Obama made interesting remarks during his address at the U.S. Mayor’s conference, telling the mayors not to expect federal money, but noting that cities were critical: “Yes, we need to strengthen our cities. But we also need to stop seeing our cities as the problem and start seeing them as the solution. Because strong cities are the building blocks of strong regions, and strong regions are essential for a strong America.”

Cities are poised to become the epicenters of activity in the foreseeable future. Demographic trends uniformly indicate influx to metro areas and exodus from the 'burbs. After ten years of top-down might, it is a little unusual to have a presidential candidate argue against top-down solutions. Yet Obama's thought that top-down control will be ineffective in responding to changing urban trends could well be right.

Part of what's been fascinating about the emerging green economy so far is seeing the way it changes by region according to varying energy demand, politics and citizens’ needs. It has also been impressive that, even at varying rates, green activity is stirring in even the most unlikely places in the nation. In many ways, the federal government’s role with regard to regions might be just to enable what cities are trying to do to address their own issues.