Megaregions 101
Dr. Talia M. McCray
Assistant Professor
School of Architecture
Community & Regional Planning Program
Overview
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Origins of the term “Megaregion”
What is a Megaregion?
How many Megaregions are there?
Delineation Criteria of US Megaregions
Global Megaregions
Texas Context
Current Research & UT CRP Course
Origins of the term “Megaregion”
• Jean Gottmann, 1964 – French
geographer coined the phrase
“Megalopolis” – Very Large City. First
applied to the Northeast Corridor –
Boston to DC. Region defined as
“discrete and independent, uniquely
tied to each other through the
intermeshing of their suburban zones,
acting in some ways as a unified supercity: a megalopolis”
• Global City-region (Scott, 2001) – Term
has been used by urbanists, economists,
and urban planners since the 1950s to
mean not just the administrative area of
a recognizable city or conurbation but
also its hinterland that is often far
larger. Economic ties may include rural
areas, suburbs, or county towns.
What is a Megaregion?
• Networks of metropolitan
regions with shared
– Economies
– Infrastructure
– Natural resource systems
• Stretching over distances of
roughly 300 miles - 600 miles
in length
Source: Hagler & Todorovich, 2009
Definitions of a Megaregion
• A chain of roughly adjacent metropolitan areas.
• Composed of two or more cities, like the
Boston-New York-Washington corridor
• A clustered network of American cities whose
population ranges are or are projected to range
between 7 to 63 million by the year 2025.
• A polycentric agglomeration of cites and their
lower-density hinterlands. A new natural
economic unit as metropolitan areas become
denser and grow outward into one another.
Spatial Linkages
• Economics: Interlocking economic systems
• Environment: Shared natural resources and
ecosystems
• Infrastructure: Common transportation
systems
How many Megaregions are there?
Between 10 and 11 depending on the criteria
Regional Plan Association & America 2050 –
11 Megaregions
Lang and Dhavale - Metroplitan Institute at Virginia
Tech– 10 Emerging Megaregions
Center for Quality Growth & Regional Development,
Georgia Tech – 10 Emerging Megaregions
Richard Florida “Who’s Your City”
12 Megaregions PLUS Mexico City
Delineation Criteria of U.S.
Megaregions
Regional Plan
Association
Metropolitan Institute
Analysis Unit
County
Requirements of
megaregions
More than 2 metropolitan
areas & 10 million population N/A
by 2040
Analysis Criteria
- Population size
- Contiguity
- Cultural and historical
geography
- Physical environment
- Links of large centers
- Growth projections
- Goods and service flows
County
- Environmental
systems and
topography
- Infrastructure system
- Economic linkage
- Settlement patterns
and land use
- Shared culture and
history
Global Megaregions
Europe
Asia
The Rise of the Mega Regions (Florida, Gulden and
Mellander, 2007)
“Endless Cities”
(UN 2008-2009 State of the Cities report: World's biggest cities merging
into 'mega-regions„)
• World's largest 40 mega-regions cover a tiny
fraction of the habitable surface of our planet
and are home to fewer than 18% of the
world's population, BUT account for 66% of all
economic activity and about 85% of
technological and scientific innovation,“
• The top 25 cities in the world account for more
than half of the world's wealth
• The five largest cities in India and China now
account for 50% of those countries' wealth.
Need for Megaregions
• Megaregions have been
introduced as:
 A new framework for
national spatial
development policies
• Captures the economic,
political and spatial levels
responding to
agglomerations
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Business activity
Population
Mobility
Natural Resources
Source: Ross, 2009
Governance & Planning
• No defined system in place for the MRs
– Federal role(s): interstate commerce, air/water
quality, highway funding
– Cities and counties are responsible for
metropolitan planning activities including land
use
– States responsible for state networks
– Fitting in the private sector
2:State
– Currently, the closest entity that takes a
more ‘regional’ type role are MPOs/COGs
• Have no tax base
• No authority for state level activity
1:Federal
3:Local: County, City,
Town
Texas Megaregions
• The Gulf Coast: Parts of
Texas, Louisiana, Alabama,
Mississippi, and the Florida
• Texas Triangle: Eastern Texas
Panhandle.
Principal Cities include
Principal Cities include
Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth,
Houston, New Orleans,
Houston, San Antonio
Baton Rouge
Texas Planning Today
• Many entities exist that plan on a regional scale.
– MPOs
– COGs
– Other entities (e.g. Envision Central Texas, Vision
North Texas, Blueprint Houston, etc.)
• These are limited by a lack of statutory power,
some entities are essentially limited to
recommendations.
• Most planning is done at the state and local
levels.
• Is there a gap in the method of reconciliation
between state and local plans?
Challenges and Opportunities
• By 2050 about 35 million people or
70% of Texas residents will live in
the four metropolitan areas that
comprise the Texas Triangle
• Metropolitan areas have the
potential to merge into a relatively
continuous stretch of urbanization
Zhang et al.,( 2007)
Snapshot of Current Megaregional
Research Activities
– Center for Transportation Research at UT
Austin– TxDOT Project – Megaregions and
Freight completed August 2011
– TRB Megaregions Committee – met January
2011 and at mid-year meeting
– FHWA continuing Megaregions work with
Catherine Ross - Georgia Tech
– FHWA & Volpe National Transportation Systems
Center – Study for Office of Planning on Evolving
Roles of MPOs and partners in planning for
Megaregions
Planning for Megaregions Course
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Taught by Talia McCray & Lisa Loftus-Otway
4 – Defining the MR
3 – Environmental Justice Issues
1 – Health
1 – Economics
1 – Finance & Transportation
2 – State of the American Infrastructure
1 – Corridor Management
1 – High Speed Rail
3 – Freight
1 – Water
1 – Energy
1 – Role of MPOs
1- Envisioning a New Transportation System
1 – City Economic Development
1 – Can we govern the Megaregion?
1 – MR as a new way of life
1 – Student led International Focus
Thank You !!
Questions ???