Should Philadelphia be classified as a city like Baltimore or more of a city like Chicago, Atlanta,and Boston? (York: transplants, houses)

[neuroticpyschopath]

I've been trying to figure this out but I just can't.

[orrmobl]

It's size and amenities alone place it on par with Chicago and the rest of the bigger major American cities. Baltimore is somewhat quaint and country by comparison...I liked it a whole lot, but I wouldn't call it a world class city by any means...I've seen the seedy underbelly of LA, Chicago, NYC and Philly fits right in with them...

[JonDeutsch]

It all depends how you want to tier it. Check out this list: https://www.city-data.com/top1.html

Philly is the 5th largest city in America, whereas Baltimore is 19th.
Philly has about 1.5m people, Balitmore, 640k.

You can argue that Philly is in the top tier of cities... the top 5, cities of 1.5m or more, cities of 1m or more, etc.

You can also argue that the top tier is >2m, and then Philly is 2nd tier. But even if you look at things that way, then Baltimore is 3rd tier.

At the end of the day, the only thing that Philly and Baltimore have in common is that they are old, industrial, mid-atlantic cities that physically look similar in a certain way, and that they are both too close to much more politically important cities (NYC and DC respectively) to ever be top tier.

[FindingZen]

Folks, feel free to continue to respond to this thread but you may notice that the OP is no longer a member due to other actions outside of the Philly forum.

[kyle19125]

It depends on how you classify. By size, no. As pointed out it's #5 versus #19. By demographic, we're probably close. Working class, overall pretty non-sophisticated and the term used frequently of provincial is more/less accurate. Philly definitely takes the cake in lack of sophistication/most provincial. The appropriated definition of provincial being: "restricted, or non-sophisticated mentality or habits"

[maestro]

I think Philly has a lot more in common with "enterprise" cities (NY, LA, Atl, Chi, Boston), speaking particularly about culture, infrastructure, etc.

[waltlantz]

I look at it in terms of of a countries GREAT cities vs. good cities.

Great cities are places like London, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney. Like a National Jewel in your crown or a diamond.

For the US, those cities are NYC LA and Chicago

Philly and Boston are more like rubys or saphires. Or you could say they are in the "good" category. They have a lot going for them in terms of economy and culture but aren't the powerhouses that great cities are.

Just for the record other "good" american cities (or Beta level cities) I consider are

Houston
Dallas
Atlanta
Miami
maybe Phoenix (however in IMHO that place got big due to housing more than anything else)

[AcroJimmy]

NYC is a 12 point Alpha city.

LA and Chicago are 10 point Alpha cities.

San Francisco is a 9 point Alpha city.

Boston, Dallas, Houston, and DC are 6 point Gamma cities.

Atlanta and Miami are 4 point Gamma cities.

Those are the only Alpha, Beta, and Gamma cities in the US.

Also, according to the GaWC:

"Well rounded global cities

1. Very large contribution: New York City Smaller contribution and with cultural bias: Los Angeles and San Francisco"

Global city - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by waltlantz

I look at it in terms of of a countries GREAT cities vs. good cities.

Great cities are places like London, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney. Like a National Jewel in your crown or a diamond.

For the US, those cities are NYC LA and Chicago

Philly and Boston are more like rubys or saphires. Or you could say they are in the "good" category. They have a lot going for them in terms of economy and culture but aren't the powerhouses that great cities are.

Just for the record other "good" american cities (or Beta level cities) I consider are

Houston
Dallas
Atlanta
Miami
maybe Phoenix (however in IMHO that place got big due to housing more than anything else)

[subwayfan]

I wouldn't rank San Francisco over DC. I mean SF has a lot of things in its favor, including its alluring geography, but it has its problems (high cost of living, and even population decline).

That rating system isn't the bible in this matter (input factors are skewed), and don't know what's so special about Dallas Houston Atlanta and Miami per se. Maybe big metros, but some don't even have downtowns, some are in the South, and you need to fly to get anywhere else.

Phoenix also expanded by acquiring more land.

[FindingZen]

Let's remember to include Philly in this mix... or it might make a better thread for the General US forum.

FWIW, I consider Chicago, Atlanta and Boston to be the "capital" of their respective regions. Philly and Baltimore have a number of similarities which can be good at times, other times not so good. One big difference is that their waterfront development is good as our downtown development... and vice versa in a negative way. Also despite increasing claims of Philly being a "sixth borough" of NYC, Baltimore is definitely much more of a feeder to the DC job market for natives who can't find jobs locally or priced-out transplants still wanting the urban experience. The Philly metro job market, while never quite booming, seems relatively stable in comparison.