Business View - February 2016 7
Editor’s
Note
Regular readers of Business View Magazine will note that, from time to time, we include articles about cities within the pages of our
monthly journal. For example, this February, we are featuring three cities in Texas: Cedar Hill, San Angelo, and Wichita Falls. Other cities
in both the U.S. and Canada have been profiled in previous issues of our online magazine. Why do we write about cities in a publication
devoted to the inner workings of the commercial and corporate worlds? After all, cities are not in the “money making business” – a fact
pointed out to us recently during a conversation with Glenn Barham, the mayor of Wichita Falls.
As true as that assertion may be, the reality is that the city that does not operate like a well-run business enterprise is going to fall on
hard times a lot sooner - and a lot faster - than the city that does. In his book City Economics, author Brendan O’Flaherty states: “Cit-
ies could persist—as they have for thousands of years—only if their advantages offset the disadvantages.” Since cities generally have
complex systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing, and transportation, just like a successful business, all the moving parts
must be integrated into a smoothly-working whole so that the advantages, such as reduced transport costs, the sharing of natural
resources, large local markets, etc., outweigh any potential drawbacks: higher crime rates, higher costs of living, and worse pollution,
among other negativities.
Historians believe that in earlier times, protection against enemies was a major factor that induced populations to gather in one par-
ticular place. Other reasons that ancient cities were founded include the coalescing of like-minded political or religious entities, or as
centers of trade and commerce. In ancient Greece, beginning in the 1st millennium BC, the notion of citizenship emerged in that pol-
ity’s various city/states. The “Agora,” the “gathering place,” was the center of the people’s athletic, artistic, and spiritual lives. Cities
in ancient Rome were specifically planned, laid out, and built in order to maximize their advantages for the benefit of their populations
and the glory of the state.
In modern times, the growth of industry from the late 18th century onward led to massive urbanization as rural populations migrated
from surrounding areas to take advantage of the new opportunities and the higher standard of living that cities seemed to offer. Today,
the world’s population is slightly over half urban. Sociologists point out that the close physical proximity of people and institutions in
the modern city helps facilitate “knowledge spillover,” where individuals and businesses can better exchange information and generate
new ideas. Population density also enables a better matching of skilled labor to the employment needs of the contemporary business
enterprise.
Today, particularly in North America, there is a growing movement that is sometimes called “New Urbanism.” This return to the tradi-
tional city planning of ancient metropolises calls for mixed-use zoning that allows residents to walk conveniently among housing, shop-
ping, office, and leisure facilities. Reducing traffic congestion and improving human interaction is the goal. In addition, another new
city planning paradigm is the “smart city;” one that uses innovative communication networks and broadband services to create more
efficient conglomerations in the areas of competitiveness, innovation, environment, energy, utilities, government, and the delivery of
services to its citizens.
Many cities have come and gone in the course of human history and the sands of time are punishing to those cities that have failed
to grow and prosper intelligently. No, cities are not in the business of making money. But they are in the business of making life safer,
healthier, happier, and hopefully, more humane.
Al Krulick
Editor-in-Chief
Business View Magazine
