Although I'm no expert, it is my understanding that being a gateway city means the same as saying "medium-sized", or working class. All the diversity and none of the transportation.
What does it mean to live in a gateway city?
From my perspective, I drive less. Not because of the great transportation opportunities my city provides. There is only less driving because most things are located within the city limits. Hospitals, government agencies, banks, supermarkets, etc. Such things are within easy driving distance.
Yet there is an isolationism that comes with this kind of life, too. A tendency to retreat to your own back yard, or side deck, rather than interact with others. Why walk half a mile to enjoy an adult beverage or two when I can accomplish the same thing in my backyard?
What's more, even when we gateway dwellers do venture out, the activities are often about as social as a game of solitairre. Dinner in a sprawling, corporate-themed restaurant. Sitting in a movie theater the size of hotel. Shopping. None of these are exactly haute culture.
So what's a gateway dweller to do, short of dropping everything and moving to a larger city?
The answer is simple - support local revitalization efforts AND regional public transportation.
Imagine if we would design and properly fund a public transportation system that linked the gateway cities? I don't know about you, but I'd take a train ride to New Bedford over driving down route 24 any day. Same thing for Fall River. Maybe even Fitchburg or Springfield.
Of course this begs the question, who would take a train ride to Brockton? This is where revitilazation efforts come in to play.
Clearly we need a two-pronged approach:
1. a reasonable transportation system designed around the gateway cities, and
2. a concerted effort at creating an exciting downtown Brockton.
I don't think either is too much to ask of our elected officials.
No comments:
Post a Comment