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Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
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I added in a poll to this ancient thread. Lol, brings back memories, when I made this thread I didn't know how to add polls in at that time since I was a new member. A lot has changed since then.
Anyways:
1. Boston
2. Atlanta
3. Phoenix
4. Austin
5. Sacramento
Those would probably be the top 5. Very close with Boston & Atlanta.
Ok so what gives the edge to Boston?... obviously Atlanta is important because it is probably how they will get to America (airport) and Atlanta's education centers a setting up regional campuses in foreign countries. As well as Atlanta being on the radar screen for major businesses that want to expand to America. I believe in these areas Atlanta has an edge with education being the only area in which Boston may have an advantage. In what relevant way does Boston have an edge on Atlanta.
It, or the Boston metro anyway, is the home of some of the world's leading Universities and research centers, many of which have a fair amount of foreign students. I think that makes it fairly significant on the international stage.
Ok so what gives the edge to Boston?... obviously Atlanta is important because it is probably how they will get to America (airport)
I mean...I guess that's important to a degree...but I can't see that giving Atlanta a major advantage over Boston.
Quote:
As well as Atlanta being on the radar screen for major businesses that want to expand to America.
I'd say international companies are pretty well-aware of Boston too. Biocell Center (Italy), Carl Zeiss AG (Germany), Novartis AG (Switzerland), Reebok (England) are a few of the major international companies located in the area.
Quote:
I believe in these areas Atlanta has an edge with education being the only area in which Boston may have an advantage. In what relevant way does Boston have an edge on Atlanta.
So while Boston's metro population is about 21% smaller than Atlanta's, it has an economy that is 11% larger. It also has a healthier economy despite the fact that Atlanta is among the fastest-growing metros in the country. I'd say that's a relevant way that Boston has an edge on Atlanta.
In terms of the financial services industry (GFCI 7), Boston ranks as the #3 city in the country and #14 in the world. Boston specializes in asset management, private equity/venture capital, hedge funds, and mutual funds. Boston houses major financial companies like State Street Bank (one of the most important fin svcs institutions on the planet), Fidelity Investments, Bain Capital, Putnam Investments, John Hancock, MFS (invented the mutual fund), and Liberty Mutual. In terms of private equity and hedge funds, Boston trails only New York City and London in the world.
Boston is arguably the world leader in terms of medical research. Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana Farber, Brigham and Women's, Beth Israel Deaconess, Tufts Medical Center, and Boston Medical Center are among the top hospitals on the planet. Many of these hospitals work with some of Boston's amazing universities like Harvard, Boston University, and Tufts. Due to its strong history in the medical field, Boston is also very important in terms of biotechnology & pharmaceuticals. Genzyme (though they're in danger of being bought out by Sanofi-aventis), Biogen Idec, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Abbott Laboratories (Chicago company w Boston labs), Boston Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Sepracor, Haemonetics, Biocell, etc are all major medical companies located in the area. The combination of medical research by major hospitals, medical schools, and support from the private sector in the form of biotech and pharma firms have resulted in the Milken Institute naming Boston the #1 life sciences center in the country.
Boston is also top-notch in terms of high technology and nanotechnology. Milken ranks Boston #3 in the country for high-tech and Nanotech Project ranks it #1 in the country in nanotech. Companies with HQs/strong presence in the area include Teradyne, AMD, Analog Devices, Intel, EMC Corp, Akamai Technologies, HP, BBN Tech, IBM, Novell, and Raytheon (they're a aerospace & defense company with a heavy emphasis on tech).
Of the Top Ten Management Consulting Firms in the world, 4 of them are located in Boston or Cambridge. They are: #2 Boston Consulting Group, #3 Bain & Co, #9 L.E.K. Consulting, #10 Monitor.
So overall, Boston has a larger economy, lower unemployment, the most influential institution of higher learning on the planet, some of the finest hospitals in the world, and major financial services companies which manage the assets of pensions and 401(k) funds of millions of Americans and others world-wide.
I'd say there are some pretty relevant reasons Boston has an edge on Atlanta.
Last edited by tmac9wr; 09-10-2010 at 11:04 AM..
Reason: Clearing up some grammar
I think he's talking about the city themselves...not the state which they represent...otherwise the question would have been "what is the most important state?"
The question was which is the most important state capital. The seat of power and government of CA, TX & NY trump the rest.
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
10,138 posts, read 16,043,145 times
Reputation: 4047
I don't want to come off rude or anything by asking this. But this is like the third thread this week where "Atlanta has just gotten unexplained votes" without having the reasons stated.
Honestly, besides airport, I don't ever see other arguments. I mean Atlantans there has to be a reason why GaWC, Rand McNally, etc rank Atlanta high on their lists, but I never see the argument for it.
How about logistics? I know Atlanta is a leader in transportation and cargo.
I'd like to get more information about Atlanta on this, because so far I see empty votes and statements like, "Atlanta is more relevant because of airport".
I'm in no way bashing, but I'd like to see a good case for some of Atlanta's other sectors.
The question was which is the most important state capital. The seat of power and government of CA, TX & NY trump the rest.
Maybe Awesome Danny can clarify...
Danny,
Are we supposed to be judging these cities in terms of the states that they preside over or the power of the cities themselves?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Awesome Danny
I don't want to come off rude or anything by asking this. But this is like the third thread this week where "Atlanta has just gotten unexplained votes" without having the reasons stated.
Honestly, besides airport, I don't ever see other arguments. I mean Atlantans there has to be a reason why GaWC, Rand McNally, etc rank Atlanta high on their lists, but I never see the argument for it.
How about logistics? I know Atlanta is a leader in transportation and cargo.
I'd like to get more information about Atlanta on this, because so far I see empty votes and statements like, "Atlanta is more relevant because of airport".
I'm in no way bashing, but I'd like to see a good case for some of Atlanta's other sectors.
I know, right? It's like they vote and then do the Dr. Zoidberg scuttle right out of the room...
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
10,138 posts, read 16,043,145 times
Reputation: 4047
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmac9wr
Maybe Awesome Danny can clarify...
Danny,
Are we supposed to be judging these cities in terms of the states that they preside over or the power of the cities themselves?
Just the cities themselves. Nothing involving the states, otherwise that would make things far too complicated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmac9wr
I know, right? It's like they vote and then do the Dr. Zoidberg scuttle right out of the room...
Haha, I know. I'm just kind of like "Uhmm guys, wheres the case for this?" the same thing with those that voted for Washington DC in my other capital of North America thread... barely anyone even made a case for it using the criteria. It was like "Oh DC is the capital of USA, therefore DC is a candidate to be the capital of possibly the whole world"... LOL!
I mean a lot of us spend time working on criteria making threads (like me), and a lot of posters spend time proving their cases (like you), it just looks bad on us when our case basically gets a slap because someone else silently starts pwning the polls with no case made at all.
This is exactly how that thread and this thread have made me feel as far as proving cases go (Note I play the part of Professor in this situation):
Oh basically to sum it up, which city (that happens to be a US state capital) appeals most to international eyes. And it's safe to discuss cities for the future as well.
For example, Columbus and Austin are gaining a lot of attention these days for their economy, population growth, and college life, etc etc...
Columbus and Austin are very fast rising "star cities" that are also extremely important state capitals.
I would say that they each rank way up there ... both are prospering cities with an important high tech and research presence, and both are locations of two of the largest universities in America. Columbus also boasts the largest DFAS center, a mammoth federal installation located a few miles east of the city centre.
Just the cities themselves. Nothing involving the states, otherwise that would make things far too complicated.
Yea that's what I thought...otherwise this would just be a "which is the most important state?" thread.
Quote:
Haha, I know. I'm just kind of like "Uhmm guys, wheres the case for this?" the same thing with those that voted for Washington DC in my other capital of North America thread... barely anyone even made a case for it using the criteria. It was like "Oh DC is the capital of USA, therefore DC is a candidate to be the capital of possibly the whole world"... LOL!
I mean a lot of us spend time working on criteria making threads (like me), and a lot of posters spend time proving their cases (like you), it just looks bad on us when our case basically gets a slap because someone else silently starts pwning the polls with no case made at all.
This is exactly how that thread and this thread have made me feel as far as proving cases go (Note I play the part of Professor in this situation):
Exactly. I suppose it's not really anything to get upset about...but at the same time we come on this site to post arguments. It's frustrating when people just vote and vanish. The ol' V&V.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnDBaumgardner
Columbus and Austin are very fast rising "star cities" that are also extremely important state capitals.
I would say that they each rank way up there ... both are prospering cities with an important high tech and research presence, and both are locations of two of the largest universities in America. Columbus also boasts the largest DFAS center, a mammoth federal installation located a few miles east of the city centre.
Other important capital cities include:
Atlanta Denver Indianapolis Sacramento
Would you not consider Boston an important capital city? If not, that's fine. I would just be interested to hear why you feel that way.
Also, I wasn't aware that Columbus was highly involved in high tech & research...what do they specialize in if you don't mind my asking?
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