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The Midwest does not work the way that the rest of the country does. Chances are, a larger city has something that yours does not. So you'll rely on that city for certain things that you don't have in your own city. That is how the relationship between Akron and Cleveland works, and that is the importance that Chicago has on the rest of the Midwest. But Chicago does not "dominate" the Midwest. Chicago has things other cities may not have, a stock exchange, two baseball teams instead of one, this or that but it isn't anything where Chicago dictates the pulse of the region like New York may inform what happens in the Northeast so far as fashion, arts, or culture, etc. Everything is bigger in Chicago, that doesn't necessarily make it better.
The logic is that Chicago is larger than all of the other cities in the Midwest so therefore it dominates the region. Fair enough. But other cities are growing and Chicago is maintaining. Indianapolis and Columbus are growing. I like eighties Chicago. You're asking us to put our fate in a city that is struggling to maintain population growth, and a city whose problems with crime continue to worsen as well as a city that has dropped from number two to number three. The country is laughing at the Midwest right now. It is only a matter of time before states like Virginia surpass the Midwestern states in population. It could happen in our lifetime. The gentrification of cities like Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit are keeping those cities afloat, but that is not enough to put them in the role of influence that a dominating, alpha city is supposed to be in. How many of you actually want to live in Chicago; if money were not an issue? How many of you know millennials that would move to Chicago if given a choice between that city and New York, Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco, or Washington DC? That is the future, the dominance of cities based on population alone is the past.
Look at this link. Look at the successful cities. They all have a population growth that far surpasses that of Chicago. Even Cincinnati, a stable city, according to that source, has a population growth that is higher than that of Chicago. I love Northeast Ohio, I'm from there, but that region is dying. If those cities can continue that pace of growth year over year where will that leave them 10 years from now, 20 years from now? And what if Chicago starts loosing population again? State capitals is where it is at, at least in the Midwest. Not to mention the fact that this country is moving towards a decentralized model where people are leaving big cities and moving to smaller cities, bringing all cities closer to together in size and influence.
Did you read your own article? It calls Chicago a global city and a colossus of 10 million people, and stable, and says that many of the Midwestern cities are growing faster than the national norm. It also says that the city has a thriving downtown and affluent suburbs, with some struggling areas within the metropolitan area. Based on this article, Chicago does dominate the Midwest, and your interpretation of the article downgrades the conclusion that Chicago is a global city. You say that "The country is laughing at the Midwest right now?" Really? In the eighties Chicago, the decade you say you that you like, Chicago was struggling, but boomed in the 1990a and early 2000s overall. Such growth is cyclical. Chicago is filled with millenials, and continues to attract the young along with relocating corporations. State capitols are where its at? LA, NYC, Chicago, Houston and Philly all are not state capitols. No wonder your tag name is Goofy.
It is important for people outside the Midwest to remember that the Chicago uber alles narrative relative to the rest of the Midwest is a fundamental cornerstone of Chicagoan's identity. That tends to make them overstate the impact of Chicago on other Midwestern cities. It is a civic ego on steroids and some of it is on display here. Be wary of any article coming out of Chicago's media that follows that narrative - they know what their readers want to read.
That article on Chicago.com about how all the smart kids in the Midwest were moving to Chicago? It was written in a year when Minneapolis was leaving Chicago in the dust in terms of population growth.
Twin Cities MSA population growth 2010-2016:
+202,177
Chicago MSA population growth 2010-2016:
+51,894
Last edited by Drewcifer; 04-26-2017 at 08:36 PM..
Millennials are finding their way to Chicago...no need to worry about that.
As is the case with a lot of Forbes lists there is some lazy reporting in that article. The percentage growth of educated young people within a cities limits can mean many different things. In order to draw meaningful conclusions you need to know what the starting number was and what the percentage of educated young people is relative to the overall population. Places where there are a lot of educated young people to start, and where they are already a large percentage of the overall population are going to show smaller percentage increases than those places starting from a low base. That is why Seattle and Minneapolis are so low. A place that has few to start with can achieve a high percentage growth with an influx that is relatively small in absolute numbers. That is why St Louis and Detroit are so high. So what is being measured in Chicago? Without knowing the underlying numbers it is hard to say. None of that context is in that article, without it the list is meaningless.
Last edited by Drewcifer; 04-26-2017 at 10:18 PM..
Here's a couple anecdotes that may or may not convince anyone. But when I visited or hung out with friends in Chicago during college football or basketball season, you could see bars all over the north side affiliated with various college teams: Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Ohio State, pretty much any major Midwest university with a notable sports program, to cater to alumni from all those schools who ended up in Chicago. I've never seen anything like it in any other city.
When my aging parents who live in St. Louis need to see their medical specialists, where do they go? Chicago.
When my aging MIL who lives a short drive to Indy needed an osteopathic specialist for her specific condition, where was she referred? To a specialist in Chicago.
Here's a couple anecdotes that may or may not convince anyone. But when I visited or hung out with friends in Chicago during college football or basketball season, you could see bars all over the north side affiliated with various college teams: Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Ohio State, pretty much any major Midwest university with a notable sports program, to cater to alumni from all those schools who ended up in Chicago. I've never seen anything like it in any other city.
When my aging parents who live in St. Louis need to see their medical specialists, where do they go? Chicago.
When my aging MIL who lives a short drive to Indy needed an osteopathic specialist for her specific condition, where was she referred? To a specialist in Chicago.
Well plenty of people I know, even some living in Chicago, have been referred to the Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic, neither of which are in Chicago. So, I'm sorry Chicago does not have a monopoly in excellent health care in the Midwest.
Well plenty of people I know, even some living in Chicago, have been referred to the Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic, neither of which are in Chicago. So, I'm sorry Chicago does not have a monopoly in excellent health care in the Midwest.
I'm sure you meant to quote and respond to someone else's post because there's nothing in mine that claims Chicago has a monopoly on "excellent health care in the Midwest."
These are all great things. But I still don't see that as domination. I see it as a larger city with possibilities for greater diversity, not as Chicago is essential to the health and prosperity of the region. Maybe to Illinois. But I see Chicago as I do Atlanta. Largest in it's region, but the region would still grow were it not around. That isn't being articulated in this thread.
It's odd that anyone would even bother to bring up population increase/decrease as a metric. Places like Chicago and LA are unequivocally more important to their regions and the nationally economy than a place like the Twin Cities or Seattle, regardless of current population trends.
As laid out on p. 5 of the thread, I think the greatest numerical argument is for NYC.
I think the reality is that these regions are too big to say one city strongly dominates over them wholly.
It's odd that anyone would even bother to bring up population increase/decrease as a metric. Places like Chicago and LA are unequivocally more important to their regions and the nationally economy than a place like the Twin Cities or Seattle, regardless of current population trends.
As laid out on p. 5 of the thread, I think the greatest numerical argument is for NYC.
I think the reality is that these regions are too big to say one city strongly dominates over them wholly.
I have to concede then. I guess for me, it was more about, of which definition for the word dominate, we're looking at. If you're talking about Chicago being the most conspicuous person or thing in, Chicago wins that hands down. My disagreement was with whether or not Chicago has a commanding influence, or exercises control, over the rest of the Midwest. Maybe it is something to be taken for granted. Maybe Chicago is that hidden hand directing everything and pulling the strings in the background, and everything just works. I never got the arrogant, "I'm the best city, you're all underlings, I'm your father" attitude from Chicago that you get from New York City. Then again I never get that from LA either.
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