On the southern coast of California, we come across the major American city of San Diego. San Diego has a population of 1.4 million, larger than other major cities such as San Francisco or Dallas. It is known for its expansive parks, beaches, and tourist attractions, such as Legoland, the San Diego Zoo, and SeaWorld. It also hosts several navy bases, such as Coronado, North Island, and Miramar, which used to host Top Gun. Meanwhile, it also hosts several major businesses, and is increasingly becoming a center for technologies, and it is easy to create one’s own. Compared to the rest of the United States, and other cities with violent crime, the crime rate is low, although it does have problems with the drug epidemic. The GDP per capita is $100,602 in San Diego County, which is above that of the national average, and, among the top 50 richest in the USA. San Diego, although imperfect, seems to be a thriving American city. However, there is something special about San Diego. Hop on I-5 and drive south, and within 19 minutes, you will be in the city of Tijuana, the largest city in the state of Baja California, Mexico.

Tijuana, despite being next to San Diego, is not remotely similar to its neighbor. They were both separate cities part of the Spanish Empire, and later Mexico until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, which ended the Mexican American War. Both cities grew over time to the current position they are today, right along the border. Tijuana has a population of 2.2 million, the second largest in Mexico. It is not famous for it’s various tourist attractions, although there is a large tourism center there, but more for being a major crime and drug hub for the Sinaloa Cartel. It is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, having the second highest murder rate, and is controlled in large parts by cartels. Meanwhile, the kidnapping and murder of foreigners is common. Meanwhile, tourists are also robbed by the city police. The GDP per capita is around $27,600, which is much lower than the American average, and microscopic compared to San Diego. There are issues with infrastructure, and government officials often have to take bribes by the drug cartels. And keep in mind that in some sectors, such as GDP per capita, and the economy, it is better than the Mexican average.

Why can two cities next to each other be so different? Well, obviously it is because they are in different countries, but still. It has a lot to do with the history of the United States and Mexico, which is something I will get to another time, which can explain this difference, but it is how they were managed by the British and Spanish Empires, with the British seeing their colonies as an economic venture, while the Spanish tried to export the Spanish way of life into the colonies. This system of cities crossing over borders is known as a Transborder agglomeration. Transborder agglomerations can show truly how different countries could possibly be, despite being right next to each other. And the biggest examples of these are among the Mexican American Border.

In southern Arizona, we find the town of Nogales, a 26,000 strong city that looks like an ordinary city in the American southwest. The average income in Nogales is around $45,000, which is lower than the American average, but higher than some places in the US. The population is well educated, with only ⅓ not having completed high school. It is easy to create a business in Nogales, and several people do. There is little crime, and it is considered a safe city. All in all, Nogales AZ seems like an ordinary American city. However, just next to it, there is Nogales Mexico, which is in a more precarious position. The average income is around $15000 USD, which is poorer than Mississippi, or neighboring Nogales. Most people don’t have high school diplomas, while only ⅕ is collage educated. The population mostly lives in shacks that lack water and plumbing, or are contaminated. The crime rate is high, and is also, like Tijuana, overrun by drug cartels, who bribe city officials and police officers. Those that don’t comply are murdered. There are around 2-3 murders a week, which is much more than just a few feet away. And this is all better than the Mexican average, and for Nogales Arizona, worse than the national average, due to the intermixing of American and Mexican ideals and government on both sides.

There are many more examples of this, such as El Paso-Juarez and Laredo-Nuevo Laredo, which I am not going to go over. However, there are also some transborder agglomerations on the US Canada Border. In Detroit, the largest city in Michigan, right across the river, we find the Canadian city of Windsor, which is the only place in Canada that is south of the US. The cities aren’t too different, just have a different flag, unlike on the US Mexico border, where you know once you cross the border that you are in a different country. This is due to the US and Canada having the same colonizer and the same culture, so they are obviously much much similar. This is the same at Buffalo-Niagara Falls, where one can forget at times that one is in a different country.

However, the US isn’t the only nation with cities across borders. In Europe, we can see several, such as Malimo-Copenhagen  which are separated by the Oresund strait, which wasn’t connected until recently by a bridge. Meanwhile, Vienna and Bratislava, the capitals of Austria and Slovakia are right next to each other, to the point of Slovakians using Vienna Airport rather than Bratislava Airport for air travel.  Due to being part of the EU and Schengen, those nations’ cities will increasingly become more similar, erasing the gap from the Cold War, as both cities will become more interconnected with each other’s ideas and values.

This can be shown in the shrinking difference between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Until 1997, Shenzhen and Hong Kong were 2 different countries, but after 1997, they were united into one, with Hong Kong still having a somewhat democratic system until 2049. However, we can slowly see the differences vanishing over time as China forcefully integrates their system in Hong Kong.

Alright, so this is interesting and all, but why is this even important? Well, it shows the many differences between nations, despite being next to each other, but also the similarities, which might form based on their history and culture. For example, as we saw with the US, Mexico is much more different to the US than Canada, as was seen through their cities, because Mexico has had a vastly different history than that of the US and Canada. However, we can also see the changes between cities over time, such as in Hong Kong. These cities across borders are cool, but they are more important than you think.