What Smaller U.S Cities Would You Like To See As Bigger Centers

[PHL2FL]

It could still be Savannah, I think. I don't want scrapers and new development in the core , per se, just maybe. . .near it--perhaps a second core a mile or five from the classic downtown. Basically all I really want is a real, diversified economy in the area, like a mini-Atlanta. If it had such a thing, I would move there.

[Patrick S]

Originally Posted by chikid

I would love Madison, WI to grow much bigger. I would acutally love it if Milwaukee grew much bigger too! I think it would be cool to have something like the BoshWash corridor with Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago.

Don't forget Rockford, IL too (and Janesville/Beloit, WI). Rockford is west/northwest of Chicago and almost due south of Madison. Rockford has over 150,000 people with a metro area around 350,000. I was born there, spent the first 5 years of my life there, and used to visit there a lot when I grew up in southern Illinois (I live in Tucson now, too far to drive, obviously) since my father lives in the metro area. Rockford's dull and boring though, so if it grew into a giant metro area there might actually be new entertainment opportunities.

[Patrick S]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

I'm going to sound like a huge homer, but I'd like to see another million in St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, and whatever other cities are already primed for heavy duty growth on a street grid, with existing infrastructure and some even rail transit and ample water supplies...just waiting.

Of course there is a huge constellation of decent sized, solid small cities in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio that could use some more people.

St. Louis used to be one of the 5 biggest cities in the country with a population over 800,000. Now it has half that amount, and shrinking every year - though the metro population keeps increasing. The city really needs to figure out a way to keep people in the city, cause it's a great, fun city. BTW: Go Cardinals.

[xXSkyscraperDudeXx]

I would like to see Pittsburgh be a bigger City!

[Downtowner]

Woud absolutely love to see my city of Richmond Virginia grow more over the next few years. For a city with 1.2 million and close to 1.3 million people its doing pretty good for its self. But would really love to see it explode with more growth over the years. I think it has a ton of potential. A ton is going on in the city as far as projects go. Lots of rehabbing projects. We have a few midrises that are being converted to residential space. Recently completed was the John Marshall Hotel which was converted into high rise apartments and is now 88 percent leased.

[GI-Gizmo]

SPRINGFIELD, MASS. - - - I've lived in Springfield, MA my entire life and even though I'm only 30, I've seen the city and metropolitan area drag along the bottom for years. The crime rate is very high, poverty is rampant, there is massive white flight, the area has not been able to adapt to the post-industrial economic way of life. Springfield, MA was once an amazing city. It is still called the city of homes. For generations home ownership was a given for everyone who lived here. We invented all of the small arms used to fight all of our wars, the Springfield Armory invented the M1903 Springfield and M1 Garand battle rifles among many other famous firearms. George Washington, Jonh Browning and John Garand all called Springfield home at sometime in their lifes and worked at the Armory. Indian motorcycle, among many other manufacturing pioneers called Springfield home. Smith & Wesson is still headquartered in the city. Into the mid 20th Century the city started to slip down the slope and has still not got on steady ground. Springfield is always on the list of most violent cities. The most recent statitics place us at #12. If that isnt bad enough, our sister city, a 30min trip South on I-91, Hartford, CT came in at #14. The entire area is in desperate need of an injection of life and hope. Gambling just became legal in Massachusetts and all the major gaming corporations are battling to build a casino in Springfield. MGM has plans for a massive casino right in the downtown area. I dont know if that will help or hurt, but atleast it is change with a chance of going either way. It means jobs and a needed cash infusion, but who really knows what will happen to the city because of it. Springfield, MA deserves a fighting chance. It is in a great geographical area, right on the Connecticut river. It is the crossroads of I-91 and I-90, has Amtrak connections leading right to downtown, shares an International airport with Hartford, CT (Bradley IAP), has 2 military bases right outside the city (Barnes ANGB and Westover JARB). The weather is decent, four beautiful seasons, not too much snow in the winter. The city has a population of around 160,000 and a metropolitan population of around 700,000.

[kingchef]

memphis proper is at around 709,000. metro memphis has always experienced medium growth, until approximately the last year and a half. shelby county is now the only tn county to surpass the 1 million mark, and it has a significantly fast growing downtown and midtown, not to speak of east memphis, the east suburbs, and certainly the south metro, which contains one of the top 25 fastest growing counties in the u.s., as well as the fastest growing suburb in the u.s. another top 100 fastest growing county is located east of memphis, in fayette county, #74 2 years ago. memphis' contigious growth area alone has an estimated 1.18 million over two years ago. that is an area of about 32 miles. the number leaves all of w. memphis and marion, which are directly across the river, all of tipton county, even though atoka and munford are currently building a massive housing development, which will connect millington. the new interstate and the 2nd outer beltway are already producing huge changes in business growth, private community developments, and feeder roads. much is going on, and new industry and manfacturing, biotechnology companies, etc. are steadily building throughout the city and metro. current shelby county pop projections, as of july 1. '12. 1,034,633. the b M is doing well.

[Shinook]

Fargo, ND.

[Duck From NY]

Originally Posted by kingchef

the south metro, which contains one of the top 25 fastest growing counties in the u.s., as well as the fastest growing suburb in the u.s.

-
Isn't this a product of tax payers fleeing the city proper for better schools, less crime, etc?

[ckh]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

I'd love to see the Appalachian cities develop into majors and the gap filled between the Great Lakes region and the Northeast Corridor. That would require growth in cities like Scranton, Harrisburg, Albany, Syracuse, Altoona and State College to fill the gap. What is the eastern extent of that region? At what point does the line draw? Also to re-emerge the region as a whole, make it a megalopolis from the Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic and south to Florida, basically the entire eastern North America.

I agree with Syracuse, as it has room to grow and there has been some construction in the area.

[BoiseAirport]

Originally Posted by Shinook

Fargo, ND.

Agreed. I'd just like to see more large cities and towns in the West and Northern Midwest in general. It'd be neat to see what places like Rapid City, Grand Forks, Fargo, Billings, Bozeman, Spokane, Boise, etc. would all be like if they had, say, 100,000-500,000 more people.

[Nomad9]

I'll be a homer and say Pensacola. It's a city with a lot of potential that it's finally starting to realize.

On a regional level, I'd say the Gulf Coast/I-10 corridor. There are several medium-ish sized cities in the 250 mile stretch between Baton Rouge (800,000) and Pensacola (440,000): New Orleans (1.2million-if that's accurate), Biloxi/Gulfport (350,000+), and Mobile (500,000?). It could become quite the urban corridor if it were to experience some evenly distributed growth,

Otherwise, my runners up would be: Sioux Falls, OCK, Spokane, Albuquerque, Fargo, and Birmingham.

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by xXSkyscraperDudeXx

I would like to see Pittsburgh be a bigger City!

You and me both! It used to be one of the biggest cities in the country, and then its population went into a freefall. It's growing again, but I wish it still had over a half-million people...

[Razor]

^ Interesting..Places like "Baton-Rouge" and would be considered major cities up here.Pensacola would be high lighted on our map at the very least.Even Syracuse..For selfish reasons I would like to see your border cities rebound and find their step again..The last time we went through Buffalo, it felt eerily deserted...Discounting the suburbs of course.

[easy as pie]

miami beach would be my top pick in the u.s. - 90,000 permanent residents that i'd love to see rise to ~200,000 with dense infill throughout, with the aim to fill out some of the emerging poles south of 41st (new world theater area, miami ballet area, the crescent heights and disney developments areas, etc). such a great place that would benefit immensely from a lot more every day people. the northern portion is a bit more problematic...

other than that: albany, ny; santa rosa, ca; austin, tx; bellingham, wa; and both baltimore and pittsburgh, though it's debatable whether those qualify as 'smaller'.

[kingchef]

i would like to see clarksville, tn grow into the 200-250 thousand or more residents. much of the population fluctuation over the last several years have been due to deployment throughout the country and across to the middleast. that, of course, is steadily returning to a stabilization pattern, now that troops are returning to the base. it would probably be good for that area of middle tn to equalize the four larger towns---clarksville, nashville, franklin, and murfressboro into roughly the same physical sizes in populations. the growth in davidison county has already slowed down, but it continues to really grow in montogmery county and about the same in rutherford county. then the small cities in an around that area could be feeder suburbs for work, something like it is now, but more population distribution for the area.

[gannman]

Originally Posted by kingchef

i would like to see clarksville, tn grow into the 200-250 thousand or more residents. much of the population fluctuation over the last several years have been due to deployment throughout the country and across to the middleast. that, of course, is steadily returning to a stabilization pattern, now that troops are returning to the base. it would probably be good for that area of middle tn to equalize the four larger towns---clarksville, nashville, franklin, and murfressboro into roughly the same physical sizes in populations. the growth in davidison county has already slowed down, but it continues to really grow in montogmery county and about the same in rutherford county. then the small cities in an around that area could be feeder suburbs for work, something like it is now, but more population distribution for the area.

Will never happen.

[SLC Projects]

I would love to see Salt Lake City grow much bigger within my lifetime. But with only 189,000 or so people living within the city we still have a ways to go.

[easy as pie]

i'd like to add sacramento to my list, which is a surprisingly nice town doing all the right things right now (proper downtown zoning, light rail, etc), it would nice to have another major poll in california.

[Black Box]

None, I just want to see my city get bigger! Muahahahahaha! Well, Bellevue is a city I'd like to see grow up, but not to become like Seattle, but to give the Seattle region more urbanity. Tacoma included, but Bellevue is likely to become the second city of the Puget Sound region.