What Does Your City Say About You?

Since your background is in urban planning, how do you think cities' identities come to be?
One, those cities develop some edge in those fields. Take Silicon Valley and technology, for example. It had great universities, Stanford and the University of California up the road. Los Angeles was a great place to make films because it had a great climate. New York is a port city and center of commerce, so it's great at financial transactions and mercantile [trade]. There have always been [distinct] communities [with advantages] because they've had high levels of migration and been more open-minded, welcoming foreigners, misfits, bohemians, as well as gay and lesbian communities. So I think the reason someplace like Silicon Valley takes off in technology and not, say, Pittsburgh, where I lived, is that it's just a more open place.

How do the megaregions that you identify make place important to global economies?
Most people thought nation-states were the real competitors, or maybe the city and its suburbs. What we did in looking at this satellite data is figure out that the world is driven by 40 megaregions. These are places like the Boston-New York-Washington corridor, or the area that runs from Chicago to Pittsburgh, or the areas around Amsterdam, London, or Tokyo. We looked at satellite images of the world at night and determined that what makes a megaregion is what is lit up, because that's economic energy. These 40 megaregions account for about 20 percent of the world's population but produce about two-thirds of economic output and nine out of 10 of the world's innovations. They are the driving forces of the world economy. In the U.S., because we're a big, affluent country, we have 10 or 12 great megaregions. Most countries only have one, like China, with the Shanghai to Beijing corridor. So if the U.S. or Europe is a little spiky and uneven, then China, India, Russia and Brazil are completely spiky. If current trends persist, I think the U.S. and other advanced countries will come to look even more like the emerging economies. We're going to get even spikier, until such time as policymakers feel they need to address this.

And what are those implications for policymakers?
We're becoming so divided that these propulsive centers of our economy are generating fear, anxiety, and resentment. People say, "The cities are where the yuppies, trendoids, and gays live. We have to move back to family values." And our public policy actually punishes cities, as we transfer wealth from them to our hinterlands. It's in the culture wars, the Red and Blue states—the spiky centers are all bright blue, while the places being left behind are deep red. Barack Obama appeals to people in the spiky centers, Hillary Clinton appeals to the people in Ohio being left behind, and John McCain appeals to people who are outside and resentful of this kind of change. Sooner or later in our world economy, we're going to need leaders willing address this, but until then it's just going to get worse and worse, more and more concentrated. I think the real leaders with their heads screwed on right are the mayors. Regardless of party, a lot of mayors are focused on building thriving economies and increasing the quality of life in their towns.

So how should people use this data to determine what kind of decisions to make about where to move and what kinds of lifestyles to pursue?
In terms of my kids, my nieces and nephews, I would tell them first and foremost to think about where they're going to live. The first thing is not the job they're going to do, not the spouse they want. Then, as you think about those three things together, it'll become clear. If you're looking for a mate, just look at our singles map. You're just in a much better situation depending on your gender in different communities. But many of these people give little thought to the fact that where they live will have an effect on so many facets of their lives—from their ability to find a mate to their access to certain careers. You need to be smart about place to actually have the life that you want to have.

You're living in Canada these days. What does that say about your choice of place?
I've always been a huge fan of Toronto. And Toronto's leaders actually care about this and are trying to build a less spiky, more diverse and more inclusive economy. The University of Toronto put up money for an institute to study it, which I'm directing. And it's part a megaregion I dubbed "Torbuffchester," which is the fifth-largest in North America.

© 2008