Currently I am residing outside of Asheville, NC in a rural area in a very small town of 2225 as of 2010. The city of Asheville now has 87,882 and 424,858 in the metropolitan area. It is a city and region undergoing large scale growth. There are mostly grass fed livestock farms here and are spread out in the low land areas of this mountainous region. At one time there was more diversity such as tobacco and corn. Not so much anymore as in the smaller farms as in this area is no longer profitable. Asheville is one of the few exceptions of liberalism in the southeastern United States. People in the south are generally very slow and resistive to change. In the city of Asheville not so much. However NC is is no longer as some would have considered 30 years ago, a so-called a southern progressive state by any stretch and is generally speaking by and large Christian and conservative.

Prior to moving to Asheville, NC I lived in Charleston, SC for quite a long time. Charleston in may ways is quite the same as Asheville. Geographically speaking though are totally different. In regards to inner city transit systems both cities have very good and adequate bus systems serving the community at affordable costs. Buses in both cases historically replaced what in our reading for the week refers to “street cars” and street car communities in and around the communities. Neither city is terribly large and at this time do not have longer “commuter service” type of runs or “commuter rail” services. However this will undoubtedly be arriving with the continuing expansion of both cities as an economic and efficiency concern in the future.

Boston is a very large metropolitan region. In regards to the aspects of mass transit and efficiency the area is very well served by its mass transit system(s). Boston is an area that accommodates many many people coming and going all the time. It offers commuter rail service, street car service, subway service, inner city bus service, commuter bus service, inter-city bus service, inter-city rail service and more. Many downtown people don’t own cars and ride bicycles and or ride buses, subways (street cars inc.) or in taxi’s. It is a very efficiently run system. Much of the electricity used for the subway cars is however fired with coal and nuclear and these technologies are becoming outdated and have proven dangerous. At this time we have no clear answers but prospects for a better cleaner more efficient future. Solar, wind, water hydro power, and hydrogen and others replacing diesel, coal and nuclear means and leaving less carbon footprint and lower cost.