Where Will America's NEXT Megalopolis Be?

[@tesla_autopilot]

Southern California is not a loose definition of a megalopolis. It is probably the most tightly packed continuously urbanized megalopolis in the country. From Tijuana to Santa Clarita, or from Indio to Santa Barbara, is probably about a four hour drive at most. And nearly the entirety of the space in between is developed. The megalopolis also more loosely expands out to Bakersfield, San Luis Obispo, Barstow, and Ensenada in Mexico. These areas, while distant from the core of the urban region, are still quite economically integrated with cities within that region. Ensenada is integrated with Tijuana, Barstow with the Inland Empire, and SLO with Los Angeles. But SoCal, for the most part, is one single conurbation.

[@Cyrus992]

CA policies make it harder to expand

[@rubenmajor1784]

@@Cyrus992The area between North San Diego county and Southern Los Angeles is actually just Camp Pendleton, rest of the area is rough and mountainous; not very good for expansion

[@willp.8120]

Barstow, no. Victorville/Hesperia/ Apple Valley, yes Palmdale/Lancaster, yes Santa Barbara, no.

[@Cyrus992]

@ why not Santa Barbara?

[@Cyrus992]

@@rubenmajor1784 I know and lived nearby in Laguna Niguel. However some coastal spots can do.

[@bluebananaslug8665]

The seven megalopolises mentioned at the at the beginning of the video have a combined population of 161.8 million, which is almost half the population of the entire USA.

[@ethangreen1704]

I think considering the entire Florida peninsula as one giant megalopolis is a bit of a stretch. There is a vast rural area between southeast and southwest Florida. The development only really connects once you reach northern Osceola and Polk counties, closer to the I-4 corridor. Gainesville is also separated from the rest of the population centers by extensive rural areas, so I don't think it should be a part of that either. I do agree largely with your predictions for where we could see future megalopolises appear, although I hope a lot of it remains rural. Too many beautiful places are being ruined by overdevelopment.

[@Jab_Reel]

You’re not wrong I think i95 from Jacksonville to Miami is a megalopolis and the i4 corridor from Tampa to Orlando is a megalopolis. I think it’s just easier to say it’s one big megalopolis

[@davidkasparov8043]

>There is a vast rural area between southeast and southwest Florida No, this is a blatant lie. The area you're talking about is the federally owned Everglades National Park- it's illegal to live there or build, farm, or otherwise affect the area there. Nothing 'rural' about it. Your stereotypes of "swamp people" living in trailer parks in the glades is a fantasy. That's only a thing if you go way further northwest past gainesville and past the suwanee river into the panhandle

[@Dangic23]

There are zero megapolis in Florida. Massive plots of swamp land and farms prevents any megapolis in FL.

[@Dangic23]

@@Jab_Reel Only WPB to MIA can be considered megapolis. Nothing else in the state is continuously developed. Even from Orlando to Tampa there are massive gaps of rural or undeveloped areas.

[@Jab_Reel]

@@Dangic23 I think we have different definitions of megalopolis but will agree that West Palm to Miami does feel like one continuous city

[@RickJ04040]

I still don't get how Richmond and Norfolk are not part of the NE megalopolis in your view, when all the other ones have much longer stretched of low, to zero development between them.

[@clevelandwest9276]

Because Richmond and Norfolk is not densely populated like the other metropolitan cities in the north

[@GeneaVlogger]

I definitely agree it should stretch down to Richmond, maybe even down to Petersburg, but I don't think Norfolk should be included.

[@dirtycommie2877]

This is not true. It takes almost 4 hrs to drive from DC to Norfolk. 2.5 hrs to Richmond. And once you get south of Fredericksburg, there's absolutely nothing but trees until you get to one of those cities. Meanwhile it's a 45 min drive from DC to Baltimore. 1 hr and 20 min from Bmore to Wilmington, DE. Less than 45 min from Wilmington to Philadelphia. It's not the same. Richmond and the Hampton Roads are part of the Southeast Megalopolis if there's one. They're too far spread out to fit into the NE Megalopolis.

[@timj684]

@@dirtycommie2877 I can see both points (as far as Richmond goes anyway). There is certainly a large amount of fairly rural areas between the DC suburbs and the Richmond suburbs, especially in comparison to the rest of the Megalopolis. However, the distance between Fredericksburg and Ashland (northern parts of the Richmond metro) is less than the distance between many of the other metro areas discussed as other Megalopolis's and it isn't like the areas between many of those are any less rural.

[@clevelandwest9276]

@dirtycommie2877 Richmond metropolitan area is midway from all the northeast metro cities and southeast via 85/95 remember the 85/95 split in Petersburg is halfway point between Washington D.C / Portland Me the start and the end of the northeast megalopolis Raliegh / Montgomery Alabama the beginning and end of the southeast megalopolis so it's in the middle of both but by its the capitol of Virginia and NOVA is a suburb of D.C ppl put Richmond in the northeast megalopolis

[@bryanCJC2105]

While the SF Bay Area isn't growing fast in population, it is expanding fast as people are priced out of the immediate Bay Area and commuting from places such as Modesto, Merced, Monterey, and Santa Cruz. ACE commuter rail is planning extensions from San Jose to Modesto and Merced. Caltrain is studying an extension from San Jose to Salinas (Monterey area). The state is also considering a commuter rail line from Sacramento to Yuba City. If high speed rail ever does get to at least San Jose, then Fresno becomes a commuter market as well as it will be within an hour of the Bay Area. So, the SF Bay Area may become a megalopolis from Yuba City to Fresno to Monterey and to Santa Rosa, essentially covering most of central California (Bakersfield already being a commuter market and an extension, for all practical purposes, of Southern California and Los Angeles).

[@Secretlyanothername]

If California stops making it illegal to build millions of people would arrive

[@Lombwolf]

I grew up in the Sac valley it’s growing so much, especially Chico, it’s gained more than 25 thousand people in about a decade and there’s a ton of new development

[@jeremycrandall8800]

10:19 10:19 10:19 10:19 10:19 10:19 😅l 10:19

[@otherworlder1]

I live in Phoenix now. Arizona native from Tucson. Spent 20+ years in the San Francisco Bay Area. And I agree with your assessment. I’ve lived in Phoenix since 2010 and the amount of growth I’ve seen both in population and in companies is astonishing. We are very good with conservation and water. Most of what you see is recycled non potable water. And up north there is room to grow. Three world renowned universities in this area also boosts the assessment. Sunny most of the year. And hot four months out of the year.

[@enticingmay435]

I think the reason why Phoenix has grown so quickly over the past decade is because of how much more affordable things were here compared to places where these people are moving from (California, New York, Illinois etc). More affordable housing, less taxes, cheaper living expenses etc. However I think that that growth will begin to slow now that our housing market etc has started to mirror those of other metro areas. People will just move to another more affordable places. Plus the impact of climate change should not be taken lightly. I think that we will continue to grow but the pace will drastically decrease in the coming years. Hopefully the city and state governments can have better planning. The current endless urban sprawl into the desert is not sustainable.

[@otherworlder1]

@@enticingmay435I hear what you are saying. I am a fifth generation Arizonan and 2nd gen Californian. My family has been in this part of the world since the mid 1500s. Arizona is one of the few states that takes conservation seriously. But we also couple that with the growth and opportunities that are available. Will this next megalopolis comprise 22M? I’m not sure. Most people don’t like the heat. But a megalopolis it will be.

[@Cyrus992]

@@enticingmay435sprawl is a result of codes pushing the type of growth

[@Cyrus992]

Phoenix is overrated. Las Vegas is better

[@BlueMesaCable]

@@enticingmay435 You are right - it is, by the standards of 10 years ago, very slowly unsustainable. There is water for 2 million people sustainably, slowly declining at 4 million, things get much faster after that. Not to mention new larger industry - it's not all housing and light industry moving in. Also, housing is no longer cheap here. I remember I paid my share of a house rent near $1000 with three people 10 years ago. My smaller house now, further from the center of Tempe, is nearly $2.3k a month.

[@adamanderson1979]

For the two in the Rockies, water resources will cap the growth of these areas before they achieve the same density as the establish metro areas

[@ismaelochoa6]

Build mountain reservoirs

[@BnaBreaker]

In my opinion, if you're going to consider Salt Lake City and Boise a "megalopolis," then just about anywhere could be a megalopolis too. I mean to say that is a stretch is an understatement. It's nearly a five hour drive between the two, and the biggest city once you leave that Wasatch area of Utah has like 50K. I mean if that's a megalopolis, why not Omaha-Des Moines-Kansas City-Wichita or Memphis-Nashville-Knoxville-Little Rock-Chattanooga-Louisville-Lexington-Cincinnati-Indianapolis... you get the point.

[@BeaverGeography]

The video is talking about future megalopolises. In no way am I saying that region is currently a megalopolis as I said in the video. Talking about 50 years from now though, the expansion of these cities could result in a connection that CAN be considered a megalopolis

[@johng4093]

In my lifetime I've seen the major spread of development in Northern and Southern California, Arizona, etc. It happens slowly but surely.

[@Lucasthemann]

@@BeaverGeographyyou a hating b*tch the Great Lakes are why more connected that half them places you named

[@varsoo1]

It says future. The latter example you gave lost population in the last 50 years actually, and the first is quite stagnant if not for Omaha.

[@BnaBreaker]

@ Okay, my mistake on it being a future prediction. But still, I'm not sure someone unfamiliar with the area can appreciate just how vast and empty it is along that stretch. Between Boise and the SLC CSA we're talking a roughly 250 mile stretch in which Twin Falls at 54K is more or less the only population center of any significance. For these two areas to grow together would take unprecedented amounts of development and investment. In anycase, it doesn't really matter either way... just my two cents... I definitely appreciate you thinking outside the box, and thanks for the video!

[@tikigeorgejones3817]

The growth you "want to see" around Edisto in South Carolina is a no go. The ACE Basin is there.

[@ddaniels6221]

Exactly. While I think the SC coast is rapidly urbanizing, it'll never have the kind of dense urbanization that is needed for it to become a megalopolis because thankfully a lot of the SC coastline consists of protected areas. Areas directly inland though are largely rural and primed for growth (Berkeley, Dorchester, parts of Colleton counties)

[@inkedsharkyt]

I’ve driven through the area on US 17 and there’s definitely a big difference between driving between Charleston and Myrtle beach and driving between Myrtle Beach and Wilmington

[@dan-patrickobrien3580]

He's looking at a satellite map which doesn't show true terrain. 80 percent of the area between Savannah and Georgetown is swamp and marsh. Literally the only urban areas being Savannah and Charleston. HHI and Beaufort are still relatively rural.

[@josephdegarmo]

It would be difficult to connect SLC to Boise, Las Vegas, or even St. George because of all those rural areas, including the canyons and national parks. The Wasatch Front is already becoming a megalopolis on its own.

[@highway2heaven91]

The NE megalopolis stretches from Portland ME to Richmond/Petersburg VA in my opinion. I wouldn’t be surprised if it joins up with the SE Megalopolis to create one big long East Coast megalopolis in a few decades as Raleigh isn’t all that far from Petersburg VA.

[@stickynorth]

Bingo! Megacity One is all but assured!

[@clevelandwest9276]

Yes and it's ironic Petersburg is the mid way point between Portland Maine and Montgomery Alabama the end extensions of both megalopolis

[@highway2heaven91]

@@clevelandwest9276 If they could extend Acela all the way down to Montgomery or at least Atlanta that would be pretty cool!

[@matthewcole4753]

My family has done road trips plenty of times from NYC to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and over the years I have definitely noticed the increase in traffic between. Also, this year, we went south towards Myrtle Beach, and the traffic disappeared for a bit before getting around the city. I think the entire East Coastal Plain will become one big megaregion.

[@Carsia]

Would be nice to have high speed rail from Alabama all the way to Maine. We definitely need Atlanta to Raleigh to happen and quickly.

[@ChadWright-ip8vm]

I've seen projections of the Texas Triangle expanding north along Interstate 35 to Oklahoma City and suburbs. A case could be made that this is already justified. This wouldn't be a whole new megalopolis, but it would be a significant expansion of an existing one.

[@Rylie214]

Dallas is urbanizing Sherman and Denison on the Oklahoma State border

[@jennifercarter1265]

⁠@@Rylie214but there’s still a whole lot of nothing in Oklahoma. Totally agree that DFW is in the process of expanding to the border, and I think Durant is going to get absorbed, and DFW has already more or less claimed the Winstar. But I’m not convinced DFW and OKC will ever merge. I could see OKC/Wichita/KC/St Louis merging… and maybe that line extending to Wichita Falls. I see the DFW influence moving east, and if it pulls Tyler into its orbit, I think it will go on to Shreveport. The drive from Dallas to Shreveport now reminds me of what the drive from Dallas to Austin was like when I was in college (God I’m getting old) with Tyler playing the role of Waco. It’s way more urban than the drive from Dallas to Houston down 45. I think the whole concept of the ‘Texas Triangle’ is misleading. Sure, you can draw a triangle around those cities and include the most urban areas of Texas, but the urbanization is really a C-shape from DFW down 35 through Austin and San Antonio then east to Houston. The eastern leg of the triangle doesn’t exist.

[@Reyma7]

OKC and Tulsa will connect long before OKC and Dallas do.

[@dankelly8441]

Lots of people still sleeping on Springfield, Joplin, NWA, Tulsa, OKC I see 👀

[@Hippydaze35]

There needs to b a high speed train connecting OKC Tulsa Joplin n Kansas City corridor. And a separate line going OKC Stillwater Ponca city n on up to central Kansas.

[@BnaBreaker]

Are they though?

[@dirtycommie2877]

That's because nobody lives down there.

[@milkywaymaps]

@@Hippydaze35 agreed. Rail would make this area explode.

[@TheJlt14]

Drove through there recently. Definitely more built up but still not a Dallas or anything.

[@miketimmerman6336]

If you are going to say that a 2.7m population makes the Carolina’s coast a megalopolis, you can’t argue that the Great Lakes doesn’t count. By that definition both Chicago-Milwaukee and Detroit-Toledo-Cleveland would both count separately.

[@rubbishrabble]

Great Lakes officially has 60 million on the 2050 chart listed by the Regional Plan Association. Northeast is also at 60 million, but most of the Metropolitan Statistical Area closer to a ten district 8 million. The average Metropolitan Statistical Area in the Great Lakes is closer to only five districts 4 million. Milwaukee Metro is only at two districts or 1.6 million, but Chicago is at least ten districts or 8 million. DC, Philadelphia, NYC, and Boston closer to two hours apart. Toronto to Detroit is 231 miles. Only the smaller... Cleveland to Pittsburgh at 134 miles Cincinnati to Columbus at 125 miles Therefore the in between not built up.

[@supersoulty]

The creator seems to be cherry-picking definitions, data and projections here to fulfill a particular political narrative….

[@supersoulty]

@@rubbishrabbleyeah, and there is nothing between Pittsburgh and Cleveland except… Akron, Youngstown, the Shenango Valley, New Castle, the Beaver Valley. You can literally go from one end to the other and never leave developed areas. I’ve done it.

[@rubbishrabble]

@@supersoulty Cincinnati is 33rd in Combined Statistical Area so slightly ahead of Jacksonville Florida. Jacksonville Florida is not considered part of the Florida Megaregion. The Florida Megaregion is led by a eight district 7 million Southeast Florida.

[@ArkansasGamer]

Great content

[@BeaverGeography]

Thanks!

[@Danielle_Moore02]

As someone who regularly drives through both I say if we count that southeast one we should also include Cincinnati to Niagara Falls.

[@markpell8979]

At 5:02, "...areas outside cities tend to be more rural." So that's what I learned today. Thanks.

[@RyanTravis23]

I think considering the water issues in the SW that Arizonas rapid growth will slow and maybe reverse in the decades to come. Climate change will be the biggest contributing factor. Same for the Carolinas. I also think because of CC that the Rust Belt will see a revival.

[@maxwhat6869]

Well, most of the water here is actually recycled and usable. Plus, with the rapidly advancing technologies we have now, they probably would be able to keep up with the heat.

[@chrisalley6282]

Climate change is a grift.

[@thetimebinder]

Arizona uses the same amount of water now as in the 1980's. We've been very good at water management. It's California farmers taking all the water from the Colorado River that is the problem.

[@RyanTravis23]

@thetimebinder other states using water will hurt all states using the same water. Plus if the Colorado sees repeated down years and drought it will not be a good thing. I don't think it'll be apocalyptic, I just see slowed growth and maybe some loss of population.

[@alexandermoore2982]

@@maxwhat6869 Question is will people keep moving there? Over 100 days above 100 F last year made national news, and I think many folks are going to be driven away by that.

[@groupsounds4896]

i don’t really understand how the cascadia is a megalopolis is a megalopolis and the bay area is not. cascadia is less densely populated and there are lots of breaks in population. i don’t understand the omission of santa cruz and modesto in the bay area megalopolis. seems pretty arbitrary

[@alexandermoore2982]

Right? Not even mentioning the 15 million population stat of NorCal and then saying the Front Range is a megalopolis with 6.5 million is CRAZY. I'm not expecting wonders from a small channel, but that seems like a pretty poorly researched conclusion.

[@alansewell7810]

Great observations about the emerging Carolinas coastal megalopolis and those in the Intermountain West. Another one is growing up around Nashville.

[@Mitsunori_Hokuto]

7:00 I think something else that could be mentioned together with Texas growth is the potential of an industrial megalopolis thanks to it bordering one of the most proserous and growing states of the Mexican union, Monterrey is growing really fast and it is becoming a economic center with tons of national and international investment aswell as alot of population growth and inmigration.

[@OrlValdez]

I totally agree, I live in Monterrey and it would be great to have a US megalopolis 2 hours away from us. I hope border cities can take advantage of this and develop so well. Btw Monterrey will also be a megalopolis and it will merge to Saltillo, Coahuila.

[@gregorysouthworth783]

There are already discussions of high speed rail from the Texas Triangle to Monterrey MX. It is only a natural outcome that it would fold into an overlap both at the border and down into Northern Mexico.

[@dirtycommie2877]

Most of these are not viable as future megalopoli due to climate change alone. Especially Florida and Arizona. If there's any region that's guaranteed growth it's the Great Lakes region.

[@techninja111]

I think that the North East megalopolis will expand south into Richmond VA

[@stickynorth]

Agreed! I think it will eventually become MEGACITY ONE from the Dredd comic book franchise. A single city growing from Birmingham, Alabama all the way to Boston, MA or even maybe Portland, Maine via Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond and the existing BoNyWash corridor. Just needs upgraded railway corridors to really get it going.

[@AliciaTheTroonSlayer]

I don’t think so… Richmond is far from DC, tons of rural land there. It would make more sense to include Portland ME before Richmond

[@techninja111]

@@AliciaTheTroonSlayer I've lived in Northern Virginia for 5 years, and Richmond is going to be part of the North East Megalopolis soon. The suburban development in Fredericksburg, Stafford, and Doswell is very quick. I'm estimating most of the farm land along I95 in that area is going to be suburban developments in 5-10 years.

[@AuburnFanSince2010]

@@AliciaTheTroonSlayerSpotty is 30 miles from Hanover County.

[@dan-patrickobrien3580]

​​@@AliciaTheTroonSlayerthe massive amounts of rural land is why Richmond will expand into the northeast megalopolis. The tricky thing is the "palmetto coast" megalopolis as most of that coastal land is swamp and marsh and cost a lot to "swamp log" and fill in the land. It's taking years just to redirect roads throughout that area.

[@thatmichiganguy]

Cleveland-Akron-Columbus Megalopolis doesn't even need 10 years Add another 10, Cincinnati and northern Kentucky will be part of it..

[@rootbeardad]

Consider an Atlanta-Chattanooga-Nashville-Louisville with a branch to Knoxville and Tricities as a possible megaopolis.

[@Joblaneusa]

Tennessee? In like 50-100 years maybe Charleston to Dayton - “The low country”. You get Charleston, Beaufort, Hilton Head, Savannah, Brunswick, Jacksonville, Palm Coast, and Dayton; some of the fastest growing and under developed land on the east coast, maybe the best beaches too.

[@FluffyEmmy1116]

Having lived my entire life in Jersey, one interesting thing about it in the megalopolis concept is the (friendly) divide between North Jersey and South Jersey. even down to what we call things such as Taylor Ham vs Pork Roll (one of the biggest internal debates, along with whether or not "Central Jersey" exists) and other regional differences. I believe part of this comes as the state not really having it's own "big city" with North Jersey being part the NYC Metropolitan area, and South Jersey being part of Philly's.

[@ProfessorDarkAcademia]

Michigan resident here. I confidently see the Grand Rapids-Detroit-Chicago triangle becoming a megalopolis within the next 50 years as their connecting cities have been experiencing astronomical growth.

[@baystated]

The linchpin is what anyone means by "continuous". Even here in eastern Massachusetts, we can be in an area where town after town is rural or still wild forest or wetland, but it's technically still in the boundaries of the NE megalopolis.

[@maxpowr90]

Take the Northeast regional down to NYC, and past Warwick, RI and CT are pretty rural there.

[@kathleenhudson8429]

My friend lives in Coolidge, and just in the last two or three years, some businesses have been moving into town, and a few housing developments have been built, with many of those houses now occupied.

[@E-4]

Good video, I would swap the SLC-Boise metro idea with SLC-Vegas. SLC and Vegas are seamlessly connected, and there are many small(ish) towns and cities that link the two.

[@Soturi92]

Eh, I feel like there’s still hope for the great lakes. Not a “boom”, but an end to people leaving more often.

[@azure361]

Detroit has grown in the past 2 years. A Midwest revival might be in the cards.

[@Soturi92]

@@azure361 the rest of Michigan has been bleeding locals and taking in people leaving the southern states. The liberals ruining detroit have fled to Atlanta and Houston or Miami, leaving us with a power vacuum for Western Michigan to get the back handed b%tch slap it always wanted to give East Michigan 😂🤷🏼‍♂️🫠

[@DeathCoast360]

0:35 the southeast megalopolis. Atlanta and Charlotte r jus straight growing, yo including SC. I85 helps it grow. In NC it is 6 or more lanes until Kings Mt. A few miles from the SC state line. And SC is upgrading 85 tuh 6 lanes too.

[@jpack85]

The SE Megalopolis feels much more connected between Raleigh and Charlotte than between Charlotte and Atlanta. You can feel it when driving the entire 400 mile stretch between Raleigh and Atlanta.

[@DeathCoast360]

@johnlabus7359 yeah, but you can get on 85 and don't feel like that you are leaving populated areas

[@stickynorth]

I think that ones a given! The SE and NE megalopolis will unite at Washington, DC to create America' version of The Line... A single, large urban community that was envisioned in Dredd... MegaCity One!

[@rms1034]

I left CA 3 years ago and my quality of life and financial wealth have expanded dramatically. Doubled my income, bought a house, escaped the rent trap, paid off all my consumer debt, and now able to invest heavily. You seriously dont know what you gain once you leave the deathgrip of west coast high cost of living and housing.

[@momentar7494]

If cascades is a megalopolis, then north California Bay Area is definitely a megalopolis

[@kylerlng]

I think you could look at a megalopolis along the I-65 corridor from Louisville, KY to Huntsville, AL. Both those cities are growing, as is Nashville between them. You could potentially stretch it out a bit too depending on how you define it

[@thomasmacdiarmid8251]

Right - also the area between Huntsville and Chattanooga is filling in substantially, and the I-75 corridor between Chattanooga and Atlanta has fairly continuous development. Before too long there could be a 'foothills' megalopolis skirting the southern end of the Appalachians

[@nates3514]

Once you get out of Louisville, there is nothing really until you get down to Bowling Green. Then once you get through Franklin Tennessee. There’s not really a lot until you get to Huntsville. If anything that’s the development middle Tennessee is moving down the I 24 corridor between Nashville and Murfreesboro. And 40 east between Nashville and Lebanon. There’s not a lot going on south of Nashville.

[@nates3514]

Just because cities happen to be a couple hours apart does not make them a megalopolis.

[@MikeV8652]

I've got to call you out on the nighttime cityscape view beginning at 9:31, which is not American. The giveaway is the flag of Québec flying above a building at bottom center. 😎 Otherwise, good video.

[@fomfom9779]

It may not be in the USA, but it is American. Canada is part of the Americas, and it's people are literally Americans. See a dictionary.

[@robynkolozsvari]

1) If you're going to repeatedly say that SoCal, the Front Range, and Cascadia are "loosely" within the definition, you need to actually give your definition. 2) Same goes for the omission of the Bay Area- what definition are you using? 3) You seem to explicitly mention Cascadia with a sort of... attitude, when discussing the Arizona Sun Corridor. Cascadia, to my mind, makes a very good case study- if it is not included within the definition of a megalopolis, it is because it has decided not to be. Oregon and Washington have land use regulations that are intended to reduce urban sprawl, on the theory that places like the Willamette Valley would not be improved if there was a continuous suburb flowing up I-5 from Eugene to Portland, or connecting Olympia to Portland. We should be asking not just where the next megalopolis might develop, but if that is actually a desirable thing for our society. Perhaps there are better development patterns for our urban areas, ones that wouldn't require the destruction of so much farmland and wouldn't foster as much car-dependence.

[@Einlanzer83]

Going by some of your criteria, I'd go back to south and look at Montgomery to Birmingham to Atlanta. Even include the Huntsville, Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville area. Rapidly growing areas.

[@MrThad15]

Thank you I was just about to say this 💯

[@ix830]

Data would help this discussion but overall I enjoyed the video and hearing about areas of the country I don't know much about. "Continuous urban area" in part is defined by the economic ties and infrastructure between the cities, not just the perception of development. The Northeast megalopolis has overlapping commuting sheds and is connected by strong rail and highway corridors (not to mention airports). Richmond is often left out of this because there's a big drop in activity once leaving the northern Virginia suburbs of DC. This might change, but I like that Richmond feels distinct. I'm interested to see how rail strengthens and outright transforms some of these regions. In Texas especially, there feels like a tremendous amount of untapped potential.

[@jgfence123]

This video is good, but the maps are often very zoomed in and the cuts fast, leading to it being really hard to tell where you’re looking at. I’d recommend either giving a little area in the side that shows a larger map and a square where the camera is, or just doing more zooming and panning so we can see the connection between shots.

[@MikeV8652]

My first thought upon seeing the title was the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

[@TheDanEdwards]

You're ignoring many things: 1) sea level rise - that will be the end of your southeast coastal rise; 2) water scarcity - that's a current problem that will get worse for your Arizona proposal; 3) international politics - depends on how stick Trump-led xenophobia is, but the southern border of TX could be a hot spot of conflict.

[@tesla_autopilot]

Sea level rise isn’t going to destroy the Southeast. Water scarcity is a good point, especially for Arizona, because California won’t budge and give up any of its Colorado River water share. And there aren’t going to be any border conflicts in Texas; Trump uses economic policy to strong-arm other countries more than he uses military force.

[@peterroberts4415]

I tend to agree with you on AZ, but water conservation is key. Not sure how much water they'll be for more people unless the agricultural indusry there is phased out

[@asoiaf__]

Arizona takes climate change seriously, gotta respect that lowkey. I’ve been thinking of moving there myself.

[@Truthfully_Marvin]

I’m surprised that people don’t know that Phoenix has been planning for water shortages since I think the 80s.

[@riowhi7]

Southern california is literally THE american megalopolis imo. more so than the northeast megalopolis.

[@producercoke]

megawopawissis

[@spencerhoadley5723]

Southern Idaho here, my work takes me from Boise to Pocatello, and while there’s plenty of open/empty land, there’s also plenty of growth and expansion happening. Generally have to be on the interstate for less then 20 minutes to get from one major town to another, with a lot of smaller ones that are expanding not far out from there. Having grown up in the area, I can definitely see our lil neck of the woods becoming its own version of a megalopolis, though it might not meet everybody else’s standards

[@stanfordsweird4607]

the snake river plain is very rural... even a city like Twin Falls is tiny even compared to suburban cities around Salt Lake CIty. id say Spanish Fork or Payson to Logan would be a be the actual extent. and we could realistically see the front runner train on the wasatch front connecting all the cities together

[@themoonisreal12]

Saying the Great Lakes have no future in America is insane imo. Yes it is largely the "Rust Belt", but at the same time things are getting better. Detroit isn't as bad as it was 10 years ago. Chicago is still a very important city in the US. Plus, let's face it, climate change is here, and there are 5 large fresh water lakes in a prime location. So I don't think the Great Lakes region will be forgotten at all, it's only up from here.

[@chrisalley6282]

Climate change is nothing more than a grift to separate you from your money

[@Dangic23]

There are zero megapolis in Florida. Massive plots of swamp land and farms prevent megapolis in FL.

[@goose9515]

The map is a bit misleading when it circles the whole peninsula part (particularly southwest Florida peninsula when that's where the everglades are), but it's fairly well established among demographers and geographers that coastal Florida, east and west, and linking at Orlando in the middle are a contiguous zone of economic and infrastructural connection

[@andrewtaylor3167]

Eh, completely missing the northern part of Alabama as usual. Huntsville is a hot spot right now. Birmingham on paper doesn't look like it's growing, but it's more there's really strong parts and weak parts (Weak parts generally being the inner west and north neighborhoods). And the strong parts are the southern and eastern suburbs, with the outer northern and western suburbs picking up pace now. Birmingham's even starting to get suburbs like Lake View within the Tuscaloosa metro, too (Bham's sprawls just off highways, it doesn't ring out. So there's long lines of development with wilderness between.). Overall, though, the biggest thing is that the rural areas of northern Alabama are densely populated, so it's not like millions of people need to move in to make the links strong. Similarly, the north side of Montgomery is strong even if the metro as a whole isn't. Auburn is also strong and generally pulling more northeast to Birmingham and west to Montgomery as well (Alexander City is probably one of the few areas that's been part of three different CSAs in the last ten years). Cullman is also growing and more linking Huntsville and Birmingham as well. Nashville is also growing towards Florence Alabama. So while Nashville to Alabama is the biggest gap, Bowling Green to Columbus GA/LaGrange is a filling up arc. Counting up the CSAs + Tuscaloosa and Clarksville, that area already has almost 7 million.

[@justinbennett7148]

Bham’s CSA, which includes Cullman and Sylacauga already has 1.4 million alone. It should realistically include Tuscaloosa and Anniston/Gadsden, as they are essentially exurbs (and share the same Bham DMA). That puts the population at around 1.8 million. Add in Huntsville and Nashville and connect that to Chattanooga and the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion (where Atlanta’s CSA basically touches Bham’s and Chattanooga’s), especially since in actual terminology, the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion (PAM) stretches from Raleigh to Bham (Source: I did my Thesis on this exact Megaregion). Nevertheless: overall this region realistically has approx. 24.5 million people when including the western half (AL/TN) of the PAM. Just my two cents but great video.

[@jonathanwhite8904]

I'm from the intermountain west, currently live in it. We're not going to get connected to Boise in the next 40 years, and probably not for some decades after that. The slc metro, Provo metro, Ogden metro arguably are already merged into one, and are only going to grow, but the amount that you would have to build and grow to get even to the boarder of Idaho would take longer than 40 years, and Boise is growing but probably not even fast enough to teach twin falls by then.

[@SlapStyleAnims]

Good. Idaho and Montana don’t need to be crawling with people, they should stay vestiges of nature

[@gagegarlitz1962]

Yeah the Wasatch Front is way too isolated too merge with any other significant metros anytime in the foreseable future. I think it's more likely that the Wastch front would just grow big enough on it's own to be considered a Megalopolis. Other than that I'd say if St. George's growth spikes even more maybe there could be a Virgin river axis between it and Vegas, but that also doesn't make a ton of sense geographically

[@jacobbashford2182]

I do think we're getting quite close to the Idaho border actually, especially up near Brigham City and Tremonton. However there is a big stretch between the border and Pocatello. Both Utah and Idaho would have to see pretty much nonstop 3%+ growth over the course of like 40 or 50 years or so to see the Snake River Valley and Wasatch Feont regions even get close to each other. And that would necessitate a good 2 million extra people in Idaho and another 2-3 million in Utah. Not sure if we'll see those numbers but who knows. I suspect a lot of growth will occur in central Utah at the south end of Utah County, and i think we'll see lots of growth out in Eagle Mountain and Cedar Fort, possibly enough to start wrapping development up and around into Tooele. I think Utahs growth will primarily move south and Idahos will move east

[@ethanbiemer78]

I could see the Tennessee triangle becoming one it currently resembles the Texas triangle 25 years ago

[@jamani1086]

Always enjoy watching these videos!

[@tomtom2719]

Great video! Anecdotal input here but I work construction in central CA and that megalopolis is going ot start in fresno there's so much construction on and around the 99 going north towards sac

[@k.chriscaldwell4141]

Dalla/Ft. Worth and San Antonio/Austin.

[@gregorysouthworth783]

They are already part of the Texas Triangle.

[@starventure]

Talks about cities... 00:13 then proceeds to show a suburb that is more country than anything.

[@kill8057]

4:04 massive? Yk what else is massive

[@asoiaf__]

ayo

[@TurnerTT7]

Beat me to it

[@SovissDeer]

Lowwwwwwww taper fade

[@gregorysouthworth783]

The Rio Grande Valley, in many ways, is already beginning to behave like a string-bean metro if not a megalopolis already. I believe you are spot-on that we will see it reach from Laredo to Brownsville and even to South Padre Island to an extent. If the Texas Triangle expands its high speed rail plans from its southwestern terminus in San Antonio down to Monterrey MX (there are already discussions of that possibility) then parts of an extended Texas Triangle megalopolis will cross the RGV megalopolis reinforcing each other. It will also make the ties between Texas and Mexico much greater impacting that whole part of the country. Add to that emergence of the Arizona Sun Corridor into Nogales MX and beyond and the US-Mexico connection will be intensified.

[@mr67927]

4:21 if I recall, those are swamp areas. It’s been decades since I’ve been to The Great State of South Carolina. But there is a lot of beautiful nature areas. Although it is the southeast. Some areas can remain untouched.

[@UntiltedName]

The triangle, triad and Charlotte/LKN areas are all pretty independent from each other. That growth is primarily in CHT due to being near a useful city and still has relatively cheap housing compared to other big cities in the US. Though at this point the relatively affordable housing is going to be down in SC right across the border, as well as random swamp neighborhoods around LKN but not close enough to the water to be worth anything. W-S to Raleigh has growth along the I-40 corridor but that's about it. Jobs in the triad are, well, good luck to you. Triangle is pretty good though. The NC/SC coast is mostly a long stretch of tourist hotspots. It's growth has been steady since at least the 80s and will be relative to the foothills growth due to vacation destinations. Jacksonville primarily exists to support the Marine base, nobody is going there for fun. If you are going to include that why not also include Fayettenam with its army base? Those shouldn't be counted tbh. Wilmington has UNCW and benefits from being at the end of I-40 with decent access up and down the coast. Myrtle Beach is it's own festering pustule of trash. Savannah has SCAD but while I was there it was quite insular. Can't speak for Charleston the only thing you ever seem to hear about it is its historic district.

[@ggort]

For a megalopolis to connect Boise to Salt Lake City it would require the canyons of southern Idaho to be built in, which just not going to happen. I-84 winds through many narrow passages and gorges to make it to Boise. Boise will most likely develop as its own isolated metro area, as development outside of the Treasure Valley would be costly and very ecologically damaging. Idaho may be a very conservative state, but they won't sell their public land.

[@AAZOfficial-s]

You should of put the bay area and central valley megalopolis in California in the original inculcation because it is already one.

[@stickynorth]

They are two separate ones I have a feeling will be merged soon enough if and when the California HSR line is complete!

[@Shackkobe]

I was wondering if you would have chosen Arizona and you did. I was looking at a map and it looks really promising. The growth in that state is quite staggering.

[@FirstLast-qf1df]

2:34 TIL that St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Louisville are all on the Great Lakes.

[@revinhatol]

Have you ever considered Amarillo-Lubbok-Midland-Odessa?

[@theweathergods3718]

Buffalo, NY, to Toronto is essentially a quasi-continuous urban sprawl.

[@Hippydaze35]

Sm say Richmond Va should b part of the NE magaopolis. But I wonder since it’s more culturally connected to the southeast, if it’s actually the northern tip of a growing mega that goes down to parts of North Carolina-like charlotte and the research triangle. So that would give u Richmond and the major Virginia colleges in that part of state, Norfolk/Virginia Beach area with its military infrastructure, UVA area, charlotte Nc banking center, and the research triangle of NC. Has the making of a pretty solid n powerful megaregion-just a thought.

[@kerneywilliams632]

I notice he cut Albuquerque/Santa Fe/Los Vegas from the Front Range Megalopolis (rightly). I wonder if he did the same for Richmond (perhaps wrongly?).

[@goose9515]

Atlanta and North Carolina are growing so fast theyre like the one area that trended more towards harris this year despite trump better among all demographics vs previous runs

[@fukolombobby]

The area you drew for the norcal megalopolis and bot including it is criminal consoderisng the growth the area is seeing and and population being above many of the other regions you mentioned

[@DXPEDLR]

For the RGV, there are plans of expanding Interstate-2 from McAllen all the way to Laredo. Growth has slowed in our region due to the water crises. I’m hoping for the RGV to grow into a sophisticated Megalopolis.

[@CowboyKilla210]

There ain’t crap down there. It’s not even a Valley. That’s what they called to draw people in. It never worked out. All these Valley residents moving to San Antonio houston area now

[@Cyrus992]

Many parts of the country like Idaho could have expanded further, but lack of labor and materials hindered growth.

[@lancerz23]

Does portland know you left their name out of the cascadian megalopolis?😂

[@kaileebailee23]

I would be interested to add analysis considering climate change. I think coastal and desert regions are going to see major issues. The Utah-Idaho region could probably continue to grow, though water politics are tricky in the west. I actually think the Great Lakes region will end up growing and connecting a lot as well.

[@Richard.Vox.]

According to guys like this. In 100 years there will be less than 10% of the population living in an area that receives snow. Everyone I guess is just racing head over heels to live in the deserts

[@beenjameen]

The Front Range of CO won't ever be a Megalopolis. There's just a gaping mountain pass right in between Denver and The Springs that can't be urbanized. About 20-30 miles of mountain terrain. Both cities will still grow, just in opposite directions

[@Gatorsfan601]

There’s a megalopolis forming along the central Gulf Coast, primarily from Baton Rouge to Panama City.

[@jacobskuczas7027]

I think central Tenessee has a good shot at either becoming a smaller megaregion or merging with the Piedmont megaregion. I also think one that is much more of a stretch is the "plains megaregion" which would encompass Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and over into Joplin, Fayetteville, and Fort Smith.

[@diegoyanesholtz212]

Can megalopolis converge on each other, like the Rio Grande Valley converge in San Antonio and the Texas Triangle?

[@krushnaji4940]

Yas

[@paneer47]

i think a mini megaloplis that already exsists could be the lake michigan megalopolis, the south bend-gary-chicago-milwaukee area specifically

[@newman3313]

Weird you have picked Arizona over Cascadia when it doesn’t have a coastline for trade.

[@JarrodCurl]

It will if the sea level rises a few dozen meters lol

[@stevengordon3271]

When I-11 gets completed from Mexico thru Tucson and Phoenix to Las Vegas, there may eventually be contiguous development from Nogales to Las Vegas.

[@Scott-s2f8p]

Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin is a megalopolis when considering Chicago/Milwaukee/Madison/Rockford and towns in between.

[@briandenison7608]

Can you do a video on where the next big city that doesn't exist yet will be? Like 500 years from now. Where do we think? Will we start from scratch somewhere and it becomes massive like NY, LA, CHI?

[@history_leisure]

Be interesting to use the gaps between the farmland in Idaho just to build new cities without hurting active farmland-but one simply doesn’t create a new city irl

[@Ryaify69]

Maybe you would combine the Georgia, SC, NC metropolis with the Palmetto Metropolis, theirs some good development that connect them

[@BeforeThePast]

I've driven greenville to Atlanta and greenville to Charleston. Between Atlanta and Anderson is much more rural than GSP-Columbia-Charleston. I support it.

[@CellaDragon]

Neat list

[@CT-906]

Here’s my bold prediction if the Midwest becomes a “climate haven.” The Great Lakes region will become more attractive, creating the “Lake Michigan Megalopolis. From Milwaukee down into the Chicago to Gary, then going up the Lake Michigan coast into the lake shore cities of Holland and Muskegon, anchored by Grand Rapids.

[@sammagictv]

You really should’ve included the gulf coast from Houston to Mobile. It’s almost a continuous line of development on I10/I12

[@idaholove4339]

6:22 I could see the development of the Wasatch front and the Treasure Valley. I don't see the growth needed to connect them as it is the best farmland for Idaho's ag dependent economy and the farms are mostly owned by very large corporations in those regions.

[@JediMasterEzio]

Birmingham, Huntsville, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga.

[@k1ng_chicken]

Gonna end up looking like the UP house at the start of the movie with all of this human expansion. So many people!

[@wacowildcat]

Waco is part of the Texas Triangle megalopolis. Metro population is 304,355 super nice people and about 3 grumps.

[@g_atoradebottle]

Honestly I see Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Fort Smith, Amarillo, and Joplin being a megalopolis sometime soon

[@benjaminchandler7919]

I live in a suburb of Logan. The area between Smithfield and Pocatello is a fun place to drive and I would prefer to keep it that way. I know there are exurbs like Preston, Idaho, but they can grow up rather than out so the surrounding farmland remains good agricultural land

[@Spydertube14]

You forgot one: the Northwest Arkansas/Southwest Missouri/Ozarks megalopolis. It has a population of 1.2 million.

[@samuelskillern7365]

Heads up, St. Louis is part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis.

[@tomfields3682]

Nothing but cornfields and small towns between the south suburbs of Chicago and the IL suburbs of St Louis.

[@LazyClown48]

I'd look into an OKC, Tulsa, KC, Branson-Springfield & Omaha area. That's gonna be tthiscentury's new big megaopolis in focus.

[@izanhoward7742]

have you done a retrospective on when areas became megalopolae