Social and economic divides can be masked in other regions, because of their development patterns. But in the Midwest, the divides are as clear as can be.
This is especially true in Kansas City, which although it thinks of itself as midwest, isn't quite. There the political and cultural power is in the suburbs, especially on the Kansas side. I've often thought of Kansas City as essentially a colony of Johnson County, Kansas. And the contempt of the suburbs for the city is palpable. I have seen lots of evidence for this.
I think, Mr. Saunders, you have approached the city-suburb issue from an relevant angle. I agree that conflict is a definite characteristic of relations between the two in the American Midwest more than elsewhere in the country. It has been observed more than once, for example, that one reason Chicago triumphed over Saint Louis has the dominant city in this region, besides the railroads, is its relative jurisdictional unity. That's a technical way of saying more of Chicago's metropolitan area lies in one powerful municipality than Saint Louis (or Kansas City for that matter). It's long eclipsed rival, on the other hand is riven and weakened by persistent divisions: Saint Louis city versus Saint Louis County versus the towns and villages of the Illinois side of the Mississippi river. These conflicts make of Greater Saint Louis a text book case of the issues you discussed in your essay. You might note that Chicagoland has divisions of its own. What about the city versus the collar counties versus Indiana? But Chicago is a much bigger entity in both population and area, and is not walled off, jurisdictionally speaking from its surrounding suburbs (many of them in Cook county like the city itself) as is Saint Louis. Chicago has no rival in its state, much less its region, unlike Saint Louis which has been overtaken by Kansas City, itself walled off from the prosperous Johnson county suburbs by a state line. My point is that cities can thrive when less energy, time and resources are expended on settling internal turf battles or apportioning power, and more effort is put toward transcending political divisions to focus on unity and progress for both city and suburb.
This is especially true in Kansas City, which although it thinks of itself as midwest, isn't quite. There the political and cultural power is in the suburbs, especially on the Kansas side. I've often thought of Kansas City as essentially a colony of Johnson County, Kansas. And the contempt of the suburbs for the city is palpable. I have seen lots of evidence for this.
IMO Kansas City is part of the Midwest, just the Great Plains division. The other divisions: North Woods, Great Lakes, Heartland and Midland Valleys.
Good point. I just keeping thinking that Missouri is nothing like Illinois or Ohio or Minnesota. Missouri was a slave state - and it still shows.
I think, Mr. Saunders, you have approached the city-suburb issue from an relevant angle. I agree that conflict is a definite characteristic of relations between the two in the American Midwest more than elsewhere in the country. It has been observed more than once, for example, that one reason Chicago triumphed over Saint Louis has the dominant city in this region, besides the railroads, is its relative jurisdictional unity. That's a technical way of saying more of Chicago's metropolitan area lies in one powerful municipality than Saint Louis (or Kansas City for that matter). It's long eclipsed rival, on the other hand is riven and weakened by persistent divisions: Saint Louis city versus Saint Louis County versus the towns and villages of the Illinois side of the Mississippi river. These conflicts make of Greater Saint Louis a text book case of the issues you discussed in your essay. You might note that Chicagoland has divisions of its own. What about the city versus the collar counties versus Indiana? But Chicago is a much bigger entity in both population and area, and is not walled off, jurisdictionally speaking from its surrounding suburbs (many of them in Cook county like the city itself) as is Saint Louis. Chicago has no rival in its state, much less its region, unlike Saint Louis which has been overtaken by Kansas City, itself walled off from the prosperous Johnson county suburbs by a state line. My point is that cities can thrive when less energy, time and resources are expended on settling internal turf battles or apportioning power, and more effort is put toward transcending political divisions to focus on unity and progress for both city and suburb.