*Paul Saffo, a futurist who, not entirely surprisingly, lives in San Francisco.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/10/INEK1EAPGN.DTL#ixzz0tgZAtPpD
(...)
"That is why the Bay Area needs to start thinking like a city-state. In an age when nations have become so large that their citizens no longer identify with distant governments, city-states are political units large enough to have a global economic impact but small enough for even the most casual citizen to understand the relationships that make their city-state work. Politicians are local and thus more inclined to pragmatism and constructive action. Businesses understand that their fortunes are tied to the success of the local community. This balance between effect and size and the tendency toward social cohesion make contemporary city-states like Singapore and Hong Kong bright spots in an uncertain global economy.
"The Bay Area has all the qualities of a successful city-state. Consider geography: The Bay Area isn't an island like Singapore but, like Hong Kong, it is defined by a central bay and bordered by mountains. There are no "Welcome to the Bay Area" signs on our highways, yet we all know where we leave the rest of California and enter the Bay Area...." (((Mostly because of those brand-new rainbow flags, the internal Apple passports, and all that razor-wire.)))
