I made this exact argument to a friend a few days ago when I was visiting Portland. Following an observation about the fact that the mostly rural far right woul

I made this exact argument to a friend a few days ago when I was visiting Portland. Following an observation about the fact that the mostly rural far right would have to pry the city out of the cold dead hands of its inhabitants, I was struck by the fact that cities are poised to become massively more powerful as globalization accelerates. Any major port city (assuming it isn't under water) is going to look to its nearest inland neighbors and its other major trade partners, deem the federal government to be full of shit, and build the infrastructure needed to move goods between the two -- because they will have the capital to invest to do it. More importantly they have the data and the political flexibility to negotiate with other 'city states'. If you are going to live in the middle of nowhere, it is going to start costing much more, and I can imagine a future where if you aren't a tax paying citizen of cities that have banded together to fund infrastructure development, you will be paying a steep fee to make use of it. The solution to the US's infrastructure woes is in the hands of cities, and I suspect that if they choose to act, the country is going to look very different in 30 or 40 years. Add to this the fact that the federal govt is no longer tampering with normal settlement patterns by subsidizing suburban living, and the rich and powerful are going to congregate in cities. Sure they may own a second house in the middle of nowhere, but the vast majority of their productivity will be created while in the city. I also suspect that cities that do not invest in social infrastructure (e.g. housing, and zoning regs) will ultimately fall behind, network effects aside. An anecdote I heard was that Portland rents have been rising at nearly 20% per year, and many people simply cannot find a place to stay, and wind up on the street (SV exporting their finest social features?). But Portland is building housing all over the place so I think it has a chance. Cities that cannot figure out how to maximize their productivity by providing good social infrastructure will become the new backwaters. Another great article on this is [0]. 0. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/opinion/sunday/a-new-map-for-america.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/opinion/sunday/a-new-map-...