Planner Arthur C. Nelson and sociologist Robert E. Lang have published a new book, Megapolitan America: A New Vision for Understanding America's Metropolitan Geography. In the book they suggest that the United States, as it grows toward a population of 400 million by 2043, will have at its core 23 megapolitan areas that are clustered into ten regions. USA Today provides a map of these megapolitan regions and their clusters. The concept of the Boston to Washington megalopolis was introduced in 1961 by the geographer Jean Gottman. Nelson and Lang actually consider the BosWash megalopolis to be three megapolitan areas - New England, New York/Philadelphia, and Chesapeake, that are grouped into one cluster called Megalopolis. This division reminds me of the regions of the U.S. by phone calls and the Nine Nations of North America.
The other megapolitan clusters include: Cascadia (Puget Sound and Willamette), Sierra Pacific (from Western Nevada to the greater San Francisco Bay Area), Southwest (Southern California, Sun Corridor [greater Phoenix], and Las Vegas), Mountain (Wasatch Range [greater Salt Lake City] and Front Range [greater Denver]), Twin Cities, Great Lakes (Chicago, Michigan Corridor, Ohio Valley, and Steel Corridor [greater Pittsburgh]), Piedmont (Atlanta and Carolina), and Florida (Florida Atlantic and Central Florida).
Comments
this is interesting. as a former truck driver i have seen this transformation. I have witnessed metropolitian areas stretching towards each others while shrinking away from others. Case in point, I have witnessed how Milwakee and Chicago have grown together so now it is one continious urban area between them. Now you can also see this along Interstate 65 between Chicago and INdianapolis. Lafayette, Lebanon, Lowell, Merrillville, all continue to grow and stretch along the interstate slowly creeping together.