That's why more than 10 counties in
Colorado moved to form a 51st state called "North Colorado" earlier
this year. Seriously. In conjunction with organizers in Kansas and
Nebraska, representatives of each county met in Weld County to begin
mapping out the boundaries of the proposed new state. The movement was
fueled when state legislators voted to tighten environmental standards,
increase gun control, and increase oil and gas regulations. (As you can
guess, North Colorado would likely be one of the most conservative
states in America). Voters approved the measure, but Congress is
(extremely) unlikely to approve the 51st state.
There have been more than 10 proposed states that never became a star
on the U.S. flag — all initiatives that sought to solve local political
disputes through secession. But what would America look like if we all
got our way? What if New York and New York City actually went their
separate ways; if NoCal and SoCal divided; if north and south Florida
split; if things ACTUALLY MADE SENSE.
And, more so, if all states were truly equal.
Urban planner Neil Freeman has you covered, with the above map, a pipe dream of perfect secession.
Freeman explains his methodology:
The map began with an algorithm that grouped counties based on
proximity, urban area, and commuting patterns. The algorithm was seeded
with the fifty largest cities. After that, manual changes took into
account compact shapes, equal populations, metro areas divided by state
lines, and drainage basins. In certain areas, divisions are based on
census tract lines.
The District of Columbia is included into the state of Washington,
with the Mall, major monuments and Federal buildings set off as the
seat of the federal government.
The capitals of the states are existing states capitals where
possible, otherwise large or central cities have been chosen. The
suggested names of the new states are taken mainly from geographical
features:
- mountain ranges or peaks, or caves – Adirondack, Allegheny, Blue Ridge, Chinati, Mammoth, Mesabi, Ozark, Pocono, Rainier, Shasta, Shenandoah and Shiprock
- bays, capes, lakes and aquifers – Casco, Tampa Bay, Canaveral, Mendocino, Ogallala, Salt Lake and Throgs Neck
- songs – Gary, Muskogee and Temecula
- cities – Atlanta, Chicago, Columbia,
Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, Philadelphia,
Phoenix and Washington
- plants – Tule and Yerba Buena
- people – King and Orange
The words used for names for the name are drawn from many languages, including many American Indian languages.
Boom. Problems solved. Right?
