Government
"Coolest city" rankings don't tell the whole story
Forbes recently named Bethesda America's 17th coolest city, causing some to wonder if Montgomery County is becoming Portland on the Potomac. While their ranking and definition of a "city" are suspect, there's still plenty to be excited about.
Bethesda: America's 17th coolest city? Photo by eddie.welker on Flickr.
The magazine based their rankings on several factors, including the number of restaurants, availability of recreational amenities, cultural diversity, and unemployment rates. Houston topped the list, followed by DC, while Baltimore was #14. Cities normally touted for their coolness, like Minneapolis and Austin, were lower on the list, while hipster capital Portland was nowhere to be found.
Not surprisingly, people in the area are confused. "Did someone redefine cool or cities or Bethesda?" wrote county planner Claudia Kousoulas on the Straight Line blog. A commenter on Bethesda Patch grumbled that Bethesda is "still pretty much white bread." And the Huffington Post has a poll asking whether the title should have gone to Fairfax.
However, this prize doesn't belong to Bethesda alone. When Forbes says "Bethesda," they're referring to the "Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick Metropolitan Division," a term used by the Census Bureau to break down the larger Washington metropolitan area. It contains Montgomery and Frederick counties. The rest of the region, including D.C., Northern Virginia, and Prince George's, Charles and Calvert counties in Maryland, belongs to the "Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metropolitan Division."
Left: Denver is a less cool place than Montgomery County, according to Forbes.
Right: Portland didn't make the list at all. Photos by the author.
Forbes has lavished Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick with many plaudits in recent years, including 2nd Smartest City, 9th Geekiest City, 5th Most Secure Place to Live, 21st Best-Performing City, and even 2nd Most Livable City. Montgomery alone has gotten its fair share of awards too, being named Utne Reader's "Most Enlightened Suburb" and making the Atlantic Cities' list of Creative Class Counties.
Still, very few people would conceive of Montgomery or Frederick counties, which together cover an area over 60 miles long, as a single "place," let alone a city. After all, some people in Kensington won't even go to Wheaton, a mile away. As a result, the Columbia Journalism Review has called Forbes' use of Metropolitan Divisions manipulative and wildly misleading.
But is that the magazine's fault, or the Census Bureau, who drew these lines in the first place? As Jarrett Walker points out, the boundaries of both metropolitan areas and cities are often arbitrary and have no relation to actual communities or social or economic connections.
The Census may lump Montgomery and Frederick counties together, but as a resident of Silver Spring, I spend more money in and have more social ties to DC than I do to Frederick. However, not only is it in another Metropolitan Division, it's in another state, sort of.
"Portland on the Potomac" deserves a fitting theme song. Video (mostly) by the author.
Whether or not Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick deserves to be called one of America's coolest cities, the facts supporting that title still hold. With 1.2 million residents, it's comparable to the metropolitan area Salt Lake City. It has one-fifth of Maryland's jobs and 600,000 jobs and just 5 percent unemployment, compared to 8 percent nationwide.
Montgomery County has a majority-minority population with 164 countries represented in its public schools. It's got everything from the headquarters of a major media corporation to punk houses and a town lovingly called the "People's Republic." The county is even planning to build one of the country's largest rapid transit systems.
This skate shop is one of many cool things in Frederick.
And Frederick County, whose reputation as a backwater once earned it the name "Fredneck," has a bustling downtown of its own with trendy restaurants and a growing number of wineries.
We may not be the coolest, and we may not be a city in the proper definition, but there's still plenty to be proud of. And unlike Portland, the sun actually comes out in Montgomery County.
 | A planner and architect by training, Dan Reed is interested in suburban retrofits. Dan works for the Friends of White Flint, writes his own blog, Just Up the Pike, and serves as the Land Use Chair for the Action Committee for Transit. Dan lives in Silver Spring.    |
Comments
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by Jack Love on Aug 6, 2012 10:43 am • link • report
Not only is Silver Spring far more diverse (in many ways), a dog, bike, and/or child is not required to fit in :)
by silver springer on Aug 6, 2012 11:22 am • link • report
by silver springer on Aug 6, 2012 11:25 am • link • report
by Devoe on Aug 6, 2012 11:26 am • link • report
I, of course, agree with silver springer, but then again the great part about MoCo is that you have the downtowns of Bethesda, Silver Spring, Wheaton, and Rockville (and obviously all the great DC neighborhoods) all within easy reach, so whatever floats your boat is a-okay by me. Us Silver Springers will inevitably still make fun of boring Bethesdians, though. :P
by jag on Aug 6, 2012 12:03 pm • link • report
by Juanita de Talmas on Aug 6, 2012 12:15 pm • link • report
I think the Columbia journalism critique of Forbes is spot on. Census collects data for its own national purposes. Media outlets can't whine that it doesn't suit their slapdash analysis, they could go out and collect their own data, do their own surveying, or actually perform the work they used to do.
Forbes is just doing what most the fading outlets are doing, creating a list that is sensational and people can argue about. The problem is that a headline that reads "marginal opportunities for employment, social interaction, and recreational activities compared by city" isn't nearly as interesting as "coolest/sexiest/drunkest/fattest/thinnest/smartest..." cities lists. Nothing sells news like using meaningless superlatives.
by Will on Aug 6, 2012 12:24 pm • link • report
by Rich on Aug 6, 2012 12:57 pm • link • report
For one it should restrict the definition of "city" to locales with 100K+ residents (which would eliminate Bethesda). Orange County is not a city and has no place on the ranking.
Also, there is a clear bias towards Texas here. Fort Worth??? Dallas?!?! HOUSTON?!?!?! San Antonio and Austin are infinitely better than any of those 3 cities, especially that sh**hole wasteland known as Houston. Aside from the three very out of place Texas cities, Bethesda, and OC, I think the list is pretty accurate (San Fran>San Diego though).
btw: LOL @ the moron @ Huff Post who thought Fairfax should have been on the list. Seriously? Get real.
by King Terrapin on Aug 6, 2012 1:40 pm • link • report
by dan reed! on Aug 6, 2012 1:52 pm • link • report
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJo2zz8EKKA
by xmal on Aug 6, 2012 2:43 pm • link • report
Forbes ranking "coolness" is like the Daily Kos ranking "most business friendly". And, any ranking of coolness that has Houston on top is laughable. Forbes should stick to what they know best...ranking rich people and big businesses.
by Falls Church on Aug 6, 2012 3:04 pm • link • report
Oh, and it's still a cooler place to live in than Bethesda. But please don't move here.
by Reza on Aug 6, 2012 3:44 pm • link • report
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=201580855300428071629.0004c2c430a4804e28619&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=38.988535,-77.095056&spn=0.011675,0.018196&z=15&source=embed
I count twenty-three projects in various stages.
by MattF on Aug 7, 2012 8:17 am • link • report
by Capt. Hilts on Aug 7, 2012 9:17 am • link • report
by Capt. Hilts on Aug 7, 2012 9:22 am • link • report
Great map! I've been tracking urban development in Bethesda myself and have been looking for a map like this for a while. Do you have a similar map for Silver Spring or White Flint?
by King Terrapin on Aug 7, 2012 9:36 am • link • report
I don't know of similar maps for other areas, it would be a neat idea, though. I do wonder if all the residential projects are aimed at the same group of empty-nester Boomers. We shall see.
by MattF on Aug 7, 2012 1:01 pm • link • report
by selxic on Aug 7, 2012 1:14 pm • link • report
by SM on Aug 7, 2012 1:30 pm • link • report
That map is very cool. There was a development map of Silver Spring I saw once, but it hasn't been updated in several years. I'm also concerned about who new residential projects in Bethesda are going to serve - buildings like this seem pretty targeted towards empty-nesters, which is an important demographic, but ignores other groups who may want to live in the area. For instance, folks coming to work at the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
It's unfortunate that MoCo's main response to BRAC has been to get funding for road expansion around the campus. Of course, housing in Bethesda is expensive and it's unlikely that many hospital workers could afford to live there, but then why aren't we trying to get more housing (and a wider array of housing) built in the area, so fewer people will have to drive (or even use the Red Line, which is already at capacity during rush hour)?
by dan reed! on Aug 7, 2012 9:49 pm • link • report
I believe all the housing development in whiteflint and twinbrook is being aimed at all those walter reed workers and other young professionals. New residential development in Bethesda is hoping to draw in wealthy residents from Chevy Chase/Bethesda
by Mike on Aug 8, 2012 4:52 pm • link • report
As for Denver, I'm not sure why it didn't make the list. Portland, OR is over-rated.
by ceefer66 on Aug 9, 2012 6:54 pm • link • report
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