Give me a city, with a strong, urban core. Cranes in the air downtown...smokestacks and steeples on the periphery. Neighborhoods intermingled with brownstones, white linen tablecloth restaurants, and maybe a dive bar every now and then. Factories where they once brewed beer, or made widgets, now turned into condos and/or apartments...where demand is high, and people are put on a waiting list.
Mandatory...a high population density. Not just for a block, or two, but up one side, and down the other. For blocks, people...many blocks. Also mandatory...a high GDP per capita. Doesn't hurt if a river runs through it.
Some days, I want to be there. In a smaller city, those with big ideas for progress...well, they're reminded, in no uncertain terms, that their ideas don't always fit the criteria of the Status-Quo Group.
I traveled a LOT for work. A six state territory gives one perspective, as you see it all. I've seen smaller cities that have lost any shine they ever had. They remind me of ashes...slowly growing long, at the end of a cigarette. (Never smoked a cigarette in my life, but I like my analogy).
This group...I believe they have good intent, but they slow things down. You know, things like progress...and growth. They, often, grind things to a halt. I've seen it...in a number of cities, in a number of states. Recovery...a crapshoot.
They're allowed a voice...but, we don't have to listen.
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