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From Metropolitans to Megapolitans

From Metropolitans to Megapolitans

Apr 07 2012

By Robert Lang

Read More: http://citiwire.net/columns/from-met...-megapolitans/

Quote:

In a space as large as France, the Netherlands and Belguim combined, America’s megapolitans house more than 2.5 times as many people. In fact, they are more densely settled than Europe as a whole and, by some estimates, will house two-thirds of the U.S. population by 2040.

- It is true the average population density in the U.S.—about 100 persons per square mile—is roughly half that of Western European countries. But the comparison is misguided. The U.S. has a significant amount of densely settled urban areas scattered throughout. While megapolitans occupy only 17 percent of the continuous 48 states’ land base, America’s megapolitan clusters, as a group, form the world’s third most populous country, behind China and India.

- Megapolitans, as they are often referred to, are strings of metropolitan areas connected by shared transportation networks, labor markets and culture. The megapolitan clusters are metropolitan regions networked either by commuting, trucking, or commuter airlines and separated by less than 550 miles. Thus far, metropolitans view nearby regions as competitors rather than partners. In fact, only one metropolitan area has a regionally elected governing body: the Metro Council of Portland, Oregon, created in the 1980s. No other region has followed suit.

- Metropolitan partnerships can help secure a region’s vitality in the global economy. Phoenix and Tucson, for instance, can pool their collective assets and markets to produce a global gateway known as the Sun Corridor. Phoenix is a large-scale region with an international airport and global links. Tucson received the state’s original land grant university, and is home to the University of Arizona, which has strong research capacity in space science and optics and contains the main branch of Arizona’s medical school. Roughly speaking, Phoenix has the global access and Tucson has the technology.

- Local elected officials and business leaders in Orlando and Tampa are following suit to create the Florida Corridor — its goal to combine Orlando’s tourist economy and global connectivity with Tampa’s major port and industries tied to logistics. Cooperation among megapolitans such as Seattle-Portland or Chicago-Detroit-Cleveland-Pittsburgh becomes increasingly important as the federal government must ensure that taxpayer money spent on infrastructure improvements and resource-land management is not wasted. Our past proves a lack of planning at a broad level can produce inefficient outcomes, as is the case with several transportation infrastructure projects.

- While our cities and counties increasingly get on board with regional collaboration, this process requires a shift in the way we traditionally think about the many cities and counties that surround us. For instance, despite the strong objections by local officials and business leaders, Florida Gov. Rick Scott killed high speed rail between Tampa and Orlando. We can recognize his rationale was tied political discourse rather than disdain for regional collaboration. Nonetheless, his actions dampened the chances for regional integration between Tampa and Orlando and stifled their ability to compete against other megapolitans which have pooled their metropolitans’ talent and resources to create a single unified region.

.....

an arizona megapolitan? it's 100 miles of catci, ostrich farms and nothingness separating tucson from phoenix.

And how about European Megapolitans. Silly article. Seems more about Megasprawlitans.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JManc (Post 5659296)

an arizona megapolitan? it's 100 miles of catci, ostrich farms and nothingness separating tucson from phoenix.

Actually, not so much anymore. Except for the Gila River Indian Reservation (which has development of it's own along I-10 just south of Phoenix, including a new high-rise casino hotel and other operations), the gaps are filling in, and cities are springing up between the two. Maricopa has over 43,000 people now, Eloy 12,000, Casa Grande 50,000, Florence 26,000, Coolidge 10,000 and more...Pinal County (the county between the two cities) has suburbs of Phoenix sprawling in from the north and suburbs of Tucson sprawling up from the south, and the population has surged thusly:

1970 67,916
1980 90,918
1990 116,379
2000 179,727
2010 375,770

--don

The only valid point that I got from the blurb posted above (didn't click the link) was that comparing the density of the U.S. to the density of Europe is pointless, because the U.S. contains vast areas that are sparsely inhabited or uninhabited (or even uninhabitable), whereas Europe is geographically perfect for human habitation and lacks big empty spaces.

The emphasis here is greater regional co-operation instead of competition, and benefiting from what unique things the individual cities have to offer as a collective.

And also be responsible for collectively lobbying for regional infrastructure projects and not have to feel held obligated to follow the Tea Party in Washington who'll oppose any large infrastructure improvement for the sake of it having to do with infrastructure.

The problem is that the U.S. is completely fucked when it comes to urban or even metro/megapolitan policy because of the design of our legislature.

Simply put, as long as every state gets 2 senators, we will be behind Europe on that stuff, because of a stupid part of our Constitution that says Wyoming gets the same Senate reprsentation as California or Texas.

You can't get anything related to infrastructure through Congress without loading it down with enough pork to get the less populated states on board, which is why Amtrak still runs trains it shouldn't and will never be profitable (or even close), no matter how expensive and uncompetitive it makes its trains in the Northeast Corridor.

I guess we'll have to see how effective these state corridors will be. That existing greater Portland council could provide an indication.

About the megalopolitans, could the gap in the Appalachians be filled between the Great Lakes and the Northeast Corridor for a 7-shaped megalopolis from the Midwest into the Northeast and Southeast?

The whole country is a megapolitan rex. CMA=313 million. biggest city in the world :sly:

Quote:

Originally Posted by eternallyme (Post 5660088)

About the megalopolitans, could the gap in the Appalachians be filled between the Great Lakes and the Northeast Corridor for a 7-shaped megalopolis from the Midwest into the Northeast and Southeast?

Have you ever driven across Pennsylvania?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport (Post 5660098)

The whole country is a megapolitan rex. CMA=313 million. biggest city in the world :sly:

OMG. take that Shanghai!

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10023 (Post 5660109)

Have you ever driven across Pennsylvania?

Haven't you heard? Bedford, Breezwood, Carlisle, and the rest of the lower Susquehanna River Valley are banding together to form an up-and-coming urbanized area!!

;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonboy1983 (Post 5660230)

haven't you heard? Bedford, breezwood, carlisle, and the rest of the lower susquehanna river valley are banding together to form an up-and-coming urbanized area!!

;)

lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don B. (Post 5659541)

ok. i was last on that stretch in 2003 so i'm sure much has changed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10023 (Post 5660109)

Have you ever driven across Pennsylvania?

The primary route of the "megapolitan area" would be through upstate New York. Buffalo ---> Rochester ---> Syracuse ---> Utica ---> Albany ---> New York

Throw this in the face of anybody who says rail won't work in the US because we're just not dense enough.

Of course, this may be true on the local level - we'll never have the pedestrian-oriented stations and town centers of Europe when the majority of population lives in anti-pedestrian, low-density subdivisions. But there's no reason rail has to be dependent on pedestrian environments. Stations can be built in an auto-oriented form just as easily. Plus, we've got pedestrian environments around most rail stations - they're called Main Street (usually).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila (Post 5660785)

Throw this in the face of anybody who says rail won't work in the US because we're just not dense enough.

See my prior post. Rail funded at the federal level doesn't work because of our political system. Any good rail system would need to be funded and built at the state level (or by a partnership of neighboring states). The problem is that states don't generally have the money for that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonboy1983 (Post 5660230)

Haven't you heard? Bedford, Breezwood, Carlisle, and the rest of the lower Susquehanna River Valley are banding together to form an up-and-coming urbanized area!!

;)

actually Harrisburg, York, Lancaster are very gradually growing into a single metropolitan area. The Harrisburg MSA includes Carlisle

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10023 (Post 5660863)

Most states in the NE Corridor has something, some is regional, some state; I'm thing Septa, NJ Transit, etc.