On my flight home today, I saw a little US Airways blurb on several cities. US Airways loves to promote its hub cities. One of these, of course, is Charlotte. And what did our favorite airline tell us is the big attraction for us in the drag Queen City? Why, NASCAR, man-made-white-water rafting and fine dining, of course... Just picture those unique Charlotte institutions of... Uhm... Nevermind, it was Ruth's Chris and Hard Rock Cafe. Where was I?

"Import Substitution" was a term not originated by Jane Jacobs, but she crystalized it in her book "Cities and the Wealth of Nations", in which she posits that in order to thrive in deep time, cities must convince the world of their unique value and place in that world. They must make themselves relevant in the face of their competing city economies, and intercity trade is only effective when different cities specialize in different things which give meaning to their isolation.