Notice any metros "dropping off the radar"?

[MplsTodd]

Minneapolis-St. Paul: For it's size, it gets relatively little attention.

Back in the '80's and '90s, it seemed that the Twin Cities were more culturally significant, with Prince, Terry Lewis & Jimmy Jam, The Replacements, Husker Du along with Garrison Keiller & Prairie Home Companion. Also many shows were produced by Minnesota Public Radio (Splendid Table, Marketplace etc...) which are still produced by Twin Cities-based American Public Media, but doesn't receive the Minnesota Public Radio credit.
The Mall of America got lots of attention, The Twins won two World Series ('87 & '91), so there were actual sports championships happening.
Even (Twin Cities natives) The Cohen Brothers production of Fargo generated attention for this area. People still remembered Mary Tyler Moore back then too...

Lately, there have been lots of accolades for quality of life, biking, parks etc..., but most people I meet know very little about the Twin Cities except that it's cold, it snows a lot and winter lasts all year (LOL), oh and "isn't that were Jesse Ventura was governor???"

Originally Posted by badrunner

New Orleans, St Louis, Baltimore, Portland, Detroit

Portland, yes. The others, no.

When in recent history have New Orleans, St. Louis, Baltimore, or Detroit been ON the radar? I haven't noticed much difference in publicity for New Orleans or Baltimore because I don't follow closely, but New Orleans continues to be a top tourist destination and is building like crazy. Baltimore seems to be growing modestly due to DC overflow as well. I follow St. Louis, of course, so have noticed a substantial uptick in good national press in the past ~5 years in regard to tourism, tech, startups, developments, etc (plenty of bad press as well due to crime, racial issues, etc.). Detroit has very definitely been getting more good press. With the exception of Portland being a media darling for a while, I don't think these cities are any less on the radar than they have been for the last half century or so, though other cities are certainly MORE on the radar.

[Obadno]

Lol none of you guys know under the radar like where I live.

We might as well not even exist.

What? Metro just surpassed Boston Metro? 5 million people? Is there trees there... How do you deal with all the sand??? fastest growing county in the US I once visited my aunt and uncle there. I thought people from Arizona had a drawl?

[38R]

San Francisco/Bay Area is more prominent in popular media than it's ever been. Probably from the tech boom plus Giants/Warriors dynasties.

[dimondpark]

The way to stay on the radar is to piss off conservative media outlets. Google "Fox News San Francisco" and thr result will be years and years of national coverage

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by dimondpark

The way to stay on the radar is to piss off conservative media outlets. Google "Fox News San Francisco" and thr result will be years and years of national coverage

Persecution complex much?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by park123

That's fair. Isn't Montreal the 2nd largest metro (by a long shot) in the developed French speaking world? I mean not counting Kinshasa or something. 10-15 million people in the Paris area, 5 million in Montreal. I'm thinking by American standards, because I'm American.

So you would guess that Montreal would be 2nd in the French speaking world. What other competition does it have? My image of Lyon is that it's quite small. Marseille is both small and depressed. Geneva is not much bigger than Quebec City, although certainly very prominent internationally. Oh yeah, Brussels too.

Yeah, the idea the Kinshasa might be the biggest French speaking city in the world (even beating Paris) is being tossed around these days. Though that's a bit like saying that Mumbai and Delhi are the biggest English-speaking cities in the world, in front of New York and London. Abidjan in Côte-d'Ivoire is also bigger than Montreal I am pretty sure.

But Paris is still the king and prominence and influence is not just about population.

In terms of the developed world at least, Montreal has been number 2 among francophone cities since the 1970s at least and probably even was some time before then.

Lyon and Brussels have around 2-2.5 million people in their metros and they're the two biggest French speaking cities in Europe after Paris, but still only about half of Montreal's size.

Though even if Montreal's been a demographic francophone bigwig for several decades, it only started attracting a lot of attention relatively recently. Even when I was a kid it felt like a remote outpost of the Francophonie. Now it feels like a major crossroads of the Francophonie - as I said, probably only second to Paris in terms of global significance these days.

Another thing is that Canada (mostly concentrated in Quebec of course) has more French speakers than either Belgium or Switzerland. Twice as many as Belgium, and more than Belgium + Switzerland combined.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Yeah, the idea the Kinshasa might be the biggest French speaking city in the world (even beating Paris) is being tossed around these days. Though that's a bit like saying that Mumbai and Delhi are the biggest English-speaking cities in the world, in front of New York and London. Abidjan in Côte-d'Ivoire is also bigger than Montreal I am pretty sure.

But Paris is still the king and prominence and influence is not just about population.

In terms of the developed world at least, Montreal has been number 2 among francophone cities since the 1970s at least and probably even was some time before then.

Lyon and Brussels have around 2-2.5 million people in their metros and they're the two biggest French speaking cities in Europe after Paris, but still only about half of Montreal's size.

Though even if Montreal's been a demographic francophone bigwig for several decades, it only started attracting a lot of attention relatively recently. Even when I was a kid it felt like a remote outpost of the Francophonie. Now it feels like a major crossroads of the Francophonie - as I said, probably only second to Paris in terms of global significance these days.

Another thing is that Canada (mostly concentrated in Quebec of course) has more French speakers than either Belgium or Switzerland. Twice as many as Belgium, and more than Belgium + Switzerland combined.

Why wouldn't Kinshasa be a French speaking city, or Mumbai an English speaking city, if Montreal is a French speaking city?

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Persecution complex much?

Haha yes, Fox News just wrapped up showing a 3-part series called

"American Dystopia: San Francisco in Decline."

But Im the one with the complex

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Why wouldn't Kinshasa be a French speaking city, or Mumbai an English speaking city, if Montreal is a French speaking city?

Sorry I wasn't clearer. I wasn't necessarily arguing that they are or aren't. (That's actually a whole other debate.)

But regardless, in terms of the Francophonie, Paris remains the most influential city, just as New York and London are the most influential Anglosphere cities.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Sorry I wasn't clearer. I wasn't necessarily arguing that they are or aren't. (That's actually a whole other debate.)

But regardless, in terms of the Francophonie, Paris remains the most influential city, just as New York and London are the most influential Anglosphere cities.

Got it. Yes, agree, Paris and Montreal are probably the #1 and #2 centers of French-speaking media. Likewise, New York, and London are the #1 and #2 centers of English-speaking media.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Got it. Yes, agree, Paris and Montreal are probably the #1 and #2 centers of French-speaking media. Likewise, New York, and London are the #1 and #2 centers of English-speaking media.

In several other areas too: education, business, cultural exchanges, etc.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Acajack

In several other areas too: education, business, cultural exchanges, etc.

Hmm, that stuff might be more concentrated in the French-speaking world than the Anglosphere. I honestly don't really know a lot about the French-speaking world other than having gone to France a few times and having friends from there. I don't think I've ever even been to Quebec, lol. Definitely not to Montreal.

London and New York are kings of media and finance, and at the top for diversity, but educational and cultural institutions are much less centralized in English-speaking society. As an example, India has educational institutions that are held with regard outside of India. If you work in a large company in the U.S. and have been involved in hiring for tech hiring roles, you're probably aware of those schools.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Hmm, that stuff might be more concentrated in the French-speaking world than the Anglosphere. I honestly don't really know a lot about the French-speaking world other than having gone to France a few times and having friends from there. I don't think I've ever even been to Quebec, lol. Definitely not to Montreal.

London and New York are kings of media and finance, and at the top for diversity, but educational and cultural institutions are much less centralized in Anglo-speaking society. As an example, India has educational institutions that are held with regard outside of India. If you work in a large company in the U.S. and have been involved in hiring for tech hiring roles, you're probably aware of those schools.

I think they often are more concentrated for us.

Another thing that is interesting is that Quebec City would be a top 10 metro if it was in France.

[park123]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I think they often are more concentrated for us.

Another thing that is interesting is that Quebec City would be a top 10 metro if it was in France.

It’s the 1-2 punch of Montreal and Quebec City that really give Quebec that extra bit of uniqueness in the North American context. A random comparison but it reminds me of Kiev - Lviv. I mean that in a good way.

[38R]

Originally Posted by dimondpark

Haha yes, Fox News just wrapped up showing a 3-part series called

"American Dystopia: San Francisco in Decline."

But Im the one with the complex

It's okay everyone who watches Fox News will be dead in the next 10 years. I guess we'll fall back off the map again haha.

All the more reason for our sports team to create new Dynasties.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by dimondpark

Haha yes, Fox News just wrapped up showing a 3-part series called

"American Dystopia: San Francisco in Decline."

But Im the one with the complex

With LA being such a frequent target of Fox News, I had to laugh when News Corp scion Lachlan Murdoch recently bought a record setting* $150m estate in Bel Air. I guess it pays to lie. All the while Fox News is telling their viewers to stay the hell away .

(*only a couple of months later, the state record was broken again by Jeff Bezos's purchase of the $165m Warner estate in Beverly Hills)

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by dimondpark

Haha yes, Fox News just wrapped up showing a 3-part series called

"American Dystopia: San Francisco in Decline."

But Im the one with the complex

You are, Homeless people shitting in the streets gets eyeballs on TV

Congradulations. They arent out to get you they are out to sell adds.

And as somebody else pointed out everyone who watches not just Fox but cable news in general will be dead soon enough. So relax young people will still like San Francisco... Until they become old and want to move to suburban locations as well.

[McBane]

You want to talk about a city that's dropped off the radar? How about Athens, Greece?

Athens reached its pinnacle 2,500 years ago and then declined so precipitously that, by the time of Greek independence in 1822, it was nothing more than a backwater village of around 4,000 people and fun fact, it wasn't even the first choice to become the national capital. Of course, it did end up being the capital and by default, became Greece's largest and most important city, but otherwise, has lost all of its global and regional influence (except for Classical Greek architecture). Among tourists, Athens pales in comparison to Rome, Istanbul, Jerusalem, and other similarly ancient cities. As a gateway for international tourists, many spend an obligatory night or two in Athens, see the Acropolis, and then set off for the islands.

I just read a very fascinating article on modern Athens that could definitely be spun into its own thread about ancient cities in today's modern world.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by park123

It’s the 1-2 punch of Montreal and Quebec City that really give Quebec that extra bit of uniqueness in the North American context. A random comparison but it reminds me of Kiev - Lviv. I mean that in a good way.

I never thought about that (they've always been there, so...) but you're quite right.