But many of those interviewed said that, instead, the smallness has trapped the state in parochialism, insecurity and outdated traditions that block change at every turn.
The $350-million glass cube structure replaces a stately but outdated courthouse a few blocks away that has been in use since 1940.
If your sofa has thin traditional legs that look a little outdated, replace them with chunkier block legs, which are more contemporary".
In his battle to block reform of Italy's outdated welfare system (including, crucially, its pensions), the diehard Marxist has enlisted the support of the trade unions, which have been enjoying a flurry of big rallies and small strikes.
At the triple-border zone, one sees a sizable community on the Russian side of outdated decaying factories and old Soviet-era apartment blocks, linked by a lonely railway bridge to the virtually non-existent North Korean border post.
"It appears that for some, the outdated mind-set of serving 'their communities' has been a block to meaningful progress.
Lib Dem deputy prime minister Nick Clegg accused his Conservative colleagues of trying to block the report, and of a "totally misplaced, outdated, backward-looking view".
But if I didn't keep up with the real estate sites, then I wouldn't know that earlier this summer a center-hall colonial a block away from me sold for $2,439,500 despite its outdated kitchen (thank you, Cyberhomes.com).
Young men on the block, reluctant to credit the police, today describe carrying weapons as "outdated".
Using party resources to take advantage of New York's outdated ballot laws, Gov. George Pataki and the state Republican chairman, William Powers, plan to block Mr. McCain from running statewide against their favorite, Gov. George W. Bush.
