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I think part of the difference is that the USA has a lot more "Tier 1" cities than other countries would have for their size. Australia really has 2 major citi

I think part of the difference is that the USA has a lot more "Tier 1" cities than other countries would have for their size. Australia really has 2 major cities (Sydney and Melbourne), and two second tier cities (Perth and Brisbane). I think it's also in part to how separated the federal government is from local governments. In Australia, tax money is collected by the federal government and then disbursed to the states (bit of a simplification). There's less of a clear delineation between "federal money" and "state money".

adventured 9y ago
It is slightly unusual. Germany is somewhat similar, as is China (scaled to their population). The Tokyo metro is famously 30% of the population of Japan. It'd be like LA having nearly 100 million people. The Moscow metro is 11% of Russia. The NYC metro is 6% of the US by comparison. Germany's two largest metro areas - Berlin and Ruhrgebiet - have a comparable share of its population to NYC at around 6%-7%. Stockholm is 23% of Sweden. London is nearly 21% of the UK. Paris is 18% of France. Toronto is 16% of Canada. Mexico City is 16% of Mexico. Madrid is 14% of Spain. Amsterdam is 13% of the Netherlands. Bucharest is 12% of Romania. Rome is 12% of Italy. Jakarta is around 11% of Indonesia. Lagos is 11% of Nigeria. São Paulo is 10% of Brazil. Amazingly, the Shanghai and Beijing metro areas are close to or sub 2% of China.
- freddie_mercury 9y ago
  > Stockholm is 23% of Sweden But this is like saying "Phoenix is 23% of Arizona", which is also true. (Arizona and Sweden have roughly comparable populations, though Sweden is a bit larger.)
  - toomanybeersies 9y ago
    Not really. There isn't a governmental level above Sweden (the EU doesn't really count), but there is above Arizona.
- zby 9y ago
  And Athens is about 35% of Greece :)
freddie_mercury 9y ago
Without adjusting this for population I don't know what it really tells us. Yes, Australia with a population of 24 million has fewer "Tier 1" population centers than a country with 325 million. Just going by ratios I would expect the US to have 26 Tier 1 cities. I would also expect the US and Europe to have roughly the same number of Tier 1 cities, since they have roughly the same population. I agree that the federal model of the US (which cascades down and has similar boundaries at the county & city level) is probably one of the root causes. Having "NSW Police" versus 482 city police departments in California is just one of many examples.
- toomanybeersies 9y ago
  About 40% of the population of Australia lives in the Melbourne and Sydney metros, about evenly split. So 20% of the population lives in Sydney, and 20% in Melbourne. By contrast, the NYC metro area has around 6% of the population of the USA. But it's also about bulk number of large cities. If the federal government wants to inject funding into a large city in Australia, they have 2 options. You can't really play politics there, especially since Sydney and Melbourne have similar political makeups.
- simongray 9y ago
  > I would also expect the US and Europe to have roughly the same number of Tier 1 cities, since they have roughly the same population. Europe's population is around twice that of the US and the EU itself has around 50% more people than the US, so that is not an entirely accurate statement.

adventured 9y ago

It is slightly unusual. Germany is somewhat similar, as is China (scaled to their population). The Tokyo metro is famously 30% of the population of Japan. It'd be like LA having nearly 100 million people. The Moscow metro is 11% of Russia. The NYC metro is 6% of the US by comparison. Germany's two largest metro areas - Berlin and Ruhrgebiet - have a comparable share of its population to NYC at around 6%-7%. Stockholm is 23% of Sweden. London is nearly 21% of the UK. Paris is 18% of France. Toronto is 16% of Canada. Mexico City is 16% of Mexico. Madrid is 14% of Spain. Amsterdam is 13% of the Netherlands. Bucharest is 12% of Romania. Rome is 12% of Italy. Jakarta is around 11% of Indonesia. Lagos is 11% of Nigeria. São Paulo is 10% of Brazil. Amazingly, the Shanghai and Beijing metro areas are close to or sub 2% of China.

freddie_mercury 9y ago
> Stockholm is 23% of Sweden But this is like saying "Phoenix is 23% of Arizona", which is also true. (Arizona and Sweden have roughly comparable populations, though Sweden is a bit larger.)
- toomanybeersies 9y ago
  Not really. There isn't a governmental level above Sweden (the EU doesn't really count), but there is above Arizona.
zby 9y ago
And Athens is about 35% of Greece :)

freddie_mercury 9y ago

Without adjusting this for population I don't know what it really tells us. Yes, Australia with a population of 24 million has fewer "Tier 1" population centers than a country with 325 million. Just going by ratios I would expect the US to have 26 Tier 1 cities. I would also expect the US and Europe to have roughly the same number of Tier 1 cities, since they have roughly the same population. I agree that the federal model of the US (which cascades down and has similar boundaries at the county & city level) is probably one of the root causes. Having "NSW Police" versus 482 city police departments in California is just one of many examples.

toomanybeersies 9y ago
About 40% of the population of Australia lives in the Melbourne and Sydney metros, about evenly split. So 20% of the population lives in Sydney, and 20% in Melbourne. By contrast, the NYC metro area has around 6% of the population of the USA. But it's also about bulk number of large cities. If the federal government wants to inject funding into a large city in Australia, they have 2 options. You can't really play politics there, especially since Sydney and Melbourne have similar political makeups.
simongray 9y ago
> I would also expect the US and Europe to have roughly the same number of Tier 1 cities, since they have roughly the same population. Europe's population is around twice that of the US and the EU itself has around 50% more people than the US, so that is not an entirely accurate statement.