The South's Megalopolis Of The Future

[@scottchristensen4081]

Another fast growing megalopolis to mention is the Texas triangle, encompassing San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. I live in San Antonio and the cities along the I-35 corridor to the north are exploding with growth. I would encourage covering this one in a future video. Thanks

[@foreverkc8164]

The San Antonio-Austin megaplex

[@howardoberg5847]

@@foreverkc8164 I remember as a child big expanses of nothing between SA and Austin. Now, almost continuous city. little bit of farm land still between San Marcos and Austin and that's it. My house near Marion, when we bought it 15 years ago, you could practically take a nap on I-78 between cars. Now in the afternoon, bumper to bumper cars.

[@highway2heaven91]

Was right about to suggest this one. 👍

[@neilcharge3772]

I live in Austin. I think Austin making more progress then San Antonio, they need a rail way for the triangle

[@MidnightsDeluxe]

yes in terms of numbers the Texas triangle could rival the northeast more

[@matthewpoyner]

Atlanta has the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Superdome is in New Orleans.

[@sokonek1]

The super dome was for how long the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, understandable mistake

[@matthewpoyner]

@@sokonek1 It is an understandable mistake; it was the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for about 10 years

[@alexanderjohnson8800]

It was known as The Mercades Benz Superdome from 2011 to last year when the contract expired in 2021

[@brucesi]

What he's referring to "Mercedes Benz Stadium" was never referred to as the Super Dome. It's a fairly new stadium in Atlanta. The Super Dome is now called the Caesar's Super Dome. Yes understandable mistake but two different venues.

[@BreakfastTacos]

Where y'at!? Who Dat, ya heard me!?

[@Nicolas-zw2hv]

I think that they have to stop sprawling endlessly. They have to density because a city like Atlanta that is already like a hundred miles from start to finish just can't grow with the very low density it does right now...

[@johnchastain7890]

Same with Phoenix AZ and its sprawl. It's sometimes called "L.A. without the ocean."

[@danieldaniels7571]

@@johnchastain7890 Phoenix sprawl is out of control, but I would really hate to see my neighborhood densify. I love all the green space and trees.

[@johnchastain7890]

@@danieldaniels7571 Trudat. Here in Northern Virginia "they" are "infilling," which is turning ancient single-family housing tracts into mid- and high-rise "Yuppie Dorms" [my term]. Sure, the old houses were dilapidated and had already given way to Tear-Down Presto Mansions, but the new densifying appears to increase traffic rather than decrease it.

[@michaelgolden7951]

@@danieldaniels7571 that’s the issue, lots of people want density but not in their neighborhoods. Personally I think that you can have density while still preserving green space through parks and more walkable streets

[@michaelgolden7951]

@@johnchastain7890 density needs to accompany transit since obviously more housing means more people and therefore a need to transport all of them

[@DWNY358]

I think the Richmond/Petersburg/Fredricksburg region should be considered part of the northeast megalopolis, as its suburbs are mixing in with Washington’s. While it is still pretty rural between Petersburg, VA and Durham, NC, it’s not hard to imagine the southern and northern megalopolises merging into one colossal one.

[@bobbyswanson3498]

i would also consider richmond the beginning of the north east corridor. It’s closer to dc than raleigh so i’d say raleigh is the gateway between the north east and the south east

[@danielfrancella5219]

It’s only 90 miles. It still takes 2 to 3 hours. I-95 in Nova is no joke.

[@tomgeraci9886]

Fredericksburg is part of Washington’s metro by some definitions. And once you include Richmond, you also have to include Hampton Roads which is pretty connected to it as well

[@kazeryu17]

Virginia is pushing something called the Golden crescent. It is a megalopolis that stretches from the outer banks of North Carolina, to Baltimore via I-64, and I-95. It includes Norfolk/VirginiaBeach/NewportNews area, Richmond, DC, and Baltimore.

[@johnchastain7890]

@@danielfrancella5219 In Virginia, knowing where something is and knowing how to get there are two different things! ;-)

[@bobbyswanson3498]

imagine a high speed rail line from raleigh to atlanta that connects to a northeast corridor HSR. (Also just a sidenote the charlotte area is closer to 2.6 million and should be approaching 3 million in the coming decade :) )

[@Ranman242]

I would love HSR!

[@ninoy4914]

Sadly, the us goverment is inherently designed to to provent anything like a high speed rail.

[@user-hm1zb8js5i]

High speed rails are a waste of taxpayer money because nobody would ever use them.

[@Ranman242]

Only if stations are built around car centric park & rides where walkability doesn't exist will that be the case. But if they are built within walkable areas with transit oriented development, people will actually take the train.

[@centredoorplugsthornton4112]

@@user-hm1zb8js5i who and what is your idea of nobody? Plenty folk ride trains where they operate. Same for if train service expanded between Raleigh and Atlanta. And a number of privately financed high speed projects underway.

[@garrettb.-gtmkm9850]

Well, I live about 40 miles from Huntsville, and I can say without a doubt that this region is growing. And the Megalopolis here could very well be extended to Huntsville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville. Unfortunately, the population growth is concentrated east of here, but growth is evident in the two towns I live between.

[@highway2heaven91]

You could probably add Nashville to that list

[@MrThad15]

@@highway2heaven91 I feel like Nashville too far bro. Unless Murfreesboro and Chattanooga can add some pop to reach close to Atlanta and connect

[@calypsomcdonnell1479]

This is a theory and hopefully it can be disproven: the racial biases of the cities in Alabama will and do retard the economic development of such said economies. The South can also be placed in such a ruthless category. Sorry...

[@Riel_Rami]

@@calypsomcdonnell1479 As a non-white person living around the Huntsville, AL area. I'd say it's not as bad as you think it is. It's pretty chill.

[@BarnyWaterg8]

Huntsville, home of General Dynamics, if I’m not mistaken.

[@GeographyJohn]

Growing up in the Atlanta metro and having lived within the city for 3 years, yeah it is pretty big and Greenville and Charlotte are also a lot bigger than people give them credit for. But the southeast megalopolis will never be as connected as the northeast corridor bc of the lack of reliable connectivity. A service such as the acela connecting Atlanta to Raleigh would definitely do the trick in helping. Bc other than that, there really is no easy way to get between each city without driving and not to mention these cities are also not very walkable and all each with pretty subpar public transit service compared to DC, NY, Boston. These cities are difficult to get around.

[@eternalhoursrblx7405]

Yeah I agree. We just don’t have the transportation infrastructure that is needed to connect all three cities. You’d have to drive like 3 hours just to get to Greenville and another 3 or 4 to Charlotte.

[@JustATrippyDuck]

Yeah, this is one of the reasons the south will plateau. Having economically sustainable development is not the goal in these areas (I.e. not car dependency)

[@railroadforest30]

Exactly we need cheap and convenient passenger rail. Also ideally cities like Raleigh and Charlotte should grow upward rather than outward. The sprawl needs to stop

[@bradjackson1691]

Exactly. To get to the ideal megalopolis status, you would need to do like China many decades ago. Have special economic zones, spend billions yearly to build out infrastructure years before the current infrastructure is jammed, spend billions on higher Ed to help spur more startups and recruit larger employers to relocate, join the cities' leaders to help each other instead of fight against each other, etc. Invest in high speed city to city rail lines that connect to urban transport so some one can work in Charlotte and go home Greenville in under an hour or less.

[@jamescrock2213]

sidewalks seems to be a bizarre conception to atlanta

[@bonecanoe86]

When you look back at history it's crazy how there were NO large cities in the south apart from New Orleans for a very long time, while the north already had large industrial cities from New England to the Midwest. The industrialization of the south is quite an amazing thing to behold. This is coming from a Pennsylvanian that is used to seeing things that are old, dilapidated, falling apart and closed on a daily basis.

[@user-hm1zb8js5i]

It's quite sad how Northerners have been actively working to undermine Southern identity since the country's inception. The industrialization of the South is just further proof of that.

[@bonecanoe86]

@@user-hm1zb8js5i While I agree with you that southern identity being quashed, the reason the South is industrializing has more to do with over-regulation in the North, aging infrastructure, and the availability of air conditioning making living in the South more palatable.

[@AmbachtAle]

Air conditioning has had a little bit of influence on cities in the south, but with climate change (aka. global warming) even that may not be enough. Last year Portland OR had its all-time record high temperature of 116°F. To paraphrase a TV series: "Summer is Coming"

[@user-hm1zb8js5i]

@@AmbachtAle Global warming is complete hysteria. The hottest temperature ever recorded was in Dearh Valley back in 1934. If global warming is real, how come that record hasn't been surpassed by now? Australia was just recently having polar blasts and having their coldest temperatures in over 100 years. There were some glaciers in Montana that were supposed to have melted by 2020, yet they are still there. When are people going to realize climate change is nothing more than a joke at this point?

[@skygge1006]

Why go some where that is as hot as the south with nothing to cool you down?

[@Matthew-lx9ne]

I genuinely hope the south doesn't turn into a sprawling wasteland. I like seeing the countryside there and don't want it ruined.

[@TJR93]

I understand this. I personally think Atlanta is the worst part of Georgia, and it keeps growing bigger.

[@gabrielvillanueva4476]

Awesome video and I appreciate the effort that went into this. Thanks!

[@BeaverGeography]

Awwww, thank you so much dude! Really Really appreciate it.

[@stoplight2554]

As a greenvillian, spartanburg is kind of a satellite city of greenville. Many people live in one city and work in the other. Greer is a similar situation

[@mrfriendlolo4971]

Greenvillian is such a cool name

[@bruhbutwhytho]

An eco friendly villain

[@willp.8120]

Greer is a suburb of Greenville, as is Mauldin and Simpsonville. Duncan and Lyman are kind of in between and is exurban with pull from both Greenville and Spartanburg.

[@just11n_43]

I would agree with this, I always considered Spartanburg a dollar store version of us tbh

[@ryanbrooks5482]

@@willp.8120 low country is superior

[@poohoo4495]

Maybe once Arizona and Nevada dry up and the population starts moving east it could rival the northeast possibly, however these southern cities are so sprawling that it will be harder to connect them 🤷

[@ddurlon]

Sprawl 💔

[@salvadorhenriquez4091]

Me and my homies hate sprawling and suburbs

[@ddurlon]

@@salvadorhenriquez4091 REALLLLLLL

[@upside93]

Most of the cities in the west are very far apart from each other too. Outside of the Bay Area and LA-San Diego, there's not much going on in between cities out west.

[@vibratoryuniverse308]

@@upside93 they are referring to intrametropolitan sprawl, not distance between metropolitans

[@dwaynerichardson5380]

The Metro area of Atlanta need to get their act together and say yes to MARTA expansion to the Suburbs. Otherwise, rush hour might start at 4am.

[@cubersanonymous5180]

Fax Fax FAX

[@CH3CH2OCH2CH3net]

Or you could end up like Austin with 24/7/365 "rush hour".

[@kentmccoy592]

The suburbs don't want the inner-city undesirables

[@dwaynerichardson5380]

@@kentmccoy592 Do you really believe that 'inner-city undesirables' would use MARTA as their only choice of transportation to commit crimes in the suburbs? That assumption is both stupid and racist. Criminals are creatures of habit. They stay close to home to places they are familiar with. And to use the trains as a getaway car is just as stupid. By 2050, the Metro Atlanta area will have an extra 2 million people. If they hate the traffic now, tell your grandchildren your reasons why you voted down expansion.

[@cubersanonymous5180]

@@dwaynerichardson5380 took every word out of my mouth, bravo!

[@fleurix9967]

The i40 corridor from Winston to Raleigh has developed tremendously in just the past 15 years, even more so following i85 from Greensboro to Charlotte. don't sleep on the freeway corridors

[@emersonmanning1124]

Charlotte has the Hornets, Raliegh has the Hurricanes. And one other thing you forgot is that the Southeast Megaopolis also lacks any ports, ports are a major center of trade and play a large role in the economic growth of a city, New York, Boston, LA, etc. Maybe looking into the port of Savanah as it's one of the largest in North America

[@astrahcat1212]

Wilmington would work considering Raleigh, Washington DC is 1 hour drive from a port and is the capital.

[@emersonmanning1124]

@@astrahcat1212 DC is the exception (and it's next to Baltimore which has a port), Philly has the Delaware River which is close to the Delaware Bay. Maybe Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Wilmington, Charleston, and Savanah?

[@rom7633]

Savannah, GA

[@stevengordon3271]

In 100 years, the ports will be much closer.

[@davidfence6939]

Charleston is closer and larger.

[@keighanmarshall9200]

In other words, an area spanning 3 states and like 50 counties is going to be completely destroyed and replaced with dystopian suburban sprawl

[@Dmvbama]

You forgot Birmingham, Alabama, the metro area is home to over a million people and has a lot of activities along I-20 between Birmingham and Atlanta.

[@robertsteinbach7325]

Maybe once there is more development between Oxford, AL and Bremen, GA, which there is almost nothing there, on the I-20 corridor then the Birmingham area can be counted into this megapolis. Give it another 10 years. Development is catching up on that side now.

[@williammoran4898]

@@robertsteinbach7325 you do understand there can't be much more on the Alabama side of Oxford to state line as it's the largest national forest this side of the Mississippi.

[@Drewhink]

With the growth rates of the Southeast, do you think it’ll eventually connect with the northeast megalopolis? DC to Raleigh isn’t *that* far

[@chrisalley6282]

BAMA: Boston Atlanta Metropolitan Axis

[@daveharrison84]

There is a lot of nothing between Raleigh and Richmond.

[@Zephyrs009]

@@daveharrison84 Petersburg and Virginia Beach are there IG

[@keywill1728]

@@Zephyrs009 Petersburg? What’s that

[@markrobinowitz8473]

Probably will have oil rationing (due to depletion) before that goal is reached.

[@Goobnav]

@Beaver Geography as a resident in the Raleigh/Durham area, the international draw are the colleges, Duke, it's Duke, need I say more, UNC Chapel Hill for basketball and NC State in Raleigh for the best vet care anywhere. Also we have the NHL here, they won a Stanley cup in 2006, we won't get Baseball or Football here due to the colleges draw more than the Pros.

[@AbsoluteMalarkey]

It's been slower to develop because of the mountains, but Asheville is also growing a lot and isn't too far from Winston-Salem, Charlotte, or Greenville.

[@malaquiasalfaro81]

I live just outside Johnson City, TN and I always head over to Asheville. It’s my little escape

[@TheLordOfNothing]

I think Helene will probably put a stop to that growth.

[@AbsoluteMalarkey]

@ why? usually there's a lot of construction after a natural disaster and its not like new orleans where youd expect to have to rebuild again in the near future. its certainly been a challenge for us but i dont see it completely stopping the expansion of urban sprawl in this metro area.

[@mojungle3054]

I lived in the small towns around Chattanooga for ten years and only when I started trucking around the SE did I realize just how developed the Carolinas really were. Great vid, subbed

[@transportation1013]

Please make a video on Peninsular Florida, which is arguably a "Megalopolis". Everything from Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami with a population of 20 million. I honestly find Florida’s growth since 1950 nothing short of amazing.

[@tjohnson2139]

Miami is definitely far from sprawling. Literally stores and houses everywhere you look. Sidewalks everywhere. Tons of business and people and let’s not forget to mention the Brightline train station. Also very clean.

[@Zombie-lp8bx]

It’s disgusting nothing but boring no culture cookie cutter subdivisions.

[@transportation1013]

@@tjohnson2139 miami does sprawl but just in north south direction due to the everglades. It’s actually quite impressive how far north it reaches. I would argue one of the longest (north/south) metropolitan areas in the us if not the most.

[@diodelvino3048]

A lot of transplants In Florida, its cool that people love the state but all the rich retirees here are causing house prices to soar 😭

[@markrobinowitz8473]

@@tjohnson2139 Miami's days are numbered due to sea level rise. And it is sprawling. Amazing they built tall glass buildings as if a hurricane could never happen again ...

[@thatrikan]

I am from Charlotte and have seen 2 videos that have used the image at 3:03. I wanted to know what is the medium loop you have there because Charlotte has only 2 interstate loops, I-277, which wraps around our center city and I-485 which wraps around Mecklenburg County. If you could let me know what the third loop you have marked on the map. Thanks, I really enjoy your videos!

[@josephj9828]

It's not an interstate loop, it's just the ring road "Charlotte Route 4" plus parts of I-85: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Route_4

[@nathanwaldron4259]

Yes he’s right. It is a collection of mostly state funded city streets and the billy graham parkway. It’s really not even that major of a road certainly not as important as us74 or nc 16 or nc29

[@nathanwaldron4259]

*nc 49

[@alexbutler9343]

@@josephj9828 it's fucking Wendover road which has a stoplight every 150 meters and goes through mostly suburban residential areas

[@josephj9828]

@@alexbutler9343 ok? I just answered his question. I don't live there, so I don't know how effective it is for traffic flow or how many traffic lights there are.

[@StPeteRays]

Totally appreciate your videos, and I enjoy them thoroughly. One point of clarification, though, is that Charlotte and Raleigh already *do* have "teams in most of the major sports leagues". As you pointed out, Charlotte has the Panthers (NFL) and Hornets (NBA), but they also have Charlotte FC (MLS), while Raleigh has the Hurricane (NHL). All they need is an MLB team, and they'll be fully represented in the Big 5 sports. Now, putting any future MLB team in Raleigh would make sense for both spreading out sports along the megalopolis as well as giving more space between the Braves and Nationals fanbases, but Charlotte has a park already in Uptown that is a quick renovation away from MLB standards, so that might be cheaper. Regardless, keep up the great work, and I look forward to more videos!

[@chrisalley6282]

I would LOVE to see the Durham Bulls join the majors.

[@StPeteRays]

@@chrisalley6282 As a Rays fan, I'd hate to lose them as our AAA farm team, but I absolutely get the sentiment

[@Brosef336]

Greensboro could have another NBA team it has a rich history with college and high school basketball. Greensboro is the home of the ACC and Greensboro Day School the best high school team in the state. Also Greensboro could host an MLB team but we would have to build a bigger stadium than FNB Field. For basketball we already have the Greensboro Coliseum and we have a NBA G League.

[@casspeich926]

Tennessee should’ve been included in this!! Esp Middle &&East TN, they’re growing RAPIDLY and Knoxville, Maryville, Sevierville, Chattanooga, and the Tri-Cities can actually be seen in the star light maps. TN is the 15th largest population out of the 50 and it’s growing even more every day, it just surpassed Massachusetts in population last year

[@morganevans1772]

Yes the population is exploding, even in middle TN right now too. And here in chatt the average house price has gone up 30% just this year because of all the new folks (& inflation)

[@casspeich926]

@@morganevans1772 well middle tn is where all the californians r moving 2. im from East TN as well!! i was down around chattanooga yesterday and it’s not surprising so many are moving there honestly

[@blade2752]

Memphis will be back soon enough

[@rubbishrabble]

Yes, TN is on the Wikipedia page for the Piedmont Atlantic, and the border Knoxville TN is shown on the higher end. The Brookings Institution has Knoxville TN at 75% of a million in "Why Midsize Metros Deserve Our Attention". Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee were strictly classified as majority small county states by the USA Census Bureau "Big and Small Counties". Both Knoxville TN and Chattanooga TN were in the top 300 counties, and I see that as a reasonable middle, and Beaver's 1000% Piedmont Atlantic growth supports that.

[@alanmirandamarquez6708]

This is really interesting. I didn't realize so many people lived there. Just a little note: You are miscalculating the growth. NYC grew only 52% between 1950 and 2020, not 152%, according to your data. The mistake is present in other cities as well. You just have to subtract "1" after you divide the final number by the initial number and before you multiply it by 100.

[@walkerharnden17]

The growth of population in Raleigh and Durham was/is largely related to the research triangle park

[@Southern6900]

I live near Charlotte and I can say that this whole area is constantly growing and the construction of new neighborhoods and businesses seems to never stop

[@TheRealBeady]

Ay beaver! Nice vid, just for your info (as someone who lives here in Raleigh) Wake County can low key be considered one massive city in an area called the Triangle (Durham/Raleigh/Chapel Hill) There is very little distinguishing the 3 in practice. They have different styles and cultures, but theyre really just one conglomerate in practice. Raleighs a fantastic place to move and its really nice to visit! I guess it doesn't really have any bumper sticker landmarks, but it has so much fun stuff in bars/breweries/opportunities, plus everything in day to day life is new/modern (built in the last 10 years) (targets, grocery stores, shopping centers, restaurants, markets, etc) and it really makes the place amazing to live in. A southern Megalopolis would be pretty sick to be honest!

[@TigergamerF]

I in reside Charlotte NC, and it has never surprised me that Charlotte is the 11th fastest growing city in US. Thanks to its rich culture and its abundance in tourist attractions, it continues to accumulate in population. Another key factor for Charlotte's population increase is its prosperous economy continuing to rise. This booming city will likely continue to swell until it becomes within the top ten biggest cities. As you can see, I have never been disappointed by the meteoric population increase and the economy that this city has to offer.

[@JosephKellerJSK]

When you talk about being notable, these cities have a huge disadvantage because A: they're note nearly as historic, and B: They don't have the same kind of geographic significance. Some of these cities, especially Atlanta, were practically randomly placed in the middle of the woods and they built a city there. New York, Boston, DC, Philadelphia are at harbors, river confluences, peninsulas, and major ports. The southern cities have a higher tendency to sprawl, and have more modern car-oriented development with endless beltways and smaller historic downtowns in comparison, as there are no geographic constraints.

[@robertsteinbach7325]

The only reason this megapolis even exists is due to railroads, interstates, and airports. It will never be like the Maine to Virginia megapolis, but for it being landlocked it is impressive.

[@laurie7689]

I wouldn't say that they aren't as historic. After all, Georgia and the Carolinas were also colonies at the time that New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania were. It is just the cities, themselves, that developed differently as the Southern colonies focused more on the agrarian end of the spectrum while Northern colonies focused more on mercantilism. Of course, part of that was likely due to the Southern colonies as being set up as British penal colonies (like they later did with Australia).

[@danielm4436]

It really is a shame that the south and western cities developers didn't have the foresight to plan these cities better. Los Angeles is a mess and the Bay Area has very little land to keep spreading to without devastating the river ecosystems and clogging the valley further. I5 and Hwy 99 can't take more traffic at rush hour. They're both insanely valuable harbors and the infrastructure just isn't there.

[@laurie7689]

@@danielm4436 None of it was planned. Bare in mind that the towns didn't even exist in these areas until AFTER the land was already parceled out. These places started out as territories controlled by the Federal government. Native populations were also already settled on these lands. The Federal government forcefully moved the Native populations and set up the Homestead Act to get US Americans and interested European immigrants to settle the territories. The lands that towns were built on were usually donated by the landowners - many of whom were the farmers, ranchers, and railroad owners. They built towns from scratch to again lure more people to their areas in order to make a profit off of them. As people stopped farming and ranching and as the land became more valuable, it was sold off to the developers who expanded the towns. Cities were born from that. The land kept getting parceled out. It still is to this day. We're losing valuable farmlands to developers. Once that arable topsoil has been scraped off to build on, it is no longer useful for farming again. The original colonies were planned out a little better. The founders of the colonies intentionally brought with them people with the skills to build towns and societies. They had a vision for their colony's future. The rest of the US started off as territories with no planned settlements (except maybe the old Spanish colony in Florida and the French colony in Louisiana - which was settled on actual swampland - who does that?).

[@Zephyrs009]

@@laurie7689 New Orleans was chose simply out being the Mouth of the Mississippi river at the time, which controlling the Mississippi is fundamental to ruling the country. Alot of cities are made at the mouths of rivers or around rivers. Belgrade, Budapest, Neuremburg, Bratislava, and Vienna all like on the Danube as an example.

[@perryawe2121]

Honestly, I would talk about Miami, West Palm Beach, arguably Orlando, Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, and Savannah. That's another big one.

[@842wolves]

As an Atlanta native, it's nice to hear this recognition. However, I don't think they are going to get anywhere near the name recognition of other US cities. The entire Sunbelt suffers from having pretty much all of its growth happening during the car-dependent suburban era. These cities just don't have any soul to them nor any large, concentrated metro areas. They are all just suburbs outside of a couple high-density blocks in the city centers. Atlanta is overcoming this barely with the same method of other major cities like Houston, Dallas, etc. of just being so massive that it can't be ignored. It is the only city in this list that even has a metro to my knowledge. Atlanta and Georgia also have the bonus of just having enough money to forcefully make massive tourist traps in a city that nobody lives in. Less than half a million people live in Atlanta proper while the metro area contains just over six million. Only 8% of the pop lives in the city vs the metro area. NYC has a ratio closer to 42%. Chicago is closer to 29%. Philadelphia is 25%. I could keep going, but you get the idea. There is no identity to these southern cities outside of wealth, gridlocked traffic, and mcmansion suburbs.

[@laurie7689]

Identity? As in . . . what? Are you saying that the Northern metro areas have identity? I've never thought of them as being anything more that overgrown cities with way too many people. They have nothing to hold my interest any more than any other city has. A museum is a collection of stuff. A sports stadium is a place where sports are played. Each city has something just like each of the other cities. None of it is more special than the other. It's like saying: "Hey that pigeon in City A is better than that pigeon in City B." A pigeon is a pigeon and that is something else that I see in each city that is just the same old thing. The only thing that can set a city apart are events held in the city. Fixed structures don't do it for me. Maybe if all the residents of a city dressed up in cosplay or something. At least that would be something different.

[@Brosef336]

Some smaller cities are centralized like the piedmont triad is somewhat centralized except for some big suburbs in the north.

[@JustATrippyDuck]

@@laurie7689 I’ve seen you in a bunch of comments saying how much you love your car dependent suburbs. But you don’t even pay for them. Does your home have a well or get water from the city? Does your home have a septic tank or are you hooked up to the cities sewers? Are the roads you drive on privately owned or maintained by the city/state? Car dependent sprawl is extremely expensive because it requires more resources for less people over longer distances. There is nothing wrong with spread out suburbia, but stop stealing money from the city and state for your selfishness.

[@AIDAHAR210]

@@laurie7689 Northern metros definitely have character and charm whilst sunbelt cities outside of New Orleans are generic and uninspiring car dependant sprawl

[@laurie7689]

@@JustATrippyDuck The city that I live in is not one of the large metro cities. I've said it in those other comments that it is a "small" city of around 33,000 people. The surrounding cities are also of equivalent size. Geographically, my small city is located in between hills. It is squeezed into a narrow corridor and is limited in the directions that it can grow. I firmly believe that cities should only be allowed to grow so big, probably no larger than the average Mid-sized city. The large metro cities are too big. My small city does not have a center to it. All the administration parts are spread throughout. Each part of the city gets a piece of the administration. My city has its own water system. It has its own sewer system. It has its own school system. We pay for those. Most of the roads around here are city or county owned, but there are a lot of privately owned roads, too. It depends on which part of the city you live in. I used to be a mail carrier here and am quite familiar with the roads and which were public and private. The folks that live further out at the edges of the city in the unincorporated areas tend to have private roads and are on septic systems. My husband and I used to be one of those people. Now we live closer in. We've always worked locally, so that we've only ever had to drive locally, except on rare occasions. We mostly shop locally. We live in the suburbs of our city. Our city doesn't have anything that you would call a downtown except for some old buildings on its main street that they labeled historic, but should really just be bulldozed. Nobody lives on main street. It is just shops. Shops that folks don't really utilize because they are squeezed between a working railroad track and a busy road as they were since they were first built over a hundred years ago The railroad originally owned the land. That IS our downtown. However, that is not the part where the people go to shop. We have several shopping districts and we have several office parks. We also have an industrial area or two. The largest and tallest building in our city is only 4- stories tall and it is the hospital along with its accompanying administration building. We don't really like building upward here. Even our largest high school is only 2-stories tall. It is spread out like a college campus and looks like one. Up until about two decades ago, we didn't even have interstate access. Now that we do, the area around that access has grown and we have a lot more shops and restaurants. Again, nobody wants to live near the shopping districts, so homes were built farther away. Our city is growing. It is building more suburbs, shops, gas stations, and restaurants. The local Wal-Mart has even added 2 charging stations for electric vehicles, but nobody uses them. They're the only ones located in our entire city. Yes, traffic is getting to be a problem because we don't build the infrastructure to coincide with the growth. The only changes to the roads were the addition of traffic signals and a bridge over a creek that is being rebuilt. There is currently a fight going on pertaining to NIMBY-ism because one of the local nursing homes wants to expand and build an assisted living facility, but the suburbs around it are saying "NO". They are concerned by the traffic and the aesthetics. The land where it is to be put is located on the corner of two roads across from a church school and is a wooded hillside. Also, it's not like we don't already have an assisted living facility in our city because we do.

[@KBJ910]

Raleigh- Durham Population expansion growth really comes from the research triangle I’m really surprised u didn’t touch on that. Raleigh has companies like Apple, Google, IBM and Microsoft in the region. I’m really happy u made this video tho most people really don’t get how urban it is from Raleigh all the way to Atlanta. As to sports college sports is mostly king in the south.

[@jlpack62]

Raleigh has climbed the population ladder at blazing speed since the end of WW2, and there doesn't seem to be anything stopping it on the horizon. Together with Durham, it's around 2.15M. If the Durham side catches fire like the Raleigh side has, there's no telling how big it can get in the next 10-20 years. As for the megalopolis, I'd suspect that the Piedmont Crescent part of it in NC (Charlotte>Raleigh) is most likely to fill into something that feels most similar to the development along parts of the Northeast Megalopolis.

[@mr_coffee0109]

Interesting video! I moved from NJ to Fort Mill, South Carolina (between Charlotte and Rock Hill a few years ago. It is a serious booming area, no joke. The infrastructure of the highways and rail system needs work. The thing that many people living Charlotte that I met over the time that it has grown faster than it could handle. Now it may not be more populated than the Northeast Corridor by 2050, but I beg to differe it could because there is still a lot of potential here in the southeast US. Especially Charlotte with the banking industry and many companies moving to this region, banks especially from NYC to CLT. I would doubt the Southeast a little after 2050 could eventually surpass the Northeast megalopolis. The funny fact is that I feel like I run into more people who have moved here from somewhere else or just the NJ, PA, NY area mostly than I do Charlotte natives ( which many who I met refer themselves as Unicorns because it is so rare to meet people who are originally from Charlotte and still in Charlotte. Which is an awesome city btw and so are the others mentioned in this video.

[@elijah6970]

I feel this would only happen with a lot more public transportation infrastructure. Boston, NY, Philly, and DC have some of the best public transportation in the country which helps to move that massive population throughout without having nonstop traffic everywhere.

[@user-hm1zb8js5i]

Washington DC is known for its notoriously awful traffic, what are you talking about?

[@elijah6970]

@@user-hm1zb8js5i without the public transportation it would be a lot worse.

[@user-hm1zb8js5i]

@@elijah6970 Did your far left socialist media platform tell you that?

[@elijah6970]

@@user-hm1zb8js5i if everyone one who rode public transportation drove instead there would be more cars on the road, thus more traffic. I thought this was obvious, you just be a child

[@user-hm1zb8js5i]

@@elijah6970 Keep living in your socialist bubble. You are a traitor to America if you support far left policies like public transportation.

[@GeneaVlogger]

Interesting video! A major part of Raleigh's growth has to do with the Research Triangle Park, a massive area filled with huge multi-billion dollar companies which are located right in the middle of Durham and Raleigh. New companies have continued to move to the area and have brought many workers with them. While located between Raleigh and Durham, I think more people ended up choosing to live closer to Raleigh (most especially in Cary and Morrisville suburbs) because Raleigh kept making lists as one of the best places to live (high rated education, low crime, decent cost of living) while Durham has struggled with crime rates often above the national average.

[@qolspony]

Georgia is really just Atlanta and it surrounding suburbs. While North Carolina is the Triangle and Charlotte mainly and Triad as a side note. I was surprised one of your figures put Winston Selam ahead of Greensboro. Because, as I always red, Greensboro is ahead of both Durham and Winston Selam in population. I'm currently in Fayetteville as the 6th largest city. Here's the figures below: Charlotte (925,290) Raleigh (488,334) Greensboro (303,286) Durham (292,301) Winston-Salem (252,175) Fayetteville (214,384)

[@LampNTable]

You're wrong, everything south of Macon is culturally independant.

[@qolspony]

@@LampNTable I'm talking population not culture or traditions.

[@LampNTable]

@@qolspony i mean yea atlanta is definetly dominant, but theres 4 million people outside it scattered in smaller but still notable cities

[@highway2heaven91]

If you’re going to do more Megalopolis videos, you should do the Texas Triangle (DFW/Houston/Austin/San Antonio) and Florida (Miami/Ft.Lauderdale/WPB/Orlando/Lakeland/Tampa)

[@jeretcarrotproductions3510]

Northwest Arkansas is also a huge area that has seen incredible growth since the 1990s

[@PlanesPlease]

True. My mothers family moved there 30 years ago and we would visit from Colorado. It seemed so small back then. My parents moved to Bentonville about four years ago and every time I come to visit what used to be tree land is now single family homes or warehouses. It is insane.

[@wyattbirge7747]

Northwest Arkansas is the best part of the south, with Mammoth Cave, Owensboro, Key Largo, Everglades, and the Okefenokee swamp right behind it. Izard county is really neat!

[@UserName-ts3sp]

thanks to a single company... walmart has built that region

[@jeretcarrotproductions3510]

@@UserName-ts3sp That's also true; however, there are two other Fortune 500 companies (J.B. Hunt and Tyson Foods) that are headquartered in the NWA metro area. Tyson makes sense, as before Walmart was founded, poultry was the number one industry in Northwest Arkansas. Also the University of Arkansas is in Fayetteville, and the student population there is pretty big, so there are multiple factors that are attributed to the growth of Northwest Arkansas.

[@Sigmanovar]

@@wyattbirge7747 they have a everglades in Arkansas?

[@jeretcarrotproductions3510]

Hey man, I appreciate the commitment you're putting into these videos! Keep up the good work!

[@BeaverGeography]

Glad you like them!

[@Kaizoku_Zoro]

@@BeaverGeography I would also extend the Megalopolis to Nashville, especially considering it would be the third largest metro area behind Charlotte and Atlanta. There are also significant medium sized metro areas like Chattanooga and Asheville with about 500,00 in their metro areas and Knoxville with almost 900,00. This would make a Southeast triangle type of thing like how Texas has the Texas Triangle. If the Golden Crescent in Virginia and Raleigh-Durham in NC grows enough they could merge and create a a huge East Coast megalopolis.

[@dietpixel]

In NC, college sports especially college basketball is huge. NC also is one on the best states for minor league baseball. Also, we do have 4 professional sports teams, NFL panthers, NBA hornets, NHL hurricanes, and MLS charlotte fc.

[@TheBaldr]

Don't forget it the home of NASCAR too.

[@davidcole6369]

Although Birmingham Alabama is not experiencing the same rate of growth as Atlanta/Charlotte/RDU, it should be included in conversations about the Southern/Piedmont Megalopolis.

[@j.f.e.productions4098]

I don't know about other cities but what has really grown the GSP area is the BMW manufacturing plant right in between them. Not only does it provide many jobs but other factories that produce products for BMW have set up in the area as well. I live right in between Greenville and Spartanburg. The amount of development in the area is insane. Cool video!

[@Elfking94]

As a triad native i think you got winston salem and Greensboro mixed up. Winston Salem is the smaller one with a better skyline

[@fleurix9967]

Yea he definitely got them confused

[@jennifer255]

0:12 - No Baltimore? We always get the short end of that stick...

[@adameligator2836]

These places will continue to grow outwards if change is not made for improvements on walkability and public transit on both a local and regional level… the Northeast continues to hold the crown over our heads here because of how connected they are in that sense. Many people don’t want to see the area keep growing, but I think that their minds would change if public transportation/high speed rail made everything more connected in the near future

[@user-hm1zb8js5i]

That will never happen. Nobody will ever use public transportation or high speed rails when practically everybody has a car.

[@dunkey7739]

@@user-hm1zb8js5i wait everyone has a car because there are no options. How do you know people won’t use it when given the option?

[@user-hm1zb8js5i]

@@dunkey7739 Because cities have tried to institute public transit in the past and have failed because no one was using them.

[@dunkey7739]

@@user-hm1zb8js5i yeah because there dogshit. That’s just incorrect aswell because cities with real transit options like DC, Chicago and NYC have millions using public transport every month. So why lie

[@woodalexander]

@@user-hm1zb8js5i What an ignorant comment. Public transit is popular in cities that have zoned and developed for it. Many cities have just sprawled and created absurd car dependency.

[@yeaolon]

Hey Beaver I think you should cover the abandoned Pennsylvania turnpike on I-76, it would make for a pretty interesting video.

[@daverodgers9798]

I'm a geographer, a city/regional planner, and a transportation planner. So, this is right down my line. First, I would like to say this is a great video. However, I have just one comment. For all of the cities you discussed, you compared the 1950 population of the city proper with the 2020 Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) population. For context, you should compare the 1950 city proper populations with the 2020 city proper populations, and the 1950 MSA populations with the 2020 MSA populations. Just a thought. Keep up the good work with exposing You Tube to geography. I love it!

[@Mauri-jb9up]

Many Americans haven't realized it but this is THE region for a prime High-Speed Rail. Hope it will happen at some point

[@wwsciffsww3748]

A lot of us in Atlanta recognize the need for more rail (both within the Atlanta metro area and also intercity rail to the other places in the megaregion), the issue is that there's also a lot of people who haven't yet. We say our traffic is really bad, but it might not be so bad if it gets worse because then people will realize this more.

[@booooo-urns]

No it’s not because you’ll need a car once you reach any destination anyway. You need some kind of local public transit infrastructure to make high speed rail an attractive alternative to just driving 3-5 hours. The south don’t have that, and will never have that.

[@sri-kaushalramana437]

@@booooo-urns atlanta and Charlotte are densifying a lot and are improving their transit. I could definitely see HSR working from Atlanta to Charlotte, especially in 20 years

[@mariowalker9048]

As someone who lives an hour from Charlotte, I saw this common. Charlotte, Atlanta, Greenville, Greensboro, and Durham are all connected by i-85.

[@jamesmooney8933]

The ironic thing about the shrinking rust belt is that it has a great deal of water, and mild weather. As the Southwest shrinks because of the lack of water, the rust belt should gain population

[@richardbaker2701]

Love how you talk in metro area populations rather than the official city populations

[@TheRagingPlatypus]

It's not just being a capital city. Therexs fifty of them and most haven't done what Raleigh has. Therexs a few factors, the most important bein Research Triangle Park. Forward thinking people created this. It is a tax haven for research that caused many companies to locate there.

[@mst87mst87]

Great video! I'm actually in the middle of this "southern megalopolis" in Lexington NC situated between the Triad and Charlotte and I can certainly tell from personal experience that over the years this area has really grown! I-85 basically ties us all together. Cool place to live.

[@ayeeeeeeee6240]

dont forget about the branch stretching from atlanta to birmingham!!

[@srikothur2845]

I love that you brought up the sports map. As a Braves fan we don't want to lose our megalopolis.

[@liambohl]

It would be interesting to see a comparison of development patterns, population density, and transit between the Northeast and Southeast megalopolises. Most of the United States is highly car-dependent due to things like single family and single-use zoning, underinvestment in public transit and bike infrastructure, and the massive power of the auto industry. While the recent growth of the Southeast almost epitomizes these trends, the Northeast is much denser and has some of the best transit in America.

[@liambohl]

If you're skeptical about whether increased public transportation can make sense in America, I suggest checking out Not Just Bikes here on KZbin. He shows how much better life can be in a city where you can get around by walking, biking, or taking a bus or train.

[@Ranman242]

With the success of Brightline down in Florida, I wonder if they would consider expanding north. I think that would be amazing!

[@cityskylines11]

Great video! You got me as a new sub. Two things I noticed though that I would have to correct are, in the north east the megalopolis goes all the way to Richmond VA, and in the south it goes all the way to Birmingham Alabama via I-20 and Anniston AL.

[@Legend13CNS]

I went to college near-ish Greenville (Clemson), lived in Raleigh and now living in Augusta, GA. I think if we pretend growing the Megalopolis was something that could be voted on a lot of residents would vote against it. There's a growing sentiment that the recent growth is ruining the cities as people move here from outside the South and complain that the South isn't like wherever they came from (California and NYC most vocally). I grew up in Denver, which has been turned into LA 2.0 through the same process by the same kind of people. I'm seeing similar signs, especially in Raleigh.

[@DinkyWaffle]

yeah literally no one from here wants this, it makes everything expensive and most of the new folks talk weird

[@danielbradley5255]

I was just shaking my head, wondering why the narrator is using words like "unfortunately" and "sadly" when describing the NE over the SE regarding the competitiveness of it all. As a Philadelphian myself, not only would I avoid relating my locale to being apart of NYC (we'd be more comfortable teaming up with D. C. If forced to choose) but I know Bostonians would feel the same way. The thought of lumping everyone and everything together is like admitting your lack of individuality and local charm is absent and instead better off becoming a conglomerate lol

[@eternalhoursrblx7405]

Exactly the more people that move to Atlanta are complaining because of the traffic and the growing inner-city housing exspenses

[@karenwang313]

You southerners deserve to be diluted. Perhaps yalls can finally learn some decency from the californians moving to your cities :D

[@TNBuckeye1617]

I think any Megalopolis that includes Atlanta also has to include Chattanooga, TN at this point because the Atlanta and Chattanooga suburbs are starting to merge near Calhoun, GA. Along I-75, it’s a suburbanized/urbanized corridor. From Chattanooga, this megalopolis is turning northeast towards Knoxville, but the areas between Knoxville and Cleveland (TN) still retain their rural roots. In the future, we may talk about the Atlanta-Charlotte-Knoxville megalopolis.

[@tjr-007tt]

I don’t think any megalopolis in the south will ever get as big as the North East simply because of commuter transportation services. The NE is connected by rail Acela/Amtrak which makes traveling between the cities more convenient. Thousands of people commute in between Washington, Philadelphia, NYC and Boston on a daily basis making it more interconnected than any other region in the US. Not to mention NYC, Philadelphia and DC are iconic in their own right. NYC is the financial and cultural capital of the world.

[@HallsofAsgard96]

Some "supercomputers" do use Amtrak. Not to mention the fact that those cities have regional rail of their own. VRE/MARC, SEPTA, & LIRR/METRO NORTH/NJ TRANSIT

[@DonCarlosDonCarlos]

Just moved to the Long Island area near NYC from Atlanta after 15 years, always used to brag about NY being better but have come to realize some places down south are easily 10 years ahead than some places in the Northeast in infrastructure, culture, even diversity. The downside to to Atlanta & other places around like Charlotte is the cost of living, which may hurt the growth down the line, there's a lot of "New Money" causing a lot of growth at the moment, its great for people moving from other places but people who've been living there for years can't afford it anymore.

[@MarshallTheArtist]

It sounds like an actual beaver is telling us this. I love it.

[@jdcjeep47]

You're doing great! Keep up the awesome work on these videos!!!

[@BeaverGeography]

Thank you so much!

[@frostman9661]

There's no way on earth it will catch up to the northeast... Growth are always way more impressive in small cities than big. A 1% growth rate in New York is 180,000. 10% growth rate in Greensboro is 30,000... As cities get larger percentages scale immensely. You should be comparing numbers to numbers, not percent to percent.

[@4jqxc]

Perhaps, but in 1950 Florida's population was 2.8 million and NY was 7.9 million. Now Florida is 22 million and NY is 19.3 million. While this person oddly called the south the Atlanta metro area. The south is already eclipses the north in terms of population albeit with a much larger geographical scale. The South being the most populous of the 4 major geographic areas in the U.S with 126 million, followed by the West with 78, the Midwest with 68, and the North with 57. The south continues with high growth rates and souther metro areas will continue to grow along with them.

[@frostman9661]

@@4jqxc that's very possible. But my point was that he based everything by percentages specifically speaking about Atlanta and NC. Sure, they are growing quick, but it will take decades, maybe even a century before those two states even begin to catch up to the north east. But yes, I know when you include Florida and Texas, the population is pretty large. But by that logic you should include Ohio, PA, Michigan, Illinois and others ect. If you want to stretch the area that much. It still dwarfs most of the south. But I would agree it will eventually catch up and likely surpass them in the coming decades. Just comparing Atlanta megaopolus to the northeast is kind of silly.

[@4jqxc]

@@frostman9661 agreed that Atlanta would have a long way to go to catch up to the northeast. I don't know why he kept on saying the south when really just referring to Atlanta metro area.

[@EL-oj6uq]

Well done, loved how you started off the video

[@njv1234]

the entire state of Florida is its own megalopolis right now

[@ToastedNoodle]

You could have easily included Columbus, GA and Birmingham, AL to this.

[@mva6044]

Why does Baltimore always get the short shrift? As a city it's not much smaller than Boston or Washington DC?

[@simonsays3465]

Not to mention a port. DC? Nope. Philadelphia? Snooze..Boston? Yawn.

[@branplore]

agreed

[@TerraScotia]

You can also say the metro regions of Chattanooga and Birmingham can also soon be included. Chattanooga and Atlanta’s metro lines are split roughy by 2 counties or so. Birmingham will take a little longer.

[@Mtn_Dewit]

I'm pretty sure that sometime in the near future, Birmingham, AL will join the Southeast megaopolis. I live near Birmingham and its one of the fastest growing cities in the South.

[@grantp6451]

B'ham is more connected to Atlanta than any city northeast of it, so I don't see why it was omitted in this case.

[@tschandler2]

@@grantp6451 Yeah, considering this is just an extension of the deep South car manufacturing belt. That extends

[@toaddoesntlikemayonnaise2169]

As someone from New York, I can tell you the drive from Hartford to Washington D.C took me about 7 hours with constant towns and cities along the way. It took me through cities such as New Haven (150,000 people), Bridgeport (150,000 people), New York (8.8 million people), Newark (350,000 people), Philadelphia (1.6 million people), Wilmington (100,000 people) and Baltimore (540,000 people). It seems endless lol

[@bruhbutwhytho]

Lol, we need some hsr because the traffic is crazy

[@Judah_76]

Baltimore has 2.8 million in its metro region and about 600,000 in the city limits.

[@nathanwaldron4259]

This goes to show how important the i85 corridor is

[@mysteriousDSF]

Nice work, subscribed

[@AyaKho]

The northeast has robust transit connections including the only frequent high speed rail service on the continent and robust frequent regional transit networks that cover even smaller regional communities including MARC, VRE, SEPTA, NJT, LIPR, MTA, and MBTA. The southeast is covered by an extremely infrequent Amtrak route and some greyhound routes but the only way to get around it conveniently is by a car. I think this is an extremely significant barrier to the southeast being as "interconnected" as you claim.

[@Ranman242]

Imagine if Brightline were to expand north from Florida, that would be awesome!

[@AyaKho]

@@Ranman242 It would be but I have my concerns with a private rail corridor becoming the transit artery of the entire southeast. I'd much rather changes be made to make the Crescent corridor more viable and connect brightline to it.

[@AyaKho]

Brightline would likely have to deal with the same problems Amtrak's Crescent is dealing with. Norfolk southern.

[@Ranman242]

Alright understandable

[@siricm9647]

@@Ranman242 good luck connecting all that low density suburban sprawl together.

[@dirtycommie2877]

One thing we know for a fact is that the Northeast Corridor will remain the most dense region in the U.S. for the foreseeable future, regardless of population.

[@t-bird_guy]

I live right in the middle of this growing megalopolis and it's growing as fast as possible, only thing is that it gets sparse between the cities, also there's kinda a correlation in position with the north east (also population for this is by the cities themselves, not the metro), with atlanta being most important (like dc) greenville and spartanburg being lesser recognized but still important (like philladelphia), charlotte being the biggest (like new york city, if you don't get it then read back up),the triad being forgotten a lot (like the new jersey cities), and raleigh being a state capital (like boston, but atlanta is too tho). anyways i'm glad to see some recognition for our group of metro areas. (i'm adding stuff in as I watch) Charlotte does have two defining landmarks really, the Nascar Hall of fame right in the city, and Charlotte Motor Speedway in concord (just east of charlotte), but they really only contribuite to one niche, charlotte would need something else like a huge building, a large sporting event that stays there, or anything to call it's own

[@wargriffin5]

"What if there was a different megalopolis in the Southern United States that has half the northeast's population?" *(Florida has entered the chat)*

[@adithyaramachandran7427]

The megalopolis with 1 train per day, lol. Compare that to the northeast where rail travel can be useful to go from city center to city center.

[@helenhoward5346]

I live here, in the triad of NC (Winston-salem). Have lived here since 1995 when I was 5. Been here my whole life and raise my own family here. I really enjoy living here, it's got all the amenities of urban life but not nearly as congested or crowded (obviously rush hour is a little hectic but it's not nearly as bad as Charlotte). There's so much natural scenery in a lot of places. I thought Greensboro was bigger though.

[@Alaska-bi2nm]

Ehhhh at 5:37 I have to disagree; the South has had an incredible impact upon American culture already. In fact, many view the South as America's Cultural Heart. You had greats like Elvis Presley, Alabama, Johnny Cash, Ariana Grande, Ray Charles, and the list goes on. Literature like Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird are also significant pieces of literature. When you live in the US, a solid portion of our media, culture, and literature are from the South. Our founders were majority Southern, our military institutions are Southern, our civil rights movement was Southern. The South has so far, in many ways pulled this country it would be criminal to lose such a vital part of our nation. The North may be the mind of this nation; however the South is her soul.

[@danielobrien1]

💯🎯

[@TwoMorningPoops]

The true test for me is asking foreigners. The America they will describe will be the Northeast cities and their suburbs

[@bd5040]

@@TwoMorningPoops I did a study abroad in Spain. The most famous American item was Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey. Everyone knew Tennessee believe it or not

[@apexone5502]

Don't forget that most of the major musical genres in America came from the south.

[@conormccann2850]

Great video! Definitely subscribing. I think you bring up a good point about sports and how the Southeast Megalopolis is lacking in that department, you are overlooking another major form of entertainment in the US, which may even be more important than sports: music. When it comes to music, Atlanta has more bang for its buck than many US cities. It gives NYC a run for its money in terms of being a hip-hop mecca, but NYC is the biggest US city, while Atlanta is comparatively quite small. When it comes to music, the Southeastern United States and the Gulf Coast area are not to be trifled with. From hip hop and trap to jazz and blues, to even some alternative rock music, these regions really seem to dominate.

[@willp.8120]

No mention of country music? Really? Sheesh!

[@conormccann2850]

@@willp.8120 Yeah, it's there but it is not nor has it never been my cup of tea, so it's not something I can comfortably talk about in regards to what regions it is really popular, how popular it is, etc. No disrespect to the genre, it's just not on my radar. I love Johnny Cash, though!

[@UDKME313]

As a person who lived in Atlanta and who went to Charlotte often you definitely hit unpopulated areas especially on 85 in ga/SC. But atl & Charlotte definitely connected

[@willp.8120]

Basically, once you get past the Jefferson exits in Jackson County, you get out of the Atlanta exurban sprawl. It's primarily rural until you get to exit 19 in South Carolina at the Clemson exit. From there, it's populated enough by way of nearby Anderson all the way up to just past Spartanburg. It then becomes more rural all the way to Kings Mountain in North Carolina, about twelve miles into the state.

[@eggdaily]

@@willp.8120bro described it perfectly

[@alexw8867]

That was awesome!! Love this video so much thank you man :)

[@Cybersynthetica]

As nice as it is to live so close to both Atlanta, Greenville and Charlotte, it kinda pains me to see my hometown turn into just another suburb. I’ve lived in Anderson my whole life and it’s been weird watching all the farmland and forest around me start to turn into suburbia. 20 years ago places like Powdersville were just another crossroad on the map, but now it’s turning into one of the fastest growing areas of the Greenville metro area

[@laurie7689]

The main problem of interest to me is not the growth of suburbs, but the loss of farmland. Farmers are selling their land to developers who turn them into suburbs with the permission of cities. We're losing too many farms too fast.

[@hunterkenyon910]

@@laurie7689 if you build cities more densely you get to preserve more farmland. if you want single-family homes and car dependency then you're going to lose all the farmland.

[@laurie7689]

@@hunterkenyon910 The problem is that no matter what we do, there will never be enough farmland for the people in the suburbs who would prefer to live on farms. There are just way too many people. There are a lot of us in the suburbs that would prefer acreage. Only a handful of people will ever be able to have farmland. A lot of suburbanites favor rural living over urban living. We're just stuck living in suburbs. It is as close as we are willing to get to living in an urban center, which we despise. Many suburban folk are descended from farmers, as am I. If the suburbanites that want to live like urbanites were to move to the urban centers, the rest of us would be extremely happy for them, but we would still be stuck in the suburbs. It just might free up a little more space for us. There were two types of people that moved to the suburbs. The people from urban areas that moved because of White Flight and the rural people (my people) who moved to the suburbs because only one child out of several inherits the family farm. My grandfather sold off almost all his acreage and the suburbs were built all around him. There is a huge misconception that the suburbs were settled primarily by urban folk. The reality is that they were settled from both directions: urban and rural. We of the rural folk don't want to have anything to do with the cities and that includes high-density city living. We're used to not having shops nearby because we're previously rural folk. Our living in the suburbs actually makes shops closer to us than what we're used to. Basically, we're displaced potential farmers.

[@ketchumx]

Anderson SC here too

[@HoodAdventures]

You could’ve included the Texas Triangle for this video as well. But I see why you did those clusters of cities.

[@ryandougher1807]

Would LA Long Beach Orange County riverside/San Bernardino and San Diego be considered a southwestern megalopolis?

[@dlazo32696]

Pretty much. You’re talking about 20 million people in the SoCal area.

[@dennisc6716]

It is. The only real undeveloped land between LA and SD along I-5 is Camp Pendleton.

[@mrteaman]

I lived in Greenville for 10 years. The downtown area is really cool.

[@ChasetheG]

The Superdome is in New Orleans. I think you got it confused with Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. because Mercedes Benz had naming right to the Superdome til' last year.

[@ThisGuyAd.]

I'm really enjoying these videos man, keep them up. Love how you have your thing you really know about and are making fresh stuff 🦾😎👍🏻👏

[@BeaverGeography]

I appreciate that!

[@juatin2020]

Idk if it’s even in the same realm but Virginia has a bit of megalopolis developing from like Virginia Beach - Norfolk-Hampton Roads/Newport news - to Richmond and DC up north. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@treycollins3583]

This also assumes a steady growth rate into the southeastern us. With the effects of climate change becoming more and more noticeable each year, I would predict that the rust belt may become a shinier destination in decades to come once again. I say this mainly because almost everyone I know who is moving away from the southeast, is moving directly to the Midwest, including myself (Alabama to Minnesota this summer)

[@jakebrakeat2am489]

Im from the outskirts of Columbia, South Carolina. Despite it not being apart of the future Megalopolis it is growing extensively, In 20 years ive watched my small town get overrun by USC college kids and school housing, Implants, And just general growth. It seems like theirs 20 land clearing projects going on at all times to put in new neighborhoods or businesses. My small town went from being separated from Columbia, To being APART of Columbia in 10 years. Lexington is next on the chopping block sadly. I think the growth in the Southeast is across the board and even in places that dont seem to have much to offer.

[@sashaconrad3939]

This is a fascinating video, thank you for posting it!

[@Big_Not_Good]

I was always fascinated by the idea of "The Sprawl" in Neuromancer; The Boston-Atlanta Metro Area is a concept that I will always find slightly horrifying.

[@jakephreel]

Great video and very informative! one suggestion is in your future videos you should show a picture of the whole megalopolis (or what your talking about in the video as a whole) as opposed to just a random picture of north America with the beaver in front of it when you're not showing anything specific at that moment. Helps people visualize what you are talking about. how can people care about an area they are unfarmilliar with if they can't picture and visualize it in regard to proximity of areas they are farmilliar with? I highly recommend watching the Channel Caspian Report. they are the standard to strive for in regards to quality and story telling in a video and just the best channel out there for Geopolitics and videos with maps. keep uo the good worm. you earned my sub

[@chadnga8]

Very very interesting !! 🤔 I live north of Atlanta, and I lived in ATL for 12 years and it's biggest claim to fame has to be the 1996 Olympics. What an awesome time it was. Also Atlanta's deep history in the fight for civil rights (MLK Jr, Andrew Young, John Lewis, etc) along with being the home to Coka-Cola, Delta, Home Depot, gives Atlanta a deep and rich history. I have to admit though... I've never thought of Atlanta being part of a megalopolis with the cities you put together. Living in Rome, Georgia, we are usually lumped with Atlanta, and the main cities we relate to are Birmingham and Chattanooga . Rome is right in the middle of a triangle of ATL, Chattanooga and Birmingham. Savannah, Georgia could certainly join your megalopolis in its own right. Finally, I've never really thought of Rome's MSA (Metropolitan Statsical Area) being that big... but I just read that Rome metro is about 95k. Heck... you can add us to your current list 😆 Great video... keep up the good work!

[@willp.8120]

Floyd County for some reason looks about equally to Chattanooga and Atlanta, and Cartersville tends to look to Rome. It's rather weird. Northwest Georgia is culturally different from the rest of north Georgia. It's more like a combination of Tennessee twang and Alabama drawl. The twang of Tennessee with some drawl, and the love for the University of Alabama almost on the same level as that of support for the University of Georgia.

[@chadnga8]

@@willp.8120 you're right... on all of those statements! You must be from here as well?

[@willp.8120]

@@chadnga8 I was raised in Cobb County, now live in Cherokee County, but I worked in Bartow County for over a decade. It was noticeably different in culture in the counties northwest of Cobb and north of Paulding, west of Cherokee, Pickens, Gilmer, and Fannin.

[@chadnga8]

@@willp.8120 indeed. After living in Atlanta for 12 years, moving back to Rome as an adult was a major culture shock. I've only truly realized just how primitive minded people are the further north you go into NW GA. (I won't point out the elephant in the district, but it's been truly embarrassing these last couple of years with media from literally across the globe have shown up, to interview citizens and ask... "is that how everyone around here thinks? " ) I'm an optimistic person so I think brighter days are definitely ahead for NW GA.

[@mariowalker9048]

Savannah, Brunswick, Jacksonville, and Daytona is like a mini megapolis of it's own. They're all a few hours apart and on the i-95 corridor (similar to the northeast megaopolis).

[@Killersanchez256]

You should do a video discussing all of of Americas future Megalopolis from Southern California, Texas Triangle, Florida, Chicago/Great Lakes, etc.