Megapolitans Rise in the Mountains

"This region of the ghost towns and legendary lone cowboy is now registering America's fastest population growth - and expects 11 million more people by 2040."

"And indeed, the five states of the southern Intermountain West - Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico - are prospering and growing so rapidly that they may soon be tagged the "New American heartland" to reflect how their economies and presidential votes (several are swing states) impact the entire country."

"Already Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix/Tucson and Albuquerque are centers of regions expanding rapidly, forming highly urbanized chains of development. The trend's so pronounced the regions are called "megapolitan," or "Mountain Megas" in a new report by Robert Lang and Mark Muro for the Brookings Institution."