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As the conclusion looms for another weekend — this one highlighted by Art Deco-era cars and some quality Mayday beer — I ask a question: What U.S. city is most like Nashville?
Here are a few that come to mind:
* Austin. Like Nashville, it's a state capital, has a great music scene, is hilly, is home to lots of cool young people and is positively perceived by many folks nationwide. In contrast, Austin has one university (the University of Texas) of note (to Nashville's "big four" of Belmont, Lipscomb, Tennessee State and Vanderbilt universities), has a demographic makeup that shows more Hispanics than African-Americans (Nashville offers the opposite of that ethnic composition) and has already gotten in the game with mass transit.
* Charlotte. Similarities between the Queen City and Music City include topography, a modest collection of vintage masonry buildings (Nashville has more, which doesn't say much for Charlotte) and their status as their respective states' "main city" despite tough competition (Memphis for Nashville and Raleigh-Durham for Charlotte). There is also a similarity in ethnic/racial numbers. In contrast, Charlotte's Uptown skyline is significantly more impressive than Nashville's downtown skyline, while Nashville has a much more prestigious collection of universities.
* Atlanta. On the surface, this seems insane as Atlanta is considerably more populous, vibrant, urban and cosmopolitan. But look closely and you will see some parallels. Both cities are state capitals, both are home to multiple quality universities (including vibrant HBCU districts) and both offer diverse economies. Both Atlanta and Nashville bulldozed countless beautiful historic buildings in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Also, the geography — lots of hills and trees — is extremely similar.
* Providence. No doubt, this is a major stretch. Providence teems with historic architecture, people density and lots of water. In contrast, Nashville offers multiple contemporary buildings and great name recognition. But when I visited the Rhode Island city, I noticed some similarities that some might not realize. Both Nashville and Providence are capital cities, both have high-profile private universities (Brown in Providence and Vanderbilt in Nashville) and both have burgeoning arts scenes. Both have metropolitan populations of about 1.65 million. Nashville is home to the nation's largest Kurdish population, while Providence has one of the country's largest Liberian populations. Both cities have major employers in the health care and higher education sectors.
Feel free to weigh in. I'm curious to get reader feedback.
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An interesting article, thanks.
ReplyDeleteBut
"Providence teams" should be "teems"
Good catch, AMous.
DeleteWW
I think that Nashville is quite similar to Austin, Charlotte and also to Indianapolis. I agree about the similarities with Providence, but that city is really not only my radar. I would not compare any city in the south with Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteCompared to Austin, we can't come close to the high tech industries of that area, but Nashville and Middle TN have the automobile industry, tourism, great universities and the state capital. Austin's music scene gets great publicity, especially around SXSW, but they don't come close to being a major music and entertainment hub the way Nashville does. Both cities are on the national and international radar as "it" and "cool" cities of today.
Charlotte is not a state capital, but has a good mix of industries, led by banking. Unfortunately for CLT, putting so many eggs in the banking basket has caused a lot of economic pain over recent years with the collapse of Wachovia and the woes of Bank of America. CLT has overbuilt and is stagnant today compared to Nashville's burgeoning development. Both cities have similar geographies, but Nashville has a huge edge in tourism and educational institutions. I love the skyline of Charlotte.
In stark contrast is Memphis -- with high rates of poverty, high crime and a declining population there has been very little major economic development in Memphis over several decades and Memphis seems to continues on a steady downward trajectory. While FedEx is the largest employer, its passenger airport has been de-hubbed by Delta Airlines and is now much smaller than BNA. Memphis can't come close to the educational institutions of Nashville. The Memphis skyline today looks very similar to the way it appeared 25 years ago -- there just doesn't seem to be much happening.
AMous,
DeleteExcellent post. Very interesting. I'm not sure the City of Memphis population is declining. Clearly, the Memphis metro population is growing.
WW
Interesting piece. Nashville is also quite similar to the Raleigh/Durham area. I agree with the earlier comments about Memphis. It a shame to see the decline over there.
ReplyDeleteAMous,
DeleteI actually considered placing Raleigh on the list. My sister and her family lived for about 10 years in Chapel Hill and I have visited Raleigh three times. A very nice city.
WW
We transferred here from Charlotte NC a year ago and much prefer Nashville. The two cities seem very similar, but Nashville most definitely has the edge right now with just a lot more going on in the city in terms of activities, entertainment, events and the like. Charlotte rolls up the sidewalks at night, especially downtown, and there is not a lot to do there on weekends. Traffic seems to be a lot worse in Nashville though.
ReplyDeleteAMous,
DeleteWelcome to Nashville. I have visited Charlotte three times and find the city very appealing on many levels. I envy Charlotte for having the Lynx modern street car system.
WW
Nashville's current growth and building boom reminds me of how Atlanta rapidly transformed in the 1980s and 1990s. The West End corridor and midtown area is somewhat like Peachtree going out to Buckhead. The Gulch development and especially the West End Summit will dramatically change those parts of Nashville.
ReplyDeleteAMous,
DeletePoint well made. There, clearly, are some parallels.
WW
The population of the City of Memphis is actually declining as more people leave the city for the suburbs. The metro Memphis area, including Mississippi and Arkansas are growing slowly, but it is nothing close to the growth of Metro Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Nashville's SMSA is about 375,000 persons larger than Memphis. Memphis has serious problems which really hamper growth and development.
ReplyDeleteAMous,
DeleteAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Memphis city population actually increased 1.28 percent from 2010 to 2012. From 646,889 to 655,155.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population
That 1.28 percent growth is not great but it is as good or better than the city population growths of places such as Chicago, Louisville, Milwaukee, Tucson, St. Petersburg and Norfolk.
Though I agree that Memphis has problems with poverty and crime, it is not as bad as many folks think. I'm not suggesting you are perpetuating the stereotype but I hear misinformation about Memphis often.
Let's be frank: if you asked the average person who knows anything about cities which grew faster from 2010 to 2012, Memphis or Tucson, and you told the person "Tucson is home to the University of Arizona and is about 70 percent white and 5 percent black," the person would think "Surely given those factors Tucson must be stable and, as such, growing faster than Memphis." But, in fact, the opposite is true.
In short, Memphis is much more vibrant than many folks realize. Its downtown has a much more vibrant residential component than does Nashville's.
WW
We know several people in Memphis who are desperate to leave. The crime in Memphis has totally gotten out of control.
DeleteWW - Don't forget that Austin is light years ahead of Nashville in Sustainable Building Standards. Their new residential construction is nearing Net-Zero as the norm. Ask any realtor or builder here if green building matters and you'll hear a resounding NO.
ReplyDeleteJA
JA,
DeleteExcellent point. And that is very disappointing. I guess Austin is simply more progressive than Nashville in that respect.
WW
The Lynx light rail system is Charlotte is good, but is very limited in the areas it serves. We lived there for several years and could never find a reason to ride it except as an entertainment option for our kids. Like Nashville, Charlotte has a lot of sprawl in all directions, especially into its South Carolina suburbs.
ReplyDeleteAMous,
DeleteWell put. I've seen the Charlotte sprawl first hand. Not a pretty sight.
WW
I think that Atlanta can seem to be very Nashville-like with its vast tree canopy, but Nashville has more substantial hills and a real river and numerous lakes. I'm sure Atlanta would like to have some of our water supply too. Of the cities mentioned, Charlotte would seem to be the most similar in terms of comparable size and amenities, but is really lacking in entertainment and tourism. Austin is quite similar too, but it's in Texas which is a state and a world unto itself!
ReplyDeleteAmous,
DeleteI agree with all you say.
WW
How about Columbus, OH? State capital. Slightly larger. One-U town? Sprawl. Urban density. Some similarities...
ReplyDelete- Lee
Columbus resident here: While OSU dwarfs everything around it in many ways, Columbus is also home to a number of other schools, led by Otterbein University, Capital University, Franklin University, Ohio Domninican...
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of similarities between the cities: size, role as capital, lack of modern public transportation, growing metropolitan area with faster-growing suburbs, and more.
However, in Columbus I see far less tear-down/rebuild of older buildings and houses; the county's schools are divided into separate and very-unequal districts rather than a large Metro district; there's less tourism, of course; and there's no Fox's Donut Den.
I love both cities; they are my two hometowns.
Palthegiraffe,
DeleteGood post. I was in Columbus last summer and enjoyed my brief stay. German Village is wonderful and High Street is stellar. Columbus has much more old built fabric than does Nashville.
WW