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Dallas, for example, has a population of 1,241,162 within 340 square miles of land. Seattle in comparison, has a population of 634,535 within 83 square miles of land.
Which is the "bigger" city?
Miami has 414,000 in less than 36 square miles of land. Essentially Miami has 1/3 of Dallas' population in ~ 1/10 the land area. Miami Beach has 90,000 in 7 square miles of land. I know what you mean.
In the previous decade, Miami added about 1000 ppl/sm to its city limits. I don't know that there are many US cities that can claim this sort of metric. So far this decade, the city has added nearly 390 more ppl/sm to its limits. Miami (almost) silently grows without much attention here on C-D. Likewise, MiamiDade county had added nearly 100K people since the last Census in its ~500 square miles of actual developable land area. At this rate, MiamiDade will close out the decade with 3 Million in the county.
I think Orlando and Tampa will blow up and be one big metro area at some point as they both start to blend into eachother. Kind of like a Baltimore-Washington, DC scenario.
Seattle.
Portalnd, Oregon too. Very hip place to be right now.
Austin, Texas
I can see some smaller metros really boom, like metros in the Dakotas, Texas, and any smaller metro with great universities, like Ann Arbor, Madison or Eugene.
What great universities are located in Eugene? You can't be talking about U of O, they are ranked near the bottom of the Pac-12. They do not have a medical school (anymore).
Bend across the mountains from depressing Eugene has way more potential to boom.
As a recently relocated long term resident of Houston, I really think Houston is a sleeping giant. I realize this will confound some on CD who feel that size and growth alone determine the importance and quality of a city and by all measures, Houston is booming by leaps and bounds . . . but stay with me. I am talking about the "maturity" and QOL of a city. Houston is a developers' paradise and believe it or not, has no zoning. It has only been within the last 10 years the city has begun to take a serious look at how it has grown. It may amaze some to realize that there are neighborhoods within sight of downtown that have no curbs and poor sidewalks, if any: Google Maps. It is not uncommon to have ditches for drainage in the inner core of the city, even in tonier neighborhoods such as Montrose: Brun Street, Houston, TX - Google Maps. The strong developer culture has resulted in one of the least restrictive historical preservation ordinances in the country, and it stalled rail transit for decades, resulting in the sprawling 600 square mile behemoth with the largely suburban character it has today.
Fast forward however. The city thought leaders along with a cadre of progressive politicos today recognize that QOL, not just COL is important factor in a city's attractiveness. Significant changes, such as the building of a rail system, are underway and city visions focus on making the inner city more attractive and dense in an attempt to appeal to those who prefer this model of urbanity. Without zoning, changes such as this will continue to be a challenge, but at least an understanding exists of what Houston can be. If Houston's visionaries can stick to their guns and start to wrest control of the city's future back from a handful of developers and others who only see it as a source of personal profit, given its strong economy, port, and world class arts organizations, the puzzle pieces are there for the sleeping giant to awaken and be a city known for more than the oil industry and its low cost of living.
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