This is your 4th of July homework assignment (because, instead of bbq’ing, you really want to get meta. Indulge me.)
Some who live in Morgan Hill like the ’small town charm’ or cherish that it’s ‘a great place to raise a family’. Others may say, we’re isolated, far away from services and culture. Add a third layer to this mix: we have the ability to get news, culture, information (and publish it, too) from around the world in a single click. As a hyper-connected parent of two kids, I’ll say yes to all three. First, it’s certainly a nice, quiet place to live. Secondly, it’s also lacking everything culturally that I want my kids to be exposed to (and me as well). Thirdly, because of being a hyperconnected family, my kids have grown up in a world, with inter-connected relationships around the globe.
For everything around us– the Outlets in Gilroy to the vastness of San Jose to the north– does being a small town hurt us economically? Does it hurt us culturally? Does it risk us becoming de-incorporated into a sprawling outland of civilization? Does it prevent businesses from wanting to be here (and cause tax money to not be generated here?) Or does none of this matter, because we have the ability to be mobile? Does it not matter how isolated a place is when the means to travel ‘away’ exist? Is it good for reducing our consumption because we have limited access to immediate services.
Oftentimes I wonder about the residents of small towns that are part of a contiguous metropolitan area. Take, Campbell, CA, for example. Roughly the same population as Morgan Hill, it is technically a small town, yet surrounded by other small towns and cities. Does Campbell have an identity? Or is it the victim of lack of homogeneity? (Quick, where’s Westgate? San Jose? Campbell? Or does it matter where Westgate is, since IT is a geographic point of reference– you just know, but not care, where Westgate is.)
All of these musings lead us to that question.
What does ’small town’ mean in the 21st century?
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