From Metropolitans to Megapolitans
From Metropolitans to Megapolitans
Apr 07 2012 By Robert Lang Read More: http://citiwire.net/columns/from-met...-megapolitans/ Quote:
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an arizona megapolitan? it's 100 miles of catci, ostrich farms and nothingness separating tucson from phoenix.
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And how about European Megapolitans. Silly article. Seems more about Megasprawlitans.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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The whole country is a megapolitan rex. CMA=313 million. biggest city in the world :sly:
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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). |
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actually Harrisburg, York, Lancaster are very gradually growing into a single metropolitan area. The Harrisburg MSA includes Carlisle |
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