Connected cities

Big difference between Trenton, NJ and Philadelphia, PA--but people drive between them all the time. Unlike Akron and Cleveland, where the distance seems practically insurmountable to many of us, folks in NJ don't think of other areas as no-man's-lands. Many go back and forth quite readily.

It's 20 minutes to Philly from where I am (Cherry Hill, NJ), an hour and a half to New York City, and a couple of hours' train ride to Washington, D.C. A lot of miles, yes, but itt's all in your perception as to "how far away" a place is.

Why do we perceive the Akron-Canton-Cleveland-Columbus corridor/region so differently than these east-coasters do theirs? Could it have to do with boundaries? Each entity develops itself as an individual; the main city grows as the close-by "others" do the same.

And then one day, each entity wakes up and begins to see the others as desirable entities with which to have a relationship--and then the people within each entity begin to think of the distances as less significant.

I might be talking out of my hat, but I'm guessing that this is just beginning to happen in NEO. Akron has been boosting itself higher and higher (even in its own estimation—look at the upcoming 3rd annual Akron Business Conference, which proudly asserts itself as worthy to name "winners" in any area of northeast Ohio. And look at Columbus, which is building itself ever more attractive to dynamic young people. And of course all of us positive-thinking Capitalist Cleveland fans know that our fair city is blossoming like mad.

Well, I think the day is coming when we'll start to think and behave more like this east-coast enclave. Maybe Cleveland will take the role of New York (I am nothing if not a positive thinker) and Akron will be like Philly and Columbus will be like New Jersey.

Hey, today's dreams are what shape tomorrow's realities.