Megaregions

An aerial view of New Jersey suburbs, with Manhattan and New York City in the distant background.

The Rise of the Megaregion

A new book outlines the benefits of public investment at the regional scale.

March 23, 2022 - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

A subdivision of large suburban homes, some with bright blue pools, sits atop a low hill in Hays County, Texas.

Pressing Pause on Development in the Shadow of Austin's Growth

The Dripping Springs City Council points to inadequate wastewater infrastructure and the need to update its comprehensive plan as reasons for the city's development moratorium.

February 17, 2022 - Community Impact Newspaper

Los Angeles

Reforming Local Development Regulations for Sustainable Megaregions

Managing development at the scale of megaregions is possible. An excerpt from the recently published book, "Designing for the Megaregion: Meeting Urban Challenges at a New Scale," written by Jonathan Barnett, explains how.

March 12, 2020 - Jonathan Barnett

Interstate 580

Counties Outside of Bay Area Eye Transportation Mega Measure in 2020

Northern San Joaquin Valley transit officials are eying a $100 billion Bay Area transportation measure to potentially fund a $1 billion rail tunnel for two commuter railroads to bring workers to the East Bay and Silicon Valley.

September 5, 2019 - The Sacramento Bee

Denver Region

Revisiting the Megaregion

The idea of cities as components of larger megaregions has lost some of its popularity, Alon Levy looks at regions around the world to try to understand how useful the concept is in understanding cities and regions.

September 5, 2019 - Pedestrian Observations

Arizona Sprawl

Predictions That Phoenix and Tucson Will Merge Revisited

Before the recession, bumper Arizona home sales led to predictions that the state's two largest cities might merge by 2040. The downturn stalled those forecasts, but now they're being revisited.

May 6, 2019 - Arizona Republic

Sacramento

Bay Area Displacement Spreads to Sacramento

A new study finds evidence that the ripple effect from the San Francisco Bay Area's housing affordability crisis has reached all the way to Sacramento.

November 25, 2017 - The Mercury News

Chinese pavilion. Elling park. Chongqing city.

China's Inland Cities Hit Their Stride

China has added to the ranks of the world's megacities at a ridiculous clip. Even so, inland cities have tended to languish in anonymity. With new policies and economic orientations, the Chonquings are starting to compete with the Shanghais.

May 22, 2015 - The Diplomat

Exhibit Seeks to Understand Japan's 'Metabolism' Architecture

The new exhibit at Toyko's Mori Art Museum will be the first architecture showcase since the 2011 earthquake, and displays a movement central to the country's history of building and rebuilding.

February 7, 2012 - The New York Times

The Extreme Future of Megacities

Megacities are the future of our planet. Author James Canton offers several visions and strategies to begin planning for them.

December 31, 2011 - Significance

Trains So Fast They'll Make Mama Proud

To hear my mother tell it, I gave Joe Biden the idea for high-speed rail. Charitable and glowing, yes, but isn’t that what mothers are for?  All the same, I can’t help but glow a bit anyway when I think about how far we’ve come as a country in embracing high-speed rail. 

February 9, 2011 - Jeffrey Barg

Why the Infrastructure Bank is Right On

Columnist Neal Peirce throws his weight behind the Obama Infrastructure Bank proposal.

September 21, 2010 - Citiwire

I Like the Choo-Choos That Go Fast

These days, I have more in common with my nephew Sam than just about anyone else. He just turned 3. Sam is a train fanatic. Sure, he loves the children’s classics—Thomas the Tank Engine, the Polar Express—but he can also tell you about the Eurostar and the Shinkansen. His recent first ride on Amtrak was like his locomotive bar mitzvah: Today, I am a passenger. I’ve spent all semester working on a studio project making the case for true high-speed rail in the Northeast megaregion. I picked the studio because, like Sam, I’m thrilled by trains, but an added perk is that every time I come with some new picture or factoid about the big, fast choo-choos, I move up a notch in the running for Uncle of the Year.

April 24, 2010 - Jeffrey Barg

Global Cities Becoming Global Mega-Regions

A new report from the United Nations says that world cities are increasingly becoming mega-regions of developed areas, and governing these regions must become a new focus of governments.

March 23, 2010 - Guardian

Understanding Mega-Cities

A new book explores the disconnect between how a "mega-city" region is portrayed through statistics, demographics, etc., and how it is perceived by the public.

March 11, 2010 - re:place Magazine

Metro Areas Organizing Themselves Towards Regional Goals

Metropolitan officials in the Sun Corridor of Arizona are increasingly working together to form a self-organized super-region, according to this analysis.

February 22, 2010 - The New Republic

Do 'Megaregions' Make Sense?

The Urbanophile attempts to separate the hype from the usefulness of the concept of the 'megaregion', deciding in the end that it is a 'convenient abstraction for federal-level thinkers.'

December 10, 2009 - The Urbanophile

Mega-Regions Rule the World

Richard Florida notes that there are only 40 significant mega-regions that drive the global economy, and are poised for faster recovery from the economic slowdown.

October 13, 2009 - The Wall St. Journal

Megaregions and Megaproblems

As America's metropolitan areas meld into "megaregions", officials and policymakers will need to figure out how to deal with their shared and growing infrastructure problems. Consider the ball rolling.

June 25, 2009 - Nate Berg

Why Metro Denver is Desirable

In this article, researcher Richard Florida looks at why and how the Denver area became a "megaregion" and a highly-desirable place to live.

March 27, 2008 - The Rocky Mountain News

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