ABSTRACT
By far the most beautiful moments for the author in Jerusalem are when the golden-hued city glows at dusk and the sounds of church bells ringing, muezzins chanting, and Jews praying at the wall, all blend together. It is one of the ironies of the twentieth century that in an age of cities, American cities are decaying. While real trolleys in Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Boston languish for lack of patronage and government support, millions of people flock to Disneylands and Six Flags to ride fake trains that don't go anywhere. Professional sports nomenclature also offers a clue to the changing "sense of community" in metropolitan America. The designation of a place or a team by a name is one piece of evidence that a community exists. A city that is large for its time is always an impractical settlement because size greatly intensifies whatever serious practical problems exist in an economy at a given time.
