I see this argument on whether San Antonio is a World Class city pop up from time to time. I think I finally have the answer for it.
Who cares!
Last I check, we don't get a bonus, plaque, or medal for being a world class city. I love San Antonio. I grew up here, went to school in Austin, and have lived and worked in different places across the US. They are all have their pluses and minuses.
I have since moved back to San Antonio, and it is a beautiful, unique, and amazing city. It really is a great place to live and visit. Population growth numbers for the area show this to be the case. But as Micahinsa pointed out, we have problems that need to be addressed. Not because we want to be a World Class city, but because we owe it to ourselves, our families, and our friends to make this a great city to live in.
Crime is getting worse (there are different reports to look at rank, but they all say we are getting substantially worse). We should do something about it. The drop out rate in San Antonio is scary. We should do something about that as well. Public transportation needs to get better (I don't think rail is the answer, but it does need to get better). We should do something about that. People get caught up in a silly argument about world class cities, and we ignore the issues staring us in the face.
Overall, I think the two main issues facing San Antonio are education, and unchecked urban sprawl. If we can resolve those issues, I think that would greatly improve this city. Would we then be a World Class city, I don't really care.
In the end, I have to agree with sirkingwilliam. There are no World Class Cities in Texas. The only sure fire world class cities in the US, in my mind, are New York and LA. Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Seattle could make a case. But that is about it.
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Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam
There is so much misinformation on both sides of this argument and I’m sorry, but many people arguing about “world class” status are using some very petty and irrelevant reasoning.
I know I stated earlier I wasn’t going to give my opinion, because it really doesn’t blister, but I’ll just say this. I don’t think there is a single “world class” in Texas. That is a true true that is above Dallas and Houston. There is maybe three cities in America that I would consider world class.
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