All cities are different, but some are more different than others. American cities are in sharp contrast to those of Western Europe, not least the sprawl. But in the US itself, there is a staggering variety, albeit with some continuities: how to understand cities at that particular intersection? Columbus is a latecomer in American urban history; one of only two rapidly growing cities in the country’s northeast quadrant. It is more like a Sunbelt city in its enhanced sprawl and post-industrial character, so those general characteristics help in understanding. How cities have exploited that post-industrial advantage, though, has varied quite dramatically: testimony not only to the country’s continental character, but to a decentralized state that has endowed cities with unusual autonomy.