Dean V. Williamson. Economist, historian, data scientist. I live in Manchester, the "Dog Town" neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. That is "Dog" as in "Underdog". Dog Town had been (and remains) dog town, because it had been an industrial zone on the south side of the James River. People didn't live here. But they did work here. It was the pulsating heart of industry. Lives and families depended on it. They were proud of it.

Everyone should live down the street from a grain elevator, and everyone should be able to appreciate the (not so) distant moanin' of a train passin' through the night.

Richmond occupies a junction between natural wonders and 19th century industrial revolution. The city is situated at the furthest point of inland navigation on the James River. Blue herons, osprey and eagles fish the waters along the rapids. Train lines traverse east, west, north, south. Industry was well situated to send out its wares to the world.