Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Um, yes, sorry, but it is. Pennsylvania has an obscene amount of municipalities -- all with their own independent governments (over 2,500: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...n_Pennsylvania). This lends to an often provincial character (for better and worse).
I think of a beautiful state that has so many great things. I could travel around Pa. for months and never get tired of it. Just visiting all of the historical sites could take me forever. The Capital building in Harrisburg is one my favorite buildings in the world. It's just beautiful. My wife and I were trucking for 5 years and I never got tired of crisscrossing Pa.
I don't know where all you've lived. (I believe you're from Philly.) I've lived in 7 states; several places in some of them, visited extensively in a few others. EVERY place is provincial. NYC is provincial. Ever see those cartoons about a New Yorker's view of the US? Here in CO we're accused of being provincial b/c we're so isolated from the rest of the country. Californians are considered provincial. Midwesterners are considered provincial. Some of the worst provincialism I've seen comes out of Chicago and Minneapolis! Pennsylvania, where I grew up, doesn't have a corner on provincialism by a longshot!
Yes there is provincialism. Then, there is provincialism to cut your nose to spite your neighbor in the next block (not the next metro, or the next county). To the extent of de-regionalizing and separating sewers: http://lemoynepa.com/documents/Upgrade2013.pdf
I don't know where all you've lived. (I believe you're from Philly.) I've lived in 7 states; several places in some of them, visited extensively in a few others. EVERY place is provincial. NYC is provincial. Ever see those cartoons about a New Yorker's view of the US? Here in CO we're accused of being provincial b/c we're so isolated from the rest of the country. Californians are considered provincial. Midwesterners are considered provincial. Some of the worst provincialism I've seen comes out of Chicago and Minneapolis! Pennsylvania, where I grew up, doesn't have a corner on provincialism by a longshot!
But that's not what Duderino is talking about. He's talking about tiny enclaves with municipal governments, police forces, school districts, taxing authority, etc. etc. that should be consolidated for the sake of efficiency (and resulting lower taxes and improvement of muni services) as all that additional government is unnecessary and expensive for taxpayers. But they don't consolidate because the 'provincialism' of current residents makes them fear they would lose their "uniqueness". Which is mostly baloney.
Imagine if Brooklyn was no longer part of NYC (as it used to be). Not only that, but imagine if Red Hook, Williamsburg, Rockaway, etc. etc. all went their own way, with their own mayors/city councils, their own fire, police and sanitation, their own school administration hierarchy, etc. That's kind of where much of PA is. While Western and Southern cities consolidate and merge outlying communities into larger, more efficient metros, PA's small towns just dig in further.
But that's not what Duderino is talking about. He's talking about tiny enclaves with municipal governments, police forces, school districts, taxing authority, etc. etc. that should be consolidated for the sake of efficiency (and resulting lower taxes and improvement of muni services) as all that additional government is unnecessary and expensive for taxpayers. But they don't consolidate because the 'provincialism' of current residents makes them fear they would lose their "uniqueness". Which is mostly baloney.
Right -- not to get into a political debate, but yes, I'm referring to how the government structure in PA really seems to foster provincialism more so than other places.
However, I do agree with Katiana that provincialism is not unique. Peoples' outlook may be a little less narrow in other states, but overall provincial attitudes are very common throughout the US (and the world, for that matter).
But that's not what Duderino is talking about. He's talking about tiny enclaves with municipal governments, police forces, school districts, taxing authority, etc. etc. that should be consolidated for the sake of efficiency (and resulting lower taxes and improvement of muni services) as all that additional government is unnecessary and expensive for taxpayers. But they don't consolidate because the 'provincialism' of current residents makes them fear they would lose their "uniqueness". Which is mostly baloney.
Imagine if Brooklyn was no longer part of NYC (as it used to be). Not only that, but imagine if Red Hook, Williamsburg, Rockaway, etc. etc. all went their own way, with their own mayors/city councils, their own fire, police and sanitation, their own school administration hierarchy, etc. That's kind of where much of PA is. While Western and Southern cities consolidate and merge outlying communities into larger, more efficient metros, PA's small towns just dig in further.
I know what you're referring to in the first paragraph. My father was a councilman for a small borough, and yes, that stuff happened. They did realize that a town of 600 or so (in a suburban Pittsburgh county, so not isolated) couldn't provide every service and there were some co-operative agreements for police, fire protection and the like. Back in the late 50s the state forced some school consolidations. That was a bitter pill to swallow for some, but it worked out OK.
I don't know about southern cities, but western cities aren't out voraciously annexing suburbs. Denver is virtually prevented by the Colorado constitution from annexing, for example. That is an urban legend perpetuated by eastern cities' media.
Even if King of Prussia Mall is the biggest, I would think Mall of America in Minnesota is more well known as being the biggest.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
