Defining a continent: in case you didn't know ...

The metalcasting industry has been deeply embedded in the roots of North America since a few of the early settlers fired up their first crude iron works. It was the chosen industry for many of North America's founders, and its importance grew with time. This impact is recognized in author Joel Garreau's book, "The Nine Nations of North America," in which the term, the Foundry, is used to identify and define a specific region of the continent.

In his book, Garreau, a Washington Post journalist, argues that existing political boundaries are irrelevant. Instead, he divides North America into nine regions that are defined by their own economic, political and cultural characteristics.

The Foundry Region represents the industrial areas of the northeastern U.S. stretching from New York City to Milwaukee, including Chicago as well as southern Ontario. Detroit is designated as the capital of this "nation."

Garreau wrote of this region, "A foundry, in which molten metal is cast into forms, historically represents one of the most basic and ancient technologies known to man ... And historically, the nation of the Foundry served as basic and time-honored a role in the development of North America as the facilities after which it is named. In fact, especially for the hundred years ending during World War II, North American industrial history and the history of the Foundry were close to being the same thing."

The other regions identified in "The Nine Nations of North America," are the Breadbasket, Dixie, Ecotopia, the Empty Quarter, the Islands, Mexamerica, New England and Quebec regions (Fig. 1).

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

According to Garreau, each nation contains cultural differences that affect the residents' world views and divide the continent. He argues that everything from politics to urban planning should be redesigned to match the evolving regional sensibilities, which matter more to people than national and international borders.

Written in 1981, Garreau's controversial book has been met with praise and skepticism, while ensuing developments in national and international politics in the last two decades and into the new millennium have made the views and predictions in the book continually relevant.