 For decades after the decline of New England manufacturing, Hartford and Springfield competed for similar businesses.During the early 1990s, a former Springfield mayor even went so far as to launch a campaign for Hartford businesses to "leave Hartford behind" for Springfield, touting Springfield's "quality of life".Since the two cities started to work collaboratively in 2000, both Hartford and Springfield have consciously defined themselves in different but complementary ways, like Raleigh-Durham, Minneapolis-St. Paul or Dallas-Ft. Worth.