safest cities after the collapse

[Thomas R.]

Of metropolitan areas Bismarck, North Dakota. It's not prone to earthquakes, it's far enough north that the global warming shouldn't be too much problem, and its economy is fairly stable judging by that NPR map on another thread. Potential downside is flooding and tornadoes.

For a small/smallish town maybe Lewistown, Montana. It seems to be in a county with a low rate of both foreclosure and unemployment. I think Montana has less tornado and flood risk than the Plains. It's far enough north that warming shouldn't be too bad and I don't think it's in an earthquake zone.

For a truly small town Bison, South Dakota. It's one of the most remote American towns so should be far from rampaging hordes of urbanites. Its county also has a low unemployment rate.

[robbobobbo]

From what I know about LDS, I'd say Salt Lake City (you asked cities, not small towns or the country). I believe LDS members have to have a stockpile of food and necessities in the event of disaster, so this would help them get through any collapse in the event the GOP gets back into power.

[cpg35223]

Well, given that society collapse would be a temporary thing, people would start salvaging from the wreckage to rebuild, only on a smaller scale. To me, local governments would declare martial law, basic necessities would be provided, and the country would probably devolve into a collection of smaller, regional governments rather than isolated city states. This is particularly true in the sense that the major political units of this country, the states, have their own rather well-trained military forces that would impose order fairly quickly. In that sense, the question is regional in nature. So I would have to say the South, for a number of reasons:

1) Lower population density
2) Higher electrical capacity in coal and hydroelectricity -- the region exports electricity to the rest of the country
3) Immediate access to oil, coal, and natural gas -- very large reserves
4) Highly-developed agricultural sector with longer growing season
5) Strong, growing manufacturing/technology sector --
6) Diverse manufacturing, including automotive, aerospace, technology, heavy manufacturing, textiles, etc.
7) Abundance of water
8) Social cohesion
9) Good transportation network
10) More active national guard, more pervasive military tradition

While any region of the country can lay claim to any number of these factors (Salt Lake City, for example, would score high on social cohesion), there would be accompanying shortcomings that would retard recovery or inhibit stability. For example, the Pacific Northwest has no shortage of water and brainpower, but access to fossil fuels might be problematic. California, while certainly able to boast agriculture and oil, might have problems with social disorder and a lack of water. To me, the Northeast gets the booby prize with high population density, inadequate agriculture and power generation, and a gutted manufacturing capacity. The rest, including the Great Plains and the Midwest, would lurch along, but all would be missing one or two of the key elements.