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To get back to the original question.. Winston-Salem besides Greensboro comparable to Richmond and Durham. Greensboro...... maybe Greenville SC. I'm not too familiar with Lexington KY besides passing through a few times and a stop at Shoney's about 25 years ago.
Regarding the “world class city” conversation, I look at that differently than crowing about rapid growth, sports teams etc. Many cities boast about their accomplishments. On the other hand, If you have to ask yourself if your city is “world class” that means that it isn’t. I’ve always viewed Atlanta as a much bigger version of Charlotte and that’s how most of the world sees it as well. That’s not intended to be a snub against either city, because I admire both of them, but neither one would be considered to be “world class”. New York City, San Francisco, Chicago – yes.
I agree that if you have to ask if your city is "world class," it probably isn't quite there yet but this also doesn't take into account how critical a lot of cities tend to be of themselves. Like I cited that article where Toronto has been unsure of where it stands as such, and deep down Chicago still has a bit of a complex as the "Second City" now third and maybe soon to become fourth (in terms of municipal population although I know that's not what the nickname originally meant... but still LOL). Same goes for Philadelphia to a large extent. So even then, I don't think it's as cut and dried beyond the undisputed top two: NYC and LA.
It's a huge oversimplification to essentially say "Atlanta is much bigger Charlotte, and since Charlotte is obviously not world-class, Atlanta is obviously not world-class either." This misses the mark in so many ways and I will disagree that most of the world only sees Atlanta as a much bigger version of Charlotte. Most of the world is a lot more familiar with Atlanta than Charlotte first of all, either by having flown through ATL, attended a convention or large gathering of some sort, knowing something significant about its history, or because of Atlanta's much larger cultural profile. Although not quite there yet, I believe Atlanta has elements of being a world-class city that Charlotte lacks and has several notable characteristics not shared by Charlotte in several key ways. Firstly, Atlanta is known as the home of MLK and the Civil Rights Movement which gives up a cultural cache that Charlotte lacks; funerals of major Civil Rights figures in Atlanta always get extensive national coverage such as that of Rep. John Lewis earlier this year. By extension, Atlanta is known as arguably the premier Black 'mecca' in America with the largest concentration of HBCUs in the country (including the prestigious Spelman and Morehouse colleges), longstanding Black political and civic leadership, one of the biggest Black middle-class populations in the country located in the city proper and its suburbs, and is the epicenter of Black entertainment in America as the capital of hip hop (the world's most popular genre of music) and R&B as well as film and TV, most notably with the help of Tyler Perry Studios and even shows that folks love to hate like the Real Housewives. More generally, Atlanta is absolutely Hollywood South now with so much stuff being filmed there for both TV and movies, and an increasing amount of movies are increasingly being set there including the Walking Dead franchise. It's arguably the LGBT capital of the Southeast and certainly for the Black population in particular. In addition to its HBCUs, Atlanta also has GA Tech, Emory, GSU, etc. that make it a prominent center of higher education. It has managed to become of the few American cities to host the summer Olympics, and is well-known for its nightlife (although it's gotten a bit tamer over the years) and more specifically strip clubs. With the recent success of Atlanta United, it's become a championship city once again and and the Braves still hold something of a legendary status as a ballclub. Atlanta has managed to make itself into an extended/holiday weekend leisure destination of sorts with its various tourist attractions, shopping, and major events regularly hosted there. And while the city may not quite be world-class just yet, no one can deny the world-class asset that is Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world's busiest for several years running.
Not all of those things constitute elements of being world-class, but several do. When it comes to big Southeastern cities, these are the two I'm most familiar with and have lived in both metros at one point or another for some years so it greatly perplexes me when people, mostly from NC, seem to so easily and readily dismiss or ignore these things. It has always come across to me as a way to subtly diss Atlanta and not recognize anything about it beyond the physical landscape so as to basically say it's nothing beyond a much bigger New South sprawlburb. Yet somehow, the same folks are capable of talking about how the universities and its more liberal nature make the Triangle so fundamentally different from Charlotte (oh, and there's the fact that GA turned blue this year and suburban Atlanta has become considerably bluer since 2016). I suppose I'll just chop it up to people's visits to Atlanta being quite limited which prevent them from seeing more of the city where differences are more visible. Charlotte just isn't nearly as culturally distinct as Atlanta and that's a fundamental difference in particular that some are loathe to admit or purposely ignore for whatever reason.
Oh, and Atlanta is actually more like a bigger Nashville than a bigger Charlotte. Nashville is more similar to Atlanta than Charlotte is.
But anyway, I don't think the "world-class" question is the the right one a city should be asking itself. You'll know if you're world-class or not but most importantly, strive to be an overall livable city with a great QOL providing upward mobility for residents.
Winston-Salem reminds me a little of a smaller Birmingham, Alabama (which sizewise, despite its lower population, feels larger than Greensboro but maybe the same size as Raleigh or slightly smaller without having Durham and Chapel Hill in the same metro).
North Carolina in general is more progressive than Alabama but both Winston-Salem and Birmingham are kind of hubs (Winston-Salem for the foothills of Western NC and Birmingham for much of northern Alabama). Both have deep industrial history and grit, which isn't a bad thing but both also have emerging modern industry and are health care hubs. Both are an oasis of moderately progressive thinking in a very conservative region. Both are hilly with Birmingham feeling more foothillish than one would think.
By the way, I don't mean to knock Greensboro at all here, but it's harder to wrap my head around a place that seems as directly comparable. That's kind of a neutral observation and not necessarily a bad thing for Greensboro.
Winston-Salem reminds me a little of a smaller Birmingham, Alabama (which sizewise feels larger than Greensboro but maybe the same size as Raleigh without having Durham and Chapel Hill in the same metro).
North Carolina in general is more progressive than Alabama but both Winston-Salem and Birmingham are kind of hubs (Winston-Salem for the foothills of Western NC and Birmingham for much of northern Alabama). Both have deep industrial history and grit, which isn't a bad thing but both also have emerging modern industry and are health care hubs. Both are an oasis of moderately progressive thinking in a very conservative region. Both are hilly with Birmingham feeling more foothillish than one would think.
Good points. Never thought of the two as particularly comparable but they do have a few key similarities, particularly with their past bank HQs (Birmingham still has Regions also) and medical universities/healthcare sectors. Their urban historic districts are somewhat unique also with Old Salem/Historic Bethabara in Winston and the Civil Rights District in Birmingham.
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By the way, I don't mean to knock Greensboro at all here, but it's harder to wrap my head around a place that seems as directly comparable. That's kind of a neutral observation and not necessarily a bad thing for Greensboro.
I agree. Winston-Salem, Durham, and Greenville, SC seem most comparable though.
The two definitely have their fair share of similarities (which I've mentioned on more than one occasion) although I'm not sure if I'd say Winston-Salem *reminds me* of Richmond. For me that would involve obvious visual cues and there are enough distinctions between the two that would prevent that, at least for me.
The two definitely have their fair share of similarities (which I've mentioned on more than one occasion) although I'm not sure if I'd say Winston-Salem *reminds me* of Richmond. For me that would involve obvious visual cues and there are enough distinctions between the two that would prevent that, at least for me.
I've mentioned this a handful of times, but I've always viewed Winston-Salem and Durham as siblings, with Richmond being their older cousin. All three have similarities, although it seems like they probably shared more similarities in the past, as Richmond has developed a stronger connection with the mid-Atlantic region in recent decades (due to the expansion of northern Virginia) and the tobacco industry isn't as prevalent as it used to be.
Without causing a ruckus, I think Greensboro has more in common with Charlotte than Raleigh. Charlotte is obviously bigger, but Charlotte and Greensboro are firmly in the Piedmont (Raleigh is closer to eastern North Carolina) with a shared textile legacy to boot. On a side note, Charlotte actually reminds me of Dallas, though. On a much smaller scale.
Without causing a ruckus, I think Greensboro has more in common with Charlotte than Raleigh. Charlotte is obviously bigger, but Charlotte and Greensboro are firmly in the Piedmont (Raleigh is closer to eastern North Carolina) with a shared textile legacy to boot. On a side note, Charlotte actually reminds me of Dallas, though. On a much smaller scale.
I've mentioned this a handful of times, but I've always viewed Winston-Salem and Durham as siblings, with Richmond being their older cousin. All three have similarities, although it seems like they probably shared more similarities in the past, as Richmond has developed a stronger connection with the mid-Atlantic region in recent decades (due to the expansion of northern Virginia) and the tobacco industry isn't as prevalent as it used to be.
Without causing a ruckus, I think Greensboro has more in common with Charlotte than Raleigh. Charlotte is obviously bigger, but Charlotte and Greensboro are firmly in the Piedmont (Raleigh is closer to eastern North Carolina) with a shared textile legacy to boot. On a side note, Charlotte actually reminds me of Dallas, though. On a much smaller scale.
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