A revolution unleashed -- New York City : innovation and the next economy -- Denver : the four votes -- Cleveland : the post-hero economy -- Houston : el civics -- The rise of innovation districts -- Toward a global network of trading cities -- Metros as the new sovereign -- A revolution realized

Today, the Bay Area is home to the most successful knowledge economy in America, while Los Angeles has fallen progressively further behind its neighbor to the north and a number of other American metropolises. Yet, in 1970, experts would have predicted that L.A. would outpace San Francisco in...