Will Philly regain its position as 5th largest city?

[gwillyfromphilly]

Originally Posted by AZLiam

Is it really necessary to always trash a city when trying to prop up your own? No one stated the insignificance of Philly, yet here you are, another Philly booster who feels the need to trash Phoenix. It seems the only people trying to compare Philly to Phoenix are the Philly boosters. So what if the cities/metros are different. Should I start stating how your beloved Philly will always amount to nothing more than a shadow of NYC?

At least when it comes to city population statistics Phoenix is close to Philadelphia. In all the other population statistics Philly blows Phoenix out of the water.

[cevett]

Comparing these two cities in terms of appearance is ridiculous.. Philadelphia was created in a time when people walked or rode horses to where they were going. As all East coast cities. It was designed to deal with people BEFORE the invention of the automobile.. Those rules don't apply to modern cities and city planners don't build cities the same way anymore as you can see by how Western cities are built. It doesn't make it less of a "city"... People who choose to move from over crowded Eastern style cities are those who don't want to look out their back yard at their neighbors and walk down the street shoulder to shoulder with other commuters. Or share trains and public transportation.

It's a lifestyle choice. The people with money move to places like Phoenix because they want to get away from all of that. People want to see the natural beauty of an area and not just stare at building after building after building. They have the land mass to build the city in the Valley and that's what they chose to do with it. There is no reason to live on top of each other like you did when Philadelphia, NYC, Boston, European cities were built.

These are different times.. You go out to Scottsdale to all of the amazing restaurants and views and posh nightlife surrounded by natural beauty and it's not tough to understand the appeal of the Phoenix area. That's why so many people have chosen to move there after the invention of central air conditioning!

Phoenix had a lot of water and cooling issues to figure out before it became a place that attracted people the way it has. Regardless of who is bigger, it's been the fastest growing large city in the country by far over the last 15-20 years. Philly didn't decline for the 1st time in 60 years. Let's not act like these places are equally desirable because their populations are the same. Philly got a good 200 year head start.

You also have to take into account all the people who didn't want to be counted in Phoenix. ie, illegal immigrant workers. I'm sure with that factor alone I would have to guess that Phoenix actually blows Philly away population wise but of course those people aren't going to show up on a "do you live here questionare".. LOL..

Both places have good and bad things about it. Philly might have a much more dense population but that's a problem also as you can't get away from a lot of areas and people that you really want nothing to do with.

You will never see another "newer" city look like Philly or NY or Boston because the sheer mass of the Western States and all of the land to build on. People with a choice probably wouldn't mind living 50 yards away from their neighbor with gorgeous mountain views and sonoran desert and the biggest, brightest sky in the U.S. with the most beautiful sunsets. Only those with tons of money who live on the top of one of the tallest buildings in the city will ever get to experience that in Philly.

I wouldn't say "culture and history is great in Philly either".. It's pretty much half white and half black.. Less white actually. Pretty much the same as Phoenix with White and Hispanics.. Except in Phoenix you actually feel like you're in another country in tons of areas as everyone is speaking spanish.

You're actually about 2 hours away from Mexico in Phoenix and there is a ton of Mexican culture and history which dates back much further than the American history we have in this very young country. Tucson is actually the longest continuously lived in city in the United States. Used to be owned by Spain when they were ran that part of Mexico.

There's a lot more to AZ than people give credit on here as far as culture, art and diversity.

West Coast cities obviously had a choice as to how they wanted to build.. They chose to build outward instead of up because they had that luxury and that's what people preferred. Seems silly to me that this is what people think of as a reason to bash somewhere else. You're not thinking it through and as to WHY East Coast and European cities are built the way they were built. If I can have my own land and a large home and more space for the same price as living in an apartment building with 13 levels where I can hear my neighbors and have to deal with a bunch of jackasses on a daily basis which we all know are everywhere then I'll take my own land and big home.. I'll take my car to work and choose who I hang out with and have to travel to work with or live next to.

I prefer to be able to choose when I'm around a ton of people and have the option. That's what the west offers.. A choice. If you want to go out at night and go to the hottest areas and be shoulder to shoulder in a hot night life area or shopping district than you have that.. When you want a nice quiet evening where you can still go out and do something more low key or do something in nature then you have that option to. In East coast style cities there's no two ways about it. You don't have that choice. Not conveniently any way.

[rotodome]

A straw man argument to counter other straw man arguments?