World class, his ass

By adamg on Wed, 07/25/2007 - 1:04pm

Adam Reilly concludes that cities that publicly obsess about being world class probably aren't.

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World-class?

By Ron Newman
Wed, 07/25/2007 - 1:35pm

Have we had a World's Fair? Nope, but Knoxville and Spokane and St. Louis and New Orleans all have. Want to swap places with any of these? I didn't think so.

Olympics? Nope, though John Silber and some others put together a half-hearted effort to bid for the 2008 Games, back in the late 80s or early 90s.

World Cup? Yep, we've hosted part of both the men's and women's tournament, if you consider Foxboro to be Boston.

World Series? Three in my memory (1975, 1986, 2004) and hoping for another this year.

World Trade Center? We've got one of those.

Margaret Thatcher once said that being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people that you are, then you aren't. I think the same could be said of self-professed world class cities. (Though I do love Boston.)

totally agreed

By mariav
Wed, 07/25/2007 - 3:34pm

I do love this city a lot, but we have a LOT of work to do before we can make "world-class" claims without looking totally foolish. (Granted, I do think Boston has an image problem, but just shouting "we're world class!" won't help any.)

--
[VARiable expression] @ http://www.mvarmazis.com

Personally, I'd prefer

By S.
Wed, 07/25/2007 - 6:16pm

Personally, I'd prefer Boston not to be "world-class", a term coughed up by some marketing asshat.

Atlanta

By Brian
Wed, 07/25/2007 - 3:36pm

In the 80s Atlanta started billing itself as a world class city. Anyone who would listen, including the Georgians, were told that they were a world class city and that they were going to get even better. Guess what happened? They got the Olympics and now Altantans really believe they are a world class city. You really don't need to look very far to see that if you say something enough times people really do start to believe it - raise your hand if you believe we really are the Hub of the Universe.

myDedham.org - a community since 1636 and online since 2007!

But does anyone else believe

By mariav
Wed, 07/25/2007 - 3:49pm

But does anyone else believe that Atlanta's a world-class city?

I kid, I kid.

They must have put a lot of work to back up that claim though -- something Boston would do well to imitate.

--
[VARiable expression] @ http://www.mvarmazis.com

World-Class Qualifiers?

By Suldog
Wed, 07/25/2007 - 4:05pm

First subway in North America.

First World Series Champions.

Probably the best medical community in the country, with at least one hospital (Mass General) with a world-wide reputation.

An amazing assortment of colleges and universities, including quite possibly THE most prestigious university in the world; at the very least, in this hemisphere.

(Yes, technically mostly in Cambridge, but why quibble?)

Arguably, the city that, more than any other, was the birthplace of the American Revolution. The Massacre, The Tea Party, The Liberty Tree, etc., etc.

Largest Number of Professional Basketball Championships (by a team that had the first African-American head coach in United States professional sports, the first African-American college player ever drafted in the NBA, and the first team to start an all-African-American five.)

I guess it all depends upon what qualifies you as "world-class". Is it historical achievement, learning, humanities, major-league sports? If those are the qualifiers, and you think Boston ISN'T world-class? What are you smoking? Can I have some?

If it's something else, then maybe Boston is second-class. What would that something else be?

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

Faded Rose

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 07/25/2007 - 5:08pm

About the only thing I can think of lately is the World Series in 2004.

Her name is Lola, she was a showgirl ...

I'm not sure I want to be world class

By anon
Wed, 07/25/2007 - 4:05pm

I grew up in Boston, and love living here. We're not New York (you can fit 10 Boston's in New York.) But, we're not Wichita Kansas either. We're medium to large city that offers much of what I need in life. Good bookstores, a good pub or two, places for me to bike(could use some better coffee shops, and no I don't mean another Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks)I don't want the Olympics, and I don't want people to push Boston to turn into a little New York (SOWA, anyone) out of some silly need to be called "World Class"

Everyone Knows your (City's) Name

By Anon
Wed, 07/25/2007 - 4:26pm

I have done a lot of international traveling lately. I am immediately recognizable as an American and when people ask where I am from I just say 'Boston' or 'just outside of Boston'. People with little grasp of English know Boston right away.

I don't know if that makes us World Class... maybe World Renown?

After people find out I am from Boston, it is followed by "I love Boston" a good 60% of the time! Everyone seems to have a Boston story or connection and if they do not they express interest in visiting. As much as it is a tough time to be an American when traveling internationally, its a great time to be a Bostonian (even an outside Bostonian!)

Have a look at this

By Flip
Wed, 07/25/2007 - 9:04pm

Have a look at this compilation of cties and see if you agree with their given status: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/citylist.html
Thanks to Cheers, people do know our name, but we're still a Gamma city.

What I'd also love to see

By independentminded
Wed, 07/25/2007 - 9:08pm

is the revival of neighborhood movie theatres. Would also love to see afew more renovated revival moviehouses where they play older classic films, as opposed to the contemporary schlock that everybody else plays these days.

It's my observation that

By Dean
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 12:01pm

It's my observation that politicians trot out the "world class" thing when they're trying to build support for an overpriced stadium or convention center. It always sounds something like, "Spending hundreds of millions of dollars is justified because we are/need to be a 'world class city.'"

Unfortunately, in this sense, with the help of Mayor Menino, Boston placed itself firmly in the category of "pseudo-world-class" cities like Pittsburgh and Cleveland. However, I'm holding out final judgment until he finally gets his idea about moving Boston City Hall to an isolated parcel in South Boston waterfront, which would cement Boston as a "world class" city in the model of the American rust-belt.

World class, his ass

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