|
Building the META City
The city builds its META counterpart. The first thing that it does is to acquire the land for the META City. The land will be paid for by the special district and leased to private parties for construction of the META City facilities. Ownership of the land upon which the META City will be built is important, for it is from the lease of this land that part of the income will derive for the mother city. Perhaps more importantly, it is the ownership of the land that will enable the city to control its destiny as it grows and times change.
There are three basic functions that could occur within a META City :
Administration --which would include all of the information gathering and processing facilities, plus offices for the META City and for member business, and perhaps display rooms for available products.
Production -- it can be expected that at least some production will take place within a META City at the outset, and eventually quite a lot will occur within the free trade zone.
Storage and Transportation depots - One of the prime functions of the free trade aspect of the META city will be the holding and shipping of goods prior to their exit into the taxable economies.
Ideally, perhaps, all of these functions would be take place within one META site, that is, a city would build a single META city encompassing all three functions. However, the age, size and geographical situation of a city may place severe limitations on the site. In many cases it would not be desirable to locate the META site in the center of city because of the congestion which transportation of goods in and out of the city would create unless new rail lines could be built to facilitate.
Where available, port-side locations would be the best, combining rail and sea links, and perhaps, even new types of cargo aircraft (such as advanced dirigible designs) which could be accommodated by cargo islands built out over the water.
Inland cities would have to take the transportation problems under careful consideration, since the purpose of the META city is to provide opportunity for the improvement of urban life, not to increase the levels of congestion, noise and pollution.
It may be that in some areas, META locations will be split, with transportation facilities, and perhaps production located on or near existing rail or air ports with administration housed in more accessible and attractive parts of the metropolitan complex.
THE EXPANDING META CITY: Cities are dynamic institutions. Unless destroyed by man-made or natural disasters or by-passed in the ever-changing economic and social developments, cities tend to grow. In many parts of the world, the term "city" is useful only for arbitrary administrative purposes, as metropolitan expansion unites old cities with surrounding villages and mushrooming suburbs.
There is no reason to assume or anticipate that a META city, once established, would not reveal these historical urban tendencies to outgrow its natural boundaries. Thus, the location of the META daughter should be done with its eventual growth in mind. In most cases, growth would occur at the "expense" of the mother city. In fact, if the concept of the META city is sound, the daughter will eventually absorb more and more of the founding mother. The META city will become the city.
This dynamics of the META city will spring from the addition of a fourth function -- residence. As the administrative and economic life of the META City grows, those who work in it will become more desirous to live there as well. This tendency would seem to go against the grain of a century of experience in industrial cities, as first the middle class and then much of the working class fled the factory sites and office blocks for the suburbs. Why would this historical tendency reverse itself in the META city? | 
