San Jose as the city most ready

In 1998, San Jose was the first city in the nation to complete a Defense Department training program aimed at helping cities prepare for terrorist threats. It was also first to craft a comprehensive response plan. In the event of an anthrax or sarin gas attack, for instance, local hospitals and relevant city departments have an action plan.

Today, this plan has become the national model; it is distributed to other cities by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Part of the reason for San Jose's leadership comes down to simple geography. Straddled by the San Andreas and Hayward Faults, San Jose has long had to deal with the threat of earthquakes.

As a result, the network of emergency services here has always been extensive and up-to-date. So when the federal government in 1997 began a program to prepare the 27 largest US cities for terrorist attacks, San Jose already had much of the infrastructure in place.

The city's penchant for civic thinking has also played a major part. This was the first major US city to gather data on traffic stops to combat racial profiling. And Santa Clara County - which includes San Jose - has taken the unprecedented step of guaranteeing healthcare coverage for everyone under 18.

San Jose also responded seriously when the federal government began its antiterrorism program. For one, it created a permanent position for someone to coordinate emergency services. It also paid more than $1 million to train members of the new response team. Reproducing San Jose's model nationwide, however, might be difficult. As the US economy sours, budgetary concerns could prevent other metropolitan areas from taking immediate steps.

In fact, such a huge undertaking might be impossible without federal help, says Frances Edwards-Winslow, director of San Jose's Office of Emergency Services. She notes that even her well-prepared city needed $1.4 million in federal money to set up new emergency plans, and she likens the challenges ahead to those of the cold war.

When America thought the Soviets might rain down missiles, the government began the Civil Defense initiative, helping cities and counties pay for bomb shelters and sirens, as well as instituting the legendary schooltime bombing drills of the 1950s and '60s. Today, if it wants cities to be prepared, Dr. Edwards-Winslow says, similar measures may be required. "If the federal government sincerely believes we're going to be a target, it has to establish a program like the Civil Defense program," she says.

Whatever the remedy, experts agree, it will mean a broader change for how US cities and their citizens view themselves. Not that places like New York or San Jose need to be under pseudo-martial law. Rather, they might simply need to graft a little Old World awareness onto the open American lifestyle.

"My sense is that European cities are far ahead because they have been dealing with this for a long time," says Mr. Kotkin. "For us, this is a real coming of age. We overcome the crime wave of the '60s and '70s. Now, this is a different situation."

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