8. Tampa
9. Birmingham


Here is a list of also rans, including a few that many would say are bigger, better and brighter then my home of Birmingham but because of my air-tight ranking system have no juice:

1. Raleigh
B. Greensboro
#. Louisville
pi. Jacksonville
?. Jackson, MS
>. Little Rock, AR
". And that city I forgot that someone will come along and say, "HOW COULD YOU FORGET X??!!!111"

[*BRAVO*]

.. ..

[Port_of_Bama]

Originally Posted by Tourian

I
Here is a list of also rans that many would say are bigger, better and brighter then my home of Birmingham but because of my air-tight ranking system have no juice:

?. Jackson, MS
>. Little Rock, AR
". And that city I forgot that someone will come along and say, "HOW COULD YOU FORGET X??!!!111"

Even without your air-tight ranking system I don`t think those two could swing the same bat as Birmingham.lol

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by Port_of_Bama

Even without your air-tight ranking system I don`t think those two could swing the same bat as Birmingham.lol

Ah, you are right. I meant to say "SOME" of those cities are considered bigger and brighter.

[buckett5425]

New Orleans wins because its the largest city on the list that has a "soul" and a "sense of place."

Case Closed.

[quattordici]

Originally Posted by buckett5425

New Orleans wins because its the largest city on the list that has a "soul" and a "sense of place."

Case Closed.

NOLA's definitely the most unique city in the SE.

[L41A]

Originally Posted by professor

If we rearrange the cities by "urban area" which is population within 100 miles of the city center, we would have a different story:

1. New York
2. Los Angeles (includes San Diego)
3. Chicago
4. Washington, D.C. (includes Baltimore and Philadelphia)
5. Dallas (includes Fr. Worth, and Houston)
6. Charlotte (includes, Columbia, Winston Salem, Greensboro, Greenville)
7. San Francisco (San Jose, Oakland)
8. Atlanta
9. Boston
10. Miami (Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach)

When looking at these cities, one must consider that a couple of them are bordered by oceans that stop growth outward from the center, ie. Miami, Boston, and San Francisco. Atlanta has a smaller urban area than Charlotte as some of the nearby cities, ie. Greenville, S.C. are within the urban area of Charlotte.

I disagree with your list if you are basing it on population within 100 miles of the city center. Recently, I did an analysis of the top 368 metro areas in population and their proximity to each other based on the US Census 2009 population estimates. The city with most population within 100 miles of its city center is Philadelphia which is not even on your list. Philadelphia would include both New York City to the north and Baltimore to the south. All of New Jersey is within 100 miles of Philadelphia. New York would be next followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington and San Francisco.

Charlotte is not even in the top 10. From my analysis, Charlotte has approximately 5.7 million within 100 miles. Detroit, also which is not on your list, has more population within 100 miles of its city center than Charlotte does. So does Houston. And so does Atlanta.

1. Philadelphia (includes New York, Baltimore, Allentown, etc) --- 31.7 mil
2. New York (includes Philadelphia, Bridgeport, New Haven, etc) – 29.1 mil
3. Los Angeles (includes Riverside-San Bernardino, Oxnard, Santa Barbara, etc) --- 18.2 mil
4. Chicago (includes Milwaukee, Rockford, South Bend, etc) --- 12.8 mil
5. Washington (includes Baltimore, Richmond, Harrisburg, etc) --- 11.2 mil
6. San Francisco (includes Sacramento, San Jose, Stockton, etc) --- 11.2 mil
7. Boston (includes Providence, Hartford, Worcester, etc) --- 9.6 mil
8. Detroit (includes Cleveland, Toledo, Lansing, etc) --- 9.2 mil
9. Atlanta (includes Columbus, Macon, Athens, etc) --- 7.1 mil
10. Dallas (includes Fort Worth, Waco, Sherman) --- 6.8 mil

[unusualfire]

Cincinnati has over 8 million in reach of an 100 mile radius. Columbus,Lousiville, Indianapolis, Dayton and all the little towns inbetween.