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Exploring the Wealth Fields of Connecticut
Question One: Where Are We?
Not Texas
Answer One:In a State of Small Cities
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
Popu
latio
n
Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, Stamford, & Waterbury
Norwalk, Danbury, New Britain, Greenwich, Bristol, Meriden, West Haven
Wallingford, Norwich, Haugatuck, New London, Branford, Torrington
Answer Two: In a State of Small Cities
Built from Rail and Steam
Answer Three: Somewhere Inside the “New Atlantic Triangle”
Source: Michael Gallis
Gallis Map of the Triangle
Triangle or Corridor?
Why the Gallis Triangle Matters
Answer Will Turn Out to Depend on Urban Capitalism and the Wealth Fields
we Inherit from its History
The Very Long View of Urban Wealth Formation
A Long Era of Slow ProgressWestern Income Growth, Years 0-1500
Source: Angus Maddison Group A Estimates, 2001
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500
Year
GD
P Pe
r Cap
ita, 1
990
Dol
lars
Late Take Off & the Great Ascent Source: Angus Maddison Group A Estimates, 2001
-$5,000
$0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1820 1998
Year
GD
P Pe
r Cap
ita, 1
990
Dol
lars
ERA OF URBAN CAPITALISM
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
900,000
1,000,000
1500 1600 1700 1800
Popu
latio
n
ParisLondonNaples
Population Surge of Urban Capitalism
Source: Michael Gallis
Douglas W. Rae
Yale School of Management
Author of City:Urbanismand its End
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950
Popu
latio
n
Baltimore, MD.
Boston, MA.
New Haven, CT.
Philadelphia, PA.
Washington, DC.
Second Theme: Urban Capitalism
Historical Accident of Urbanism
Source: Michael Gallis
Centralized Manufacturing
Winchester Repeating Arms Co
American Steel & Wire CoSargent & Co
L. Candee & CoNew Haven Clock Co
Seamless Rubber Co
Strouse Adler
Centralized Living
Sargent New Hires, Early 1910
0 .6 1.2 1.8
Miles
Map LayersWater AreaStreets
Homes of New Hires9 SQUARES
Centralized Retailing
Horsepower Revolution
0
5,000,000
10,000,000
15,000,000
20,000,000
25,000,000
30,000,000
35,000,000
40,000,000
1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
Tota
l Hor
sepo
wer
(000
s)
Overwhelming Shift in the Highway/Rail Horsepower Ratio
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
RA
IL/A
UTO
RA
TIO
IN H
P
East Coast Urban Cycle
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Perc
ent o
f Eve
ntua
l Pea
k
Baltimore
Boston
New Haven
Philadelphia
Washington
ERA OF URBANISM
POST-URBAN ERA
Wealth Fields: Established Habitats for Affluence Left Behind by
Urbanism
Wealth Field: Places which include the affluent minority
Gotham Wealth Strata
Wealth Field Towns of Connecticut Often Include Many
Poor People
$0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000
$100,000$120,000$140,000$160,000$180,000$200,000
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49
FAM
ILY
MED
IAN
INC
OM
E
Differ in Racial Diversity
Differ in Density
Differ in Vehicular Excess
Range in Driving Alone
Connecticut Wealth Field Places are Demand Centers in the National
Economy
Trucking Flows that Support Connecticut (USDOT)
Those Same Trucks Slow Down Wealth Field Consumers Intent on Buying or Producing their Content
Trucks and Traffic
And Less Intrusive Freight Systems Exist
Any Take-Away from All This?
First: Nobody is Sorry for Us
• Large Parts of Connecticut Stand in a Strong Position by National Standards
Fairfield County Suburbs, Fairfield Urban Centers,
Hartford Suburbs50 Wealth-Field Towns and another 40
nearby ones
Second: Our Future Depends on Aligning Our Interests with the
Gotham Wealth Field.• Connecticut, without the New York connection,
occupies a strategic position comparable to Western Massachusetts,
• New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport are not our Central Cities: New York City is our Central City.
• The coastal corridor cities, including Bridgeport and New Haven, should be seen in part as developing suburbs of New York, Stamford, and the business corridor which runs upward from the Bronx into Westchester.
Third: Political Strategy for Connecticut Cannot be Confined to
Connecticut• Federal Transportation Politics,• Is I-95 Broken?• Can we Fix I-95 in Hartford?• Congestion Pricing as Political Nettle,• Commuter Rail as Critical to Fixing I-95,• Freight Rail as Critical to Everything.
Gallis Corridor slide
Rail Bottlenecks
• Hudson Crossings,• Nadler’s New York Tangle,• 286,000 Pound Standard,• Clearances for High Cubic Capacity
Cars.
Poughkeepsie RR Bridge
Tap RR Bridge
NAFTA FLOW IS NOT A CORRIDOR
