Is Beta- good enough?

[Subdude]

This came up in a discussion I had today with a friend in Dallas who was comparing the two cities. Houston is ranked as a Beta- city, along with Sofia, Dusseldorf, Beirut, Guagnzhou, Nicosia, Karachi, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, Nairobi, Bratislava, Montreal, and Ho Chi Minh City (Dallas is Beta).

So is there anything Houston can realistically do to raise its rating? Or is it even worth the effort?

Global Cities

[TheNiche]

It's a list of European capital cities and their largest trading partners.

Not very relevant.

[AtticaFlinch]

In order to achieve Alpha status, it looks as if we'd need:

1) a competitive trading market to be based here - Dallas beats us here because of Ft Worth's stockyards

2) more than a regional footprint in the financial industry - eh, we control energy production

3) extortionary level costs of living

4) an internationally recognized media outlet - haif is on its way to global domination, but we'll call it a draw for now

5) a religious pilgrimage site - the beer can house, maybe?

6) more extensive rail - on its way

Other than that, we've got everything else. I'd say based on their criteria we're more an Alpha- or Beta+, but who cares really?

Edit: I question the placement of some of their cities.... Milan and Buenos Aires are alpha? Whatever.

Edited March 4, 2010 by AtticaFlinch

[Highway6]

Betas can be good enough as long as you don't put two males in the same tank.

Edited March 4, 2010 by Highway6

[mkultra25]

VHS can still look surprisingly decent on a prosumer S-VHS deck with a TBC. But I still prefer laserdisc over tape when it comes to analog video.

Oops. Wrong forum.

[august948]

In order to achieve Alpha status, it looks as if we'd need:

1) a competitive trading market to be based here - Dallas beats us here because of Ft Worth's stockyards

2) more than a regional footprint in the financial industry - eh, we control energy production

3) extortionary level costs of living

4) an internationally recognized media outlet - haif is on its way to global domination, but we'll call it a draw for now

5) a religious pilgrimage site - the beer can house, maybe?

6) more extensive rail - on its way

Other than that, we've got everything else. I'd say based on their criteria we're more an Alpha- or Beta+, but who cares really?

Edit: I question the placement of some of their cities.... Milan and Buenos Aires are alpha? Whatever.

We have the world's largest rodeo. If that doesn't make us Alpha then it's not a status worth having.

[citykid09]

This came up in a discussion I had today with a friend in Dallas who was comparing the two cities. Houston is ranked as a Beta- city, along with Sofia, Dusseldorf, Beirut, Guagnzhou, Nicosia, Karachi, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, Nairobi, Bratislava, Montreal, and Ho Chi Minh City (Dallas is Beta).

So is there anything Houston can realistically do to raise its rating? Or is it even worth the effort?

Global Cities

Its crazy weird that You asked this question because yesterday I looked up world cities to see if Houston's status changed from Beta- since last year. I was going to ask this exact same question, as I did last year on here, but you beat me to it. It is hard to understand why Dallas got Beta, Atlanta got Beta+ and Houston Beta-. Did the DART rail in Dallas place them above Houston? Did MARTA, CNN, many cable channels and movie studios, CocaCola, Etc in Atlanta place it Beta? Yes Houston has many headquarters, a large population, the medical center, etc, but I think much more is needed. I know I might get beat up for this, but does having the feel of a big city count? Houston feels big from the car on the freeway and street, but once you get out of the car it feels kind of lonely. You see a lot of people in parks and such, but you don't see a mass of people walking around any of the urban centers within the city. I am surprised Dallas and Atlanta ranked higher than Montreal and Rio de Janerio though. Again just my opinion.

[citykid09]

VHS can still look surprisingly decent on a prosumer S-VHS deck with a TBC. But I still prefer laserdisc over tape when it comes to analog video.

Oops. Wrong forum.

I get what you are say, its relevant. It seems that Houston is stuck on what it was and what it represented during the time of the oil boom. Its kind of like how the popular kids in high school think that that popularity will last into the future with no change and it doesn't. You must keep up or get passed up.

And as I have said before, for the past few decades Houston hasn't been a very innovative city. The city builds on efficiency and basically on the cheap.

And to you AtticaFlinch, do you honestly think that Houston's street car system (Light Rial) will help it become an Alpha city? Take a look at all of the Alpha cities on that list and look at their transit systems, Houston won't come close even when its finished. Even all of the Beta,+,-, etc (maybe not Dallas) have grand rail systems.

Edited March 5, 2010 by citykid09

[AtticaFlinch]

And to you AtticaFlinch, do you honestly think that Houston's street car system (Light Rial) will help it become an Alpha city? Take a look at all of the Alpha cities on that list and look at their transit systems, Houston won't come close even when its finished. Even all of the Beta,+,-, etc (maybe not Dallas) have grand rail systems.

Is that what I wrote? If so, then yes. If not, then no. If anything else, then I really don't care if Houston is alpha, beta, gamma, delta or even zeta rated. The criteria is stupid, and I'm pretty sure I was making light of that, but you know better than me what I meant I guess.

[AtticaFlinch]

BTW citykid, thanks for clarifying for me you meant "Light Rail" when you wrote "street car system". I wouldn't have understood otherwise.Oh, also, here's a map of Rome's subway:

It's actually grown considerably in four years when I last rode it. Back then it had about eight stations, all of which were hot, sweaty, stuffy and crowded, and there were onlly two lines then. It was one big X. Now there are three lines. Real world-class. Woot!

[livincinco]

BTW citykid, thanks for clarifying for me you meant "Light Rail" when you wrote "street car system". I wouldn't have understood otherwise.Oh, also, here's a map of Rome's subway:

It's actually grown considerably in four years when I last rode it. Back then it had about eight stations, all of which were hot, sweaty, stuffy and crowded, and there were onlly two lines then. It was one big X. Now there are three lines. Real world-class. Woot!

It runs to the airport, so that apparently scores bonus points. Must be enough to compensate for the fact that you're putting your life at risk any time you ride it.

[Houston19514]

Its crazy weird that You asked this question because yesterday I looked up world cities to see if Houston's status changed from Beta- since last year. I was going to ask this exact same question, as I did last year on here, but you beat me to it. It is hard to understand why Dallas got Beta, Atlanta got Beta+ and Houston Beta-. Did the DART rail in Dallas place them above Houston? Did MARTA, CNN, many cable channels and movie studios, CocaCola, Etc in Atlanta place it Beta? Yes Houston has many headquarters, a large population, the medical center, etc, but I think much more is needed. I know I might get beat up for this, but does having the feel of a big city count? Houston feels big from the car on the freeway and street, but once you get out of the car it feels kind of lonely. You see a lot of people in parks and such, but you don't see a mass of people walking around any of the urban centers within the city. I am surprised Dallas and Atlanta ranked higher than Montreal and Rio de Janerio though. Again just my opinion.

Here's an idea, CityKid, how about you try reading up on the study just a bit? Trust me, Atlanta's little subway has nothing to do with it. IMO these rankings have received FAR more attention than deserved, no doubt in part because of the rather grandiose labels the researchers put on it.

Their thesis is that the "global-ness" of a city can be determined by how many offices a city has of "global service firms", e.g. accounting firms, advertising firms and the like. Companies that actually produce products are not considered. Internationally known medical centers, nope. Actual international trade, completely irrelevant. Thus you have the very odd and ridiculous result of Houston, with one of the world's largest ports, the eighth largest international air gateway, the third largest consular corps in America and the extraordinarily global oil industry ranking as only Beta-. The study shows what it shows, and that is nothing more than which cities have big concentrations of accounting, advertising, banking & finance, and law.

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/group.html

[Subdude]

Actually no, the transportation system does have something to do with it. From the impeccable researchers at wiki:

Economic characteristics

* Corporate headquarters for multinational corporations, international financial institutions, law firms, conglomerates, and stock exchanges that have influence over the world economy.

* Significant financial capacity/output: city/regional[5] GDP[6]

* Stock market indices[7]/market capitalisation

* Financial service provision;[8] e.g., banks, accountancy

* Costs of living[9] personal wealth; e.g., number of billionaires[10]

Political characteristics

* Active influence on and participation in international events and world affairs; for example, Washington, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels are major capitals of influential nations or unions.

* Hosting headquarters for international organizations (World Bank), NATO headquarters

* A large proper, population of the municipality (the centre of a metropolitan area, typically several million) or agglomeration

* Diverse demographic constituencies[11] based on various indicators:[12] population, habitat,[13] mobility,[14] and urbanisation[15]

* Quality of life standards[16] or city development[17]

* Expatriate communities

Cultural characteristics

* International, first-name familiarity; whereby a city is recognized without the need for a political subdivision. For example, New York City is commonly referred to as just "New York" even though the city is in the state of New York.

* Renowned cultural institutions (often with high endowments), such as notable museums and galleries, notable opera, orchestras, notable film centres and theatre centres. A lively cultural scene, including film festivals (such as the Toronto International Film Festival), premieres, a thriving music scene, nightlife, an opera company, art galleries, and street performers, annual parades.

* Several influential media outlets with an international reach, such as the BBC, Reuters, The New York Times, or Agence France-Presse.

* A strong sporting community, including major sports facilities, home teams in major league sports, and the ability and historical experience to host international sporting events such as the Olympic Games, Football World Cup, or Grand Slam tennis events.[18]

* Educational institutions; e.g., universities,[19] international student attendance,[20] research facilities

* Sites of pilgrimage for world religions (for example, Jerusalem or Rome)

* Cities containing World Heritage Sites of historical and cultural significance[21]

* Tourism throughput

* City as site or subject in Arts and Media, television, film, video games, music, literature, magazines, articles, documentary

* City as an often repeated historic reference, showcase, or symbolic actions

Infrastructural characteristics

* An advanced transportation system that includes several highways and/or a large mass transit network offering multiple modes of transportation (rapid transit, light rail, regional rail, ferry, or bus).

* Extensive and popular[22] mass transit systems, prominent rail usage,[23] road vehicle usage,[24] major seaports[25]

* A major international airport that serves as an established hub for several international airlines, for example, London. Airports with significant passenger traffic and international passengers traffic.[26] or cargo movements

* An advanced communications infrastructure on which modern trans-national corporations rely, such as fiberoptics, Wi-Fi networks, cellular phone services, and other high-speed lines of communications. For example, Seoul and Tokyo are known as the digital and technology capitals of the world.

* Health facilities; e.g. hospitals, medical laboratories

* Prominent skylines/skyscrapers (for example Shanghai or Hong Kong)[27]

I would assume Atlanta ranks above Houston because its television networks, MARTA and major airport.

[livincinco]

Actually no, the transportation system does have something to do with it. From the impeccable researchers at wiki:

I would assume Atlanta ranks above Houston because its television networks, MARTA and major airport.

That they have hosted the Olympics probably factors into it also.

[Houston19514]

Actually no, the transportation system does have something to do with it. From the impeccable researchers at wiki:

I would assume Atlanta ranks above Houston because its television networks, MARTA and major airport.

Actually, no, the alpha, beta, gamma rankings have nothing to do with transportation or television networks or, amazingly, major airports (but fwiw, for purposes of global connectivity, Atlanta's airport wouldn't give it many more points than we would get for IAH anyway, our international traffic is pretty close).

You are mixing apples and oranges. The discussion you quote from Wiki is in the context of defining the generic term "global cities". The alpha, beta, gamma rankings you raised at the beginning of this thread are from the GAWC studies, which discusses in the next section of your Wiki link. Here is a quote from the GAWC section of your wiki link:

"The roster was outlined in the GaWC Research Bulletin 5 and ranked cities based on their provision of "advanced producer services" such as accountancy, advertising, finance, and law"

EDIT: The GAWC studies have since added insurance and management consultancy to the list. That's it. That's all that is considered in compiling the alpha, beta, gamma rankings.

Edited March 11, 2010 by Houston19514

[august948]

Actually no, the transportation system does have something to do with it. From the impeccable researchers at wiki:

I would assume Atlanta ranks above Houston because its television networks, MARTA and major airport.

If by MARTA you only mean the light rail system, then Atlanta has an edge over Houston. Outside the light rail, the Atlanta metro area's public transportation system(s) are way behind Metro.

Edited March 11, 2010 by august948

[citykid09]

Actually no, the transportation system does have something to do with it. From the impeccable researchers at wiki:

I would assume Atlanta ranks above Houston because its television networks, MARTA and major airport.

In your face Houston19514! Houston may have a larger population than some of the cities that ranked higher, but those cities feel like cities and not an extensively large sprawling suburb.

Edited March 11, 2010 by citykid09

[livincinco]

In your face Houston19514! Houston may have a larger population than some of the cities that ranked higher, but those cities feel like cities and not an extensively large sprawling suburb.

Not trying to make this personal, but don't you find it a contradiction that you're attacking urban sprawl while listing yourself as living in Houston's far Northwest exburbs?

[TheNiche]

In your face Houston19514! Houston may have a larger population than some of the cities that ranked higher, but those cities feel like cities and not an extensively large sprawling suburb.

You should read through the whole thread before replying.

[august948]

In your face Houston19514! Houston may have a larger population than some of the cities that ranked higher, but those cities feel like cities and not an extensively large sprawling suburb.

Which cities are you referring to? You can argue 'feelings' all day long and not get anywhere. The 'feel' of a city is subject to what part of it you are experiencing.