North v. South: the rumble continues

The collective accrued wealth of the Northeast is staggering. The great campuses of the Ivy League make the physical plants of Southern universities look like frat houses within Second Life (though Columbia's Lee Bollinger surely salivates at the real estate available too them). Sidewalks abound, connecting a huge stock of cool old houses, and fleets of artisans trained to maintain them. Yes, for decade upon century, people have been raking in fat ducats up here and plowing them into the physical plant, making for many a beautiful place.

But so many people are hip to it, meaning traffic, scarce parking, long nasty commutes. Density is good, making it easy to run into people and exchange ideas. And if density is the future, the Northeast holds the future firmly in its grasp. Would that it were less of a pain in the ass to get there.