What Makes A Metro?

In Washington, D.C., as in so many cities across the U.S., a battle for the soul of the region is being waged between those who live in the suburbs, and those who reside in the urban core. But the combatants may be missing the point: “There is a panache and prestige to being downtown — baseball owners nationwide have learned that, theaters and nightclubs have capitalized on it and retailers who fled cities after the 1960s riots are rediscovering it. And there is an ease and convenience to the burbs — as retailers, football teams and movie theater chains have long known.” In other words, cities and their surrounding areas have changed in the last 50 years, and both sides need each other more than they care to acknowledge.