The genesis of JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) was rocket researchers doing it on the Caltech campus and the community fearing explosions. So JPL was created out of town, and named "Jet" instead of "Rocket" because it sounded less dangerous.
It doesn’t have to be a negative thing but I do understand that getting pushed out of all urban areas in a hostile NIMBY culture we’ve developed could very well limit the field in many ways.
Or 90% do and 10% want to shut down the thing depressing their property values. The problem is that 10% votes and shows up to city council meetings.
>> http://america.aljazeera.com/multimedia/2015/7/richland-wash...
The idea that postdoc researchers are on the whole a bunch of hipster urbanites is laughable.