And it gives hope to peripheral places. Places on the margin aren't doomed. Space relationships do change over time. Fifty years ago places that were 60 to 70 miles from London were regarded as deeply rural, very far away from the center. Today these places are regarded as essentially part of the boom belt of Britain because they are connected to London by motorways and medium-speed trains.
Distance is no obstacle.
But this transformation of place and space doesn't happen on its own. Remote places need help. And if they are really remote, they have to develop better air services. That isn't easy because it's a fact of life that dense places get the cheap flights and peripheral places don't. Still, there may be creative ways around this if a place can develop its airport as a new kind of hub or transfer point, as a way to avoid the congestion that's afflicting most major airports in the U.S. and Europe.