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Modern American Metropolitan Cities

Modern American metropolitan cities face many issues, many of them driven by hyper-partisanship in politics. They also have another problem that this article examines.

The Conception of the Internet

As an aside to this article, which will be instrumental in the other points of this article, I would relate a story I encountered while attending a meeting at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, NY, where one of the military participants involved in this story told it to me.

In the late 1940s, throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and through the late 1970s, secure military communications were carried over telephone trunk lines (telephone cables with many hundreds or thousands of individual lines bound and encased together) that ran from the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., to Rome, NY, and then to London and Tokyo military communication and command centers via buried or undersea trunk lines. Griffiss Air Force Base in the mid-1960s was undergoing a renovation and expansion that required extensive construction. The Air Force carefully laid out the location of the trunk line so that it would not be disrupted by the construction. However, they were off by a couple of yards, and one of the construction excavators severed the trunk line. This caused great panic in the Pentagon, as they had no secure communications with London and Tokyo until the trunk line was repaired a few days later. This was a crisis, for if a hostile government (Russia or China) discovered this lack of secure communications, it would be an opportunity for them to initiate military action with a tactical advantage. They were also concerned that a hostile government would try to sabotage these trunk lines before initiating a hostile military action.

After the repair was complete, the Pentagon decided that it needed a secure communications system in which, if one of the focal points became disabled or destroyed, the other focal points could pick up the slack and maintain secure communications with the other communication and command centers. This led to the DARPA ARPANET program, initiated in the 1960s, which led to the development of the ARPANET, which was the first wide-area packet-switched network and a foundational technology for the modern Internet. This program aimed to create a robust communication system that could function even if parts of the network were damaged, ultimately evolving into the Internet we use today.

One of the lessons the Pentagon learned was that dispersing key assets and adding redundancy increased security, because natural or man-made disruptions at any single focal point would not severely compromise readiness. This is especially true in the modern era of terrorism and the possibility of rogue Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) attacks.

This leads me to the main point of this article—a core problem facing modern American metropolitan cities.

Why Did Large Cities Arise

The history of cities has shown that large cities arose primarily due to economic opportunities, technological innovations, and the need for efficient resource management. They developed as centers for trade, culture, and industry, attracting populations seeking better living conditions and employment prospects.

Economic Opportunities

Large cities emerged as centers for trade and industry. They provided a platform for economic activities, attracting people seeking better job prospects and living conditions. The concentration of resources and services in urban areas facilitated commerce and innovation.

Technological Innovations

Technological advancements played a crucial role in the growth of cities. Innovations in transportation and communication allowed for efficient movement of goods and people, further enhancing urban development. This led to the establishment of infrastructure that supported larger populations.

Resource Management

Efficient resource management was essential to the sustainability of large cities. They developed systems for agriculture, trade, and manufacturing that enabled them to support dense populations. The pooling of resources in urban areas allowed for shared amenities and services, making city life more attractive.

Cultural and Social Factors

Cities also became cultural and educational hubs. They offered institutions like universities and libraries, fostering an environment of learning and innovation. This cultural richness attracted diverse populations, contributing to the growth and vibrancy of urban life.

Summary of City Growth

Factors Contributing to City Growth	Description
Economic Opportunities	Centers for trade and industry attracting jobs
Technological Innovations	Advancements in transportation and communication
Resource Management	Efficient systems for agriculture and trade
Cultural and Social Factors	Institutions fostering learning and innovation

These elements combined to create the dynamic environments we associate with large cities today.

Are Metropolitan Cities Necessary in Modern America

With modern Internet and cell phone communications, electronic financial transactions, and fast, reliable shipping, the question arises as to whether modern metropolitan cities are necessary or advisable. In modern America, Economic Opportunities, Technological Innovations, Resource Management, and Cultural and Social Factors are dispersed and can be dispersed without major economic or sociological impacts. Indeed, many modern technology companies have dispersed their operations or are in the process of doing so. Manufacturing is also beginning to grow in America, and many of these new manufacturing operations are dispersed across the country. Such dispersal has created many more job opportunities across the American landscape. No longer are jobs clustered around metropolitan cities; they are growing in the heartland of America.

In addition, dispersion and redundancy increase American security because natural or man-made disruptions at any single focal point would not severely compromise our economy, a lesson the military learned at the Internet's conception. This is especially true in the modern era of terrorism and the possibility of a rogue NBC attack, which could have disastrous consequences in terms of deaths, injuries, and destruction in modern metropolitan areas. This is also a good reason for government operations to be dispersed far outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Consequently, we must rethink the necessity and advisability of modern metropolitan cities and make thoughtful course corrections regarding their future. Such course corrections should be made for the benefit of Americans and for the safety and security of America.

 

p.s. – I would expect that the Democrat Party would not be in favor of this dispersal, as much of their political power resides in modern metropolitan cities, and a dispersal could dilute their political power.

 

Please note that the section on Why Did Large Cities Arise in this Article was written with the help of my AI Search Assistance, as I am not sufficiently knowledgeable about this topic to write it myself. Many of the AI Search Assistance results are based on a Wikipedia article and other sources on these topics, which I have hyperlinked within this Article. I have also merged and edited the different AI Search Assistance results for organizational purposes and to improve readability, clarity, and understandability.