Which US Megalopolis Is Growing The Fastest?

[@HempAdvocate89]

You said the SoCal was the first international but you had just shown Toronto as part of Great Lakes mega?

[@BeaverGeography]

Oh wait my bad you're right

[@BeaverGeography]

Sorry gang😢

[@dhinton1]

Hemp, i'm glad someone caught that cuz i was about to run this clip back .... ​@@BeaverGeography, it's cool. it happens.

[@speavy]

The Cascadia Megalopolis also exctends to Vancover Canada.

[@seanmcdirmid]

@@speavy it also contains two vancouvers.

[@navyguyhm3]

I think Southern California defines what a true "megalopolis" is. It's literally one big built up region containing 3 different metro regions (L.A./Long Beach, Orange County, Riverside/San Bernardino and San Diego/Tijuana) All are fully interconnected with only a small break in the built up area (Camp Pendelton) vs the northeast corridor which is spread out over multiple states and many rural areas in between major cities. SoCal can be just one mega-city, that's how built up and connected it is.

[@senorpepper3405]

I grew up in san diego so i understand the socal aspect. Last time i went from dc to nyc on i95 the only rural spot was north of Baltimore going into Wilmington. And that's for 45 minutes or so. Dc and Baltimore are one big city. Wilmington is basically tied into Philly. And new jersey is the most densely populated state, connecting philly and nyc. Never have been north of new york.

[@hienakky99]

Demolition Man called it San Angeles

[@navyguyhm3]

@@senorpepper3405 I was stationed in DC. Lived in Prince Georges county. DC proper is heavily built-up and congested but, it never felt like LA or Dallas. And "outside the beltway" while heavily populated, it always had a rural feel to it. Maybe all the trees? I don't know how to explain it. 60miles in either direction from here in Riverside, it's just all built up concrete. No rural until you enter the Mojave Desert outside of Palm Springs and Victorville.

[@dustinhiggins4752]

Dallas to Austin feels the same way thru Waco. In 10 years it'll just be one continuation of suburbs touching each other.

[@MikeV8652]

What you mention at 3:34 is not the Florida Panhandle, but the Florida Peninsula.

[@kleverich]

Yeah, I don't think there is nearly as much growth there.

[@Chiller11]

The Florida panhandle is realistically part of Alabama.

[@MikeV8652]

@@Chiller11 Well, maybe culturally; but it's under Florida government and glad to be, which is a step up.

[@RealGJZig]

​@@MikeV8652not really. Their state leadership is about equal.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

@@Chiller11 Yep, that's the part of Florida that Matt Gaetz represented in Congress, lol.

[@valkasolidor6727]

Warning: do not drink a shot every time he says "megalopolis". Don't ask how I know...

[@nolongerlistless]

Conurbation is another term. Sprawl yet another. I am not sure these "insane growth/pollution scenes" count as "cities". A city should care about its citizens and facilitates them in finding a higher quality of life and greater productiveness. Many of these are just urban wastelands, concrete jungles, and suburbia gone cancerous: metastathised.

[@terrancedavis4851]

Damn im only 40 seconds in lmaooo. Im in for this one 😅

[@BDUBZ49]

*megalopolith

[@RealGJZig]

​@@nolongerlistless if you don't like it, leave. Just don't complain when you cannot find legitimate work, decent medical care, or partners that aren't related to you (or normal)

[@swinger9374]

😁😁😁

[@garysanchezphotography]

Northern California megaregion The Northern California megaregion (also Northern California Megalopolis), distinct from Northern California, is an urbanized region of California consisting of many large cities including San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Oakland. There are varying definitions of the megaregion, but it is generally seen as encompassing the San Francisco Bay Area, the Sacramento area, northern San Joaquin Valley, and the Monterey Bay Area.[2] The most common definition of the megaregion consists of the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area, the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Merced Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the Salinas Metropolitan Area.[3][4][5] Under this definition, the megaregion was home to 12.6 million residents in 2018,[6] and had a GDP of $1.21 trillion,[7] resulting in a GDP per capita of $96,029. The megaregion thus accounted for 3.9% of the U.S. population,[6] and 5.9% of the U.S. economy in 2018. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_California_megaregion

[@sircrumpler]

As someone happily and proudly from NorCal its wild it is not included on this list when it is one of the FOUNDATIONAL megaregions for the entire united states. We grow everyone's food and make everyone's tech!

[@Krobra91]

@@sircrumpler 100% agree i now live in oregon and hope to one day move back to CA because its just the best place to be.

[@ИванСергев-т9ы]

San Francisco dropped from the list

[@tylerkriesel8590]

Mass population exudes will do that.

[@KevinPaulBell]

@@tylerkriesel8590 Because you lived there? Not true at all…and I do live there.

[@josephaugello1527]

​@@tylerkriesel8590san diego and LA are declining to

[@peternolan4107]

@@tylerkriesel8590 What does "exudes" mean? Jeez!

[@tylerkriesel8590]

@@KevinPaulBell ok well I guess because you said it, it’s true. Here I thought the United States census estimates says it’s metro area is declining. I guess shouldn’t believe my lying eyes, and listening to the KZbin comments section experts.

[@adhdegrees]

“Florida pan handle” *screams with rage*

[@k_tess]

Me too buddy me too

[@henryjtien]

I'm going to start calling it the Florida Pan.

[@adhdegrees]

@@henryjtien real

[@JakeKoenig]

Isn't that what it's called?

[@adhdegrees]

@@JakeKoenig he referred to the Peninsula as the Panhandle, the Panhandle is the part with Tallahassee and Pensacola, the Peninsula has Miami, Orlando, Tampa

[@thomasgrabkowski8283]

As for Great Lakes, the growth ironically is mainly driven by the fast growing Canadian side in contrast to the shrinking American side

[@jaspal666]

Before I watched the video, I knew Texas was to have the highest growth. I see this in DFW as a resident from the mid 90’s.

[@ShowLSWH]

DFW feels like it’s well on its way to going to way of California. Endless sprawl, long commutes, and bad air quality. All the nice ranch land to the west and north is getting turned into strip malls and subdivisions. This place looks like it’s becoming one big parking lot sometimes.

[@michaelphillips2079]

Same here. I lived there from 1980 to 2015 and the growth has been absolutely astronomical.

[@dukezap1]

In terms of individual metro areas, it’s still behind the GTA’s growth, but definitely close

[@dustinhiggins4752]

It's one of the fastest growing cities in America. It'll surpass Chicago in the 2030s sometime for Metro population.

[@jackperson3626]

Thanks!

[@willp.8120]

The amount of growth seen throughout the Piedmont cities along the I-85 corridor in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia is insane. Interstate Highway 85 is heavily congested much of the time, even in areas away from the population centers. The portions in Virginia and Alabama, however, is where you find the least traffic on this route.

[@omarrolle3842]

As someone who’s lived in Central Florida close to the I-4 corridor the I-85 corridor is starting to give me the same vibes of very little true rural areas between the cities

[@willp.8120]

@@omarrolle3842 Yeah, it has changed a lot. When I was 18 years old in 1995, I drove up from the Atlanta area all the way to I-95. There was a lot of rural area between the cities, then. The biggest changes are: From downtown Atlanta to the northeast on I-85, suburban development now reaches out 50 miles to Jefferson. Along this stretch, there has been so much new housing, that even out in Jackson County where Jefferson is located, they have had to erect sound barrier walls because many of the neighborhoods have been built beside the interstate. Once you get past the Jefferson exits, there is still about 45 miles of rural area in Georgia. In South Carolina, there's about 19 miles of solidly rural area from the Georgia line to the Clemson exit. It then gets somewhat exurban as the interstate skirts the edge of the Anderson area. This exurban nature is for around 20 miles. Once you get close to Greenville, all the way to the northeast side of Spartanburg, it has pretty much all grown together, a span of around 40 miles. From the edge of Spartanburg up to exit 13 in North Carolina, a span of around 45 miles, it is rural, though Gaffney has a lot of haphazard development on frontage roads that makes it seem more built up than it actually is. The outlet mall also contributes to this. From West Gastonia through Charlotte up to China Grove, a span of around 45 miles, it is suburban and urban. It then gets somewhat exurban for about twenty miles before Salisbury. After Salisbury, there is a small stretch of rural area between Salisbury up Lexington, a span of about ten to fifteen miles. It then becomes exurban for about thirty miles, skirting Thomasville, before hitting more suburban area near High Point. This suburban area continues all the way to Mebane, a span of around 25 miles. From the east side of Mebane up to Durham, it does become rural again, but only for about ten miles. Then you have about ten miles of suburban area in the Durham area. So, adding it up: Urban/Suburban/Exurban areas between downtown Atlanta (though development expands thirty miles south from downtown Atlanta) and Durham along I-85 in: Georgia 80 miles South Carolina 60 miles North Carolina 130 miles Total: 270 miles within urban/suburban and exurban areas. Regarding rural areas along this stretch. Georgia: 45 miles South Carolina: 51 miles North Carolina 33 miles. Total: 127 miles So from the southern suburbs of Atlanta up to north Durham along I-85, the ratio of developed areas to rural areas is: Georgia: 80 miles developed; 45 miles rural South Carolina: 60 miles developed; 51 miles rural North Carolina: 130 miles developed; 33 miles rural Thus, along that stretch, over 70 percent is found within urban, suburban, and exurban areas, with rural areas only consisting of around 30 percent these days. This heavily contrasts with I-16 in Georgia which is about 95-97% rural areas and a pleasure to drive, uncongested, forests and farms. The stars are bright at night out on I-16.

[@TheU.S.]

All in the top 10 for population growth percentage

[@willp.8120]

@@omarrolle3842 Yeah, around 70% of the area from Newnan, a suburb south of Atlanta up to northern Durham in North Carolina is either urban, suburban, or exurban in nature. True rural areas only account for around 30% of that stretch.

[@willp.8120]

Yeah, it has changed a lot. When I was 18 years old in 1995, I drove up from the Atlanta area all the way to I-95. There was a lot of rural area between the cities, then. The biggest changes are: From downtown Atlanta to the northeast on I-85, suburban development now reaches out 50 miles to Jefferson. Along this stretch, there has been so much new housing, that even out in Jackson County where Jefferson is located, they have had to erect sound barrier walls because many of the neighborhoods have been built beside the interstate. Once you get past the Jefferson exits, there is still about 45 miles of rural area in Georgia. In South Carolina, there's about 19 miles of solidly rural area from the Georgia line to the Clemson exit. It then gets somewhat exurban as the interstate skirts the edge of the Anderson area. This exurban nature is for around 20 miles. Once you get close to Greenville, all the way to the northeast side of Spartanburg, it has pretty much all grown together, a span of around 40 miles. From the edge of Spartanburg up to exit 13 in North Carolina, a span of around 45 miles, it is rural, though Gaffney has a lot of haphazard development on frontage roads that makes it seem more built up than it actually is. The outlet mall also contributes to this. From West Gastonia through Charlotte up to China Grove, a span of around 45 miles, it is suburban and urban. It then gets somewhat exurban for about twenty miles before Salisbury. After Salisbury, there is a small stretch of rural area between Salisbury up Lexington, a span of about ten to fifteen miles. It then becomes exurban for about thirty miles, skirting Thomasville, before hitting more suburban area near High Point. This suburban area continues all the way to Mebane, a span of around 25 miles. From the east side of Mebane up to Durham, it does become rural again, but only for about ten miles. Then you have about ten miles of suburban area in the Durham area. So, adding it up: Urban/Suburban/Exurban areas between downtown Atlanta (though development expands thirty miles south from downtown Atlanta) and Durham along I-85 in: Georgia 80 miles South Carolina 60 miles North Carolina 130 miles Total: 270 miles within urban/suburban and exurban areas. Regarding rural areas along this stretch. Georgia: 45 miles South Carolina: 51 miles North Carolina 33 miles. Total: 127 miles So from the southern suburbs of Atlanta up to north Durham along I-85, the ratio of developed areas to rural areas is: Georgia: 80 miles developed; 45 miles rural South Carolina: 60 miles developed; 51 miles rural North Carolina: 130 miles developed; 33 miles rural Thus, along that stretch, over 70 percent is found within urban, suburban, and exurban areas, with rural areas only consisting of around 30 percent these days. This heavily contrasts with I-16 in Georgia which is about 95-97% rural areas and a pleasure to drive, uncongested, forests and farms. The stars are bright at night out on I-16.

[@fomfom9779]

I began life in the Great Lakes Mega Region. Later on, spent a couple of decades in the S. CA Megalopolis. Now, I live in the Cascadia Megalopolis. I love the beauty of the forests, mountains, rivers, and the coast/Pacific.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

I was born in Cascadia (Vancouver, WA), and wish I still lived there. I've lived in the Florida and Texas Megalopolises, but only visited the others briefly. I've lived most of my life in Oklahoma (reluctantly).

[@Ray03595]

Northeast Megalopolis is the only true one that is actually interconnected and easy to travel through. Rest of the country has a long ways to go to rival it.

[@nntflow7058]

I would argue that the great lakes megalopolis is bigger in terms of population, gdp and size.

[@bruhbutwhytho]

@@nntflow7058maybe but it is very dispersed

[@nntflow7058]

@@bruhbutwhytho True, but they are classified as a megalopolis region. To be fair, I would also categorize Nocal and Socal as a single megalopolis.

[@rcschmidt668]

And we wish to keep it that way. They are building too much too fast and don’t have the infrastructure to support it. Just because they can build another housing subdivision does not mean they should… If and when they build, it should be built where everything from water plants to schools are increased along with the population, but all developers see are more taxpayers and voters.

[@Xiuhcoatl0352]

Never been to SoCal I see.

[@thomasmacdiarmid8251]

You very easily could have extended the Piedmont Meg to Chattanooga, as the whole I-75 corridor between Atlanta and Chattanooga is filled with lots of small cities and semi-rural area. Knoxville is an arguable inclusion. The growth of Nashville and Huntsville with soon have them joined up as well, either as their own Meg or with the Piedmont Meg.

[@randonkbay]

I don't see how most of these qualify as a megalopolis when there's large areas in between the urban developments.

[@jps0117]

Neither do I. Most of these I've never seen identified as such.

[@stevenroshni1228]

@@jps0117 all of them are noted by other sources, including wikipedia but he mentions rural areas, which megaloplis don't have

[@garrettb.-gtmkm9850]

There is a huge stretch of almost empty land on the Front Range Urban Corridor between Las Vegas, NM and Pueblo, CO; both sides have large strings of multiple cities in quick succession, but in between there are only three towns of note (Raton, Trinidad, and Walsenburg). The stretches between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Pueblo and Colorado Springs, Colorado are also very isolated - but population explodes within a few miles of entering the metros on either side.

[@tommunyon2874]

When I moved to Colorado Springs in 1969 I speculated that Denver to Pueblo could potentially become a megalopolis.

[@Ryn_TheP0ny]

This was neat ngl , Loved it so much keep it up man this was so interesting.

[@Avinkwep]

As someone from Colorado the front rage is definitely one big metro, but stretching it down to New Mexico is wild

[@S_Over_Street]

How you not include the San Francisco Bay Area along w/ the Sacramento/ Stockton / Modesto part of the Central Valley as a Megalopolis? That area is still a highly populated region & is about as big or bigger than the one in Colorado/ NM

[@colinmccahon5257]

I was about to comment the same exact thing

[@Will0398]

Being from the Central Valley I’d say because the big cities in the area (SF, SJ, Oakland) are losing population and there are large rural gaps between the cities in the valley.

[@S_Over_Street]

@@Will0398 you’re right that many in the SF Bay Area have been moving out for the past 10+ years but there hardly is any major rural gaps between the Bay Area & the Central Valley around Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto. Along I-80 you have suburbs like Fairfield & Vacaville that are around 100k population plus smaller suburbs like Dixon & Davis. Also on I-580 Livermore & Tracy also suburbs too. The Colorado/ New Mexico megalopolis he mentions has miles of rural areas between Pueblo CO & Santa Fe NM. There’s no where near that between the SF Bay Area & Sacramento/ Stockton area

[@ajmoment8091]

@@Will0398if we're comparing it to the front range urban corridor which was included here, there are FAR larger and emptier rural gaps between the cities there than there are in the Bay Area so I don't think that works here.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

@@Will0398 Just because it is declining in population should NOT exclude it from this list! Southern California and the Great Lakes and the Northeast are also declining. Plus, it's population is larger than the Colorado/New Mexico one. There is no reasonable justification for excluding Northern California from this video.

[@unionmaster]

I didn't realize we annexed Toronto haha (You said Tijuana was the first international inclusion of the list)

[@chasegiese340]

I love your videos and have been watching for a while now and don’t think I’ve ever left a comment, that being said I feel like some of these are not megalopolis but just regions of the country.

[@TigergamerF]

As a person who lives in Charlotte, it’s nice to see how much Charlotte has grown over the years. Hopefully Charlotte will get up there in the ranks. 🤞🏻

[@christophertaylor1575]

Why would you want that many people so close togather..?

[@mbogucki1]

The amusing thing to me is that any "Florida Megalopolis" only exists because of one key invention: Air Conditioning.

[@Hodaggium]

So the one you talk about the Southern California Megalopolis being the first international one, after you had already lumped Toronto into one earlier. When did we annex Toronto?

[@hazevthewolf178]

I'm a little surprised that a region that smells a lot like a megalopolis, the San Francisco Bay Area anchored by San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose didn't make your list. Also, have a look at California's Central Valley, especially the region between and including Sacramento, Fresno, and those cities' suburbs. My little town here in California, in the San Joaquin Valley, is included in what many people call The Greater Bay Area, along with places like Stockton and Tracy.

[@francisdinh8161]

I don't think the greater bay area qualifies as a megalopolis, it's just a big metro area. It's about the size of Long Island which is just one subsection of the East Coast megaregion. A megalopolis should be highly interconnected, continuously urbanized and multi-centric and most places in this video don't really qualify anyway

[@jusmax374]

The Bay Area is one metro area I think

[@stevenroshni1228]

there has to be some disconnect, besides just government lines, to be a megalopolis as opposed to urban area. For example between New York and Philly is suburban, it's just that right when the suburbs for New York end, the suburbs for Philly are already beginning.

[@BillRicker]

Right, when half the periphery is under the ocean (and sometimes another ¼ in mountains, growth is more costly in commute time for those tied to core cities but wanting affordable picket-fence suburbia. (Which latter is part of the problem...)

[@stevens1041]

San Francisco Bay Area-Sacramento Area could be one someday. We’re not quite there yet, to be honest. Lots of empty space between and lack of direct connections (look at the high speed rail-you would have to go from SF to Merced then north again to go from SF to Sacramento)

[@wavesssss7]

What about the Sun Corridor (Phoenix-Tuscon)? I was pretty surprised to see you didn't really bring up the Sun Corridor despite its large and overall consistent growth through the past couple decades. I kinda feel like you miss Phoenix and Arizona overall a lot, and don't mention that metropolitan area enough.

[@michaelcook6288]

I love geography and studying different variants. Instant sub.

[@BeaverGeography]

Love you Michael cook

[@smallstudiodesign]

All these megalopolises yet no high speed rail …

[@stevenroshni1228]

part of the battle would be fairly universal acceptance of the megaloplises, or close to it, existing. The Northeast, Texas Triangle and Califorina are the only ones with that status. Brightline has shown the demand for Florida and LA to Las Vegas, but Great Lakes, Cascadia, Atlanta to North Carlina, don't have that. Once people see the travel time differences, Cascadia and Atl will make sense but the great lakes is strech and politically better suited for 100-125 mph regular trains free of freight and level crossings

[@nlpnt]

Chicago proper is a screaming deal for a young person looking to go to a big city. Near NYC/LA levels of opportunity and nightlife at a fraction of the cost-of-living.

[@samsellers9327]

and a high risk of getting robbed or shot

[@ИванСергев-т9ы]

​@@samsellers9327 You humorist

[@wailingalen]

I was gonna say, same. Along with the massive amounts of state funded migrant crisis turned Venezuelan gang violence to go with it

[@jimgorycki4013]

@@samsellers9327 Reminds me of Odd Couple where someone wrote about NYC: "People are holding hands -- up"

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

Chicago is too damn cold!

[@GalenlevyPhoto]

I don’t see it as a megalopolis in several places. They’re just regions. Seems you forgot the Bay Area to Sacramento, they’re all connected. I’ve driven thru and it’s endless cities to cities. Cascadia is almost a megalopolis. Theres plenty of gaps in areas. Los Angeles is connected from Santa Barbara to Orange County and a big gap between San Diego to Orange County due to the undeveloped land. It’s mostly mountains and hills that are difficult to build on. This is why San Diego has a tough time finding a bigger flat land to build a new airport.

[@MrReality50]

As a Houstonian, I can confirm Houston, Dallas-FW, and Austin are growing into each other.

[@highway2heaven91]

Not so much Houston. Dallas isn’t really expanding south on the 45 side.

[@ljacobs357]

Texas is becoming a dump.

[@EvelynElaineSmith]

@@highway2heaven91 1-35 connects more cities than I-45 does: DFW, Waco. Temple-Belton-Killeen, Georgetown, Austin, San Marcos, San Antonio. P.S.--This leg of the triangle needs high-speed rail.

[@jamesgreen7752]

Dallas-Fort Worth is nearing the Oklahoma State border! It's amazing how Sherman/ Dennison connecting to DFW

[@highway2heaven91]

@@jamesgreen7752 Yes it is! Not much gaps in development between them for sure. You could arguably say that it’s past the Oklahoma state line as Durant isn’t far from Denison.

[@RickJ04040]

Richmond and Norfolk/ VA Beach is certainly a part of the NE megalopolis. Many people commute to Northern VA from there and the city (Richmond) is basically a satellite city for DC at this point. South of Fredericksburg (where the least dense area is) is a large theme park and they are even building a Kalahari resort (they know Richmond and NOVA are basically one entity at this point). Not to mention the state fair area and Ladysmith. If the piedmont, and the great lakes and the Texas Triangle and Florida and Cascadia are megalopolis's (all have SEVERAL areas that are less dense and for longer than Fredericksburg to Richmond) than what am I missing? I live in Richmond and you can feel the end once you are south of Petersburg!

[@matthewdavis2853]

Also in RVA and I agree. Traffic on I-95 north of Richmond is ridiculous.

[@EvilMonkey7818]

Richmond is really the most southern point of the NE megalopolis. I wouldn't call Norfolk/VA Beach a part of it for the same reasons the Piedmont and NE megalopolis are separate. Maybe one day the population of Raleigh and Durham will start growing toward Virginia, though I wouldn't count on it. Practically all growth around them is south and west. If anything Fayetteville, which is more than an hour south will get swallowed into the Triangle. If about 100 miles of nothing does develop in southern Virginia and northern NC the megalopolis will reach from Boston to Atlanta. I know there are goals of SMOOTHLY connecting Boston to Atlanta by train. But these are still decades from reality.

[@RickJ04040]

@@EvilMonkey7818 Good points but having driven from Richmond to Norfolk, there really isn't (much of) a gap between the region. I think that region will continued to be filled too. RE: Richmond to Raleigh I 100% agree... I have drove that many times and I don't see any substantial growth in Emporia, Roanoke Rapids...maybe a little growth in Rocky Mount but you don't really see fast growing suburbs until Zebulon and Knightdale

[@Redfour5]

I've been traveling in the west Denver, Cheyenne, Colorado Springs Pueblo for 30 plus years watching it grow. I see Cheyenne WY and Denver becoming one within 30 years at present rates. In particular, I've watched Fort Collins i.e. become a suburb of Denver when once it was a distinct small town as the megalopolis moved inexhorably north. I still remember the highway going under one of the runways at the first airport. Coming from the East to the mountains, I had short cuts north then west to avoid Denver and ended up out at Bennett last time I did that over 10 years ago, I remember using the 25 tollway when it first opened and was done with that approach and went back out to Benett. Last time, there was no easy way through anymore north of town. Just had to suffer a bit trying to get to Estes. When I started. It was always pleasant but last time it was anything but. So, after thirty years two or three times a year, we just quit going. All our friends couldn't afford to live in the town they were born in anymore and a good chunk of the people had necks longer in front than in the back. No fun... So we moved to Montana and it is starting up here now. Anyway... In 75 years, I see the Denver Megalopolis going to Casper assuming the world keeps "progressing" in the direction it is. Thank goodness I won't be around to see it. Right now, I wouldn't consider Taos and Albuquerque as part of it personally. Too much space not enough population density in between. We once had an opportunity to buy the lodge there at Basin at RMNC. Glad we couldn't get the deal together now...

[@lazloraj905]

I thought for sure the fastest growing would be the ATL-SC-NC Megalopolis. The amount of urban sprawl in some of those Atlanta suburbs (More specifically Gwinnet & Cobb Counties) is unreal. 😨

[@EvilMonkey7818]

I wonder if it's a similar pattern to what's happened in the Raleigh area. Some suburbs were rural 15 years ago and have become big, sprawled towns since. Though there's been effort in the last few years for these towns to have their own downtowns with more dense development and useful, walkable places nearby besides yuppy breweries. Our rate of growth has started to slow in the last 5 years, although it isn't because transplants have stopped moving here. It's a reflection of few people under age 30 having kids anymore.

[@jeremiahallyn4603]

The Great Lakes Megalopolis has the greatest number of people, even while having the slowest growth rate. This was a very informative video. Great job as usual 🙂🙌

[@BeaverGeography]

Appreciate the support!

[@ickyelf4549]

It’s almost as if population growth were proportional to population size… 🤔

[@EvilMonkey7818]

It isn't a megalopolis. It's a gigantic land area that's segmented, about 20% of it lowly traveled water.

[@dukezap1]

Should rename title to North America, because Canada is included. The Toronto area is the fastest growing in NA, so it’s carrying the US Great Lakes region on its back

[@fmxman1564]

Thanks for sharing this info! It’s great to see greater population totals, then just a one city

[@PunannyMon]

Are you an actual Beaver?

[@BeaverGeography]

Yep

[@BillRicker]

​@@BeaverGeography- I'd expect an actual beaver 🦫 would be more Canadian 🇨🇦 😉. (Yes we do have Nature's Engineers 🦫 in northern New Enagland, but they're not *our* national critter.)

[@matthewcole4753]

NYC is so well established that it really is grounded and won't see the exponential growth that the Southwest is currently undergoing. SoCal is now one of the older Megalapolises so it will just sprawl out more. I think the Pacific Northwest might see some growth, especially states like Idaho or Montana, there's lots of room for growth where there are less people and unfortunately where the resources haven't been as much exploited.

[@matthewcole4753]

Arizona, Nevada, and Florida are booming right now.

[@matthewcole4753]

I see Cascadia is supposed to be increasing the slowest, but I really think it will see growth soon enough.

[@stevenroshni1228]

yep, there's nowhere to build more housing than up in New York City, which can't be done nearly as easy or cheap has homebuilders can make a development in some of the areas mentioned.

[@seanthe100]

NYC was booming pre pandemic added over 500,000 the last decade

[@bruhbutwhytho]

Yeah climate change is only going to get worse and will probably cause some migration away from the sunbelt, especially Arizona, Nevada and the gulf coast.

[@furrythedoe]

8:52 this is our first international metropolis him ignoring the Canadian one he said a few minutes before

[@L7WLoser]

Dfw metro is bigger than Houston. But Houston is bigger than Dallas. 😊

[@samweli__]

8:13 Wait, didn't you mention Toronto in one of the earlier Megalopis'? This is also international.

[@dqdq4083]

The only ones i would consider megalopolis is the DC/baltimore/wilmington/philidelphia/NYC and the tijuana/los angeles/san bernardino/san diego ones. These are just massive endless cities that have a very little break between them. They are cities that have economies that are completely dependent on each other. I agree it is sad to see them both slow in growth because i did kinda hope to see growth continue in these regions but because high taxes and cost of living, the growth has slowed in these areas. I can imagine soon in the future things will change and you will see the south west mega and north east mega start to once again grow and expand inland into the california desert and the pennsilvanya/ virginia mountains

[@russmitchellmovement]

The I-35 corridor in TX is becoming that, and quickly. (Which is awful, we don't like it mostly)

[@dqdq4083]

@russmitchellmovement only between Austin and San Antonio. Up to dallas it's still fine but I can see dallas get to that point soon. I've been on the corridor and I agree, it needs to be expanded, it's a bit of a nightmare

[@Will0398]

The Bay Area/Capitol Corrdior could be a megalopolis but the major cities (SF, SJ, Oakland) are losing population and the cities in the valley are relatively far apart from each other.

[@Will0398]

Sacramento, Fresno, and Bakersfield are hours away from each other. And there are large rural areas between them

[@MD0K]

You should do the global megalopolis next. The mexico city metro is wild and it keeps growing, or all the metros in China and India

[@dg-hughes]

8:16 "Tijuana our first international megalopolis" ?? You included pretty much all of southern Ontario Canada at 4:36 you don't consider Canada another nation?

[@SS-kw8hf]

The northeast megalopolis has expanded in the last 20 years. It actually starts in Richmond on the southern end. I know this because I lived in Fredricksburg, Virginia and I knew plenty of people working in both Richmond and DC area. So Richmond is definitely the southern extent of the Megalopolis now. Richmond Virginia housing was a bit less than Northern VA housing but has become on par with the Northern VA values.

[@elijahbatty2635]

Long time viewer here but I have noticed a lack of any videos covering Utah and the Salt Lake City area. Would be interesting to see your perspective on my home state as it has changed dramatically over the years!!!! Thanks for the great content!!😁❤️🦫

[@BeaverGeography]

I'll see what I can do Elijah! Anything specific you'd want to learn about Utah?

[@elijahbatty2635]

@@BeaverGeographyAs a whole Utah is an outlier out of the rest of the United States. We have a different culture here because of the LDS church, In my opinion we are have some of the best biogeography in the country. From Alpine mountains, the Bonneville salt flats out west to the Mars like Red Rock canyons in the south. Just a lot of beautiful areas with an interesting religious history and now a non LDS booming population. 2023 Utah was listed as the top State to live and work in. So would love to see some content covering how unique Utah is and the whole Mormon corridor as it’s filled with interesting history and geography unlike anywhere else.💕

[@ajohn502]

Nobody is interested in living or working in Utah.

[@SilverScarletSpider]

0:24 It did not beg a question though?

[@slimkhalifa766]

The amount of travel that accrues between LA-SD-LV-PHX I would consider that a megalopolis. Just look at how busy the freeways are of commuters traveling between this region and multiple flights daily.

[@Chuckinca]

The larger San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland combined statistical area, the fifth-largest urban region in the U.S., had a 2023 estimated population of over 9 million.

[@avocatobigpp4249]

There's 10 million in La county alone 😂

[@JeremyKShort]

With the Front Range, it's pretty much built up between Colorado Springs and Ft Collins. It's decently built up from Pueblo to Cheyenne. I hadn't been there for 20 years and was pretty surprised by it it I drove through the area. I could see it building up pretty well, but there will always be some rural area around the NM-CO border. Nothing is going to build up on Raton Pass. As for the TX Triangle, there are gaps but it is filling in quickly. I've seen some people argue that the triangle likely extends to include Corpus Christi and OKC, and possibly down to Laredo at the border. Driving from Dallas to OKC doesn't really feel much different than going from Dallas to Houston (other than OKC being way smaller than Houston).

[@hansolo3154]

The area between the Springs and Castle Rock has yet to get heavily developed though. Still, its basically less than a half hour from the urban north end of COS before you reach to urbanization of Castle Rock and south Denver

[@BenGarrott]

I live in the "cascadia megalopolis". I don't think it can qualify as there is plenty of open rural space between major metros like Seattle and Portland and Seattle and Vancouver. But maybe it will get there this century

[@BossaNovaLife]

Yeah. I tell our friends from outside the PNW that Eugene is the bottom of the population of Oregon and Washington and everyone lives between Eugene and Seattle along the I-5. The rest of the PNW is no name towns of 5-20k people.

[@3dplanet100]

I live in the Northeast Megalopolis, specifically in northeastern New Jersey, and this area is booming, specially Jersey City. Jersey City is growing so fast, that is turning into a large city. I see also a lot of developments in other places, such as East Orange, North Bergen, Secaucus, Harrison, Newark, Hackensack, Bayonne, ect. But Jersey City is by far the number one in development, building not only regular buildings but also skyscrapers.

[@EvilMonkey7818]

Some people moving several miles to be nearby NYC but not in it. NYC has lost 700K or more population in just 4 yrs. Not sure what share has moved to NJ, as plenty of NYC has moved to the Carolinas as well.

[@Luigs_sky7]

The great lakes area is growing slightly faster because of the GTA (greater Toronto area). Its predicted to suprass the Chicago metro by 2050 ish

[@michiganman8383]

Toronto is not the US smh,this comment has nothing to do with this video.

[@Luigs_sky7]

@michiganman8383 the video said that the great lakes area gained more population between 2010 and 2020 than 2000 and 2010. I said Toronto is the cause because, this might blow your mind. It's in that region 😱

[@arexifys1149]

i don’t think gta 6 is the reason for this buddy smh

[@georgewhite8118]

@@michiganman8383 Toronto was literally in mentioned as in the region in the video sir....

[@alansewell7810]

The first time I heard the word "Megalopolis" was in the late 60s, when it was theorized that three would grow to contain half the U.S. population: Boswash (Boston toe Washington), Chipitts (Chicago to Pittsurgh) and SanSan (San Diego to San Francisco). Florida, Atlanta-Charlotte, Denver, Seattle/Portland, and even Dallas/Houston were sleepy backwater areas at that time. The advent of air conditioning, interstate highways, and cheap airfares were just starting to kindle a roaring blaze of growth, while Boswash, Chipitts, and SanSan were peaking and would never again see rapid growth.

[@OrlValdez]

I would consider Las Vegas as part of SoCal megalopolis, despite it is 4 hours away from LA suburbs, that city is very well integrated to California. Also, Monterrey-Saltillo, Laredo and Rio Grand Valley (McAllen, Brownsville) could integrate into Texas Triangle megalopolis, there are many cultural and economic ties.

[@CharlesE-c7v]

Growth planning is crazy for Rockdale, Tx. It is the very center of the Texas triangle. A city with a population of 5,000 , as the end of December 2024, there is Almost 1,000 homes planned to be built in the city in the next couple of years.

[@BrendenFriers]

Why would people move to Rockdale, Is there a specific industry that is taking over? It isn't close to Austin and it is still a hike to College Station.

[@SouthCountyDreaming]

The front range and not the Northern California megalopolis? Not a crazy high population growth but incredible economic growth.

[@jasonscottjenkins]

Thank you for including Louisville the Great Lakes region, I like to refer to it as the Mid-East. Louisville isn't a Southern city nor is it the Mid-West. We are actually very centrally located nationally. that's why we have one of the largest air freight hubs in the world

[@PhilipGermani]

Very interesting video! What about the Bay Area?

[@ExzaktVid]

The Cascadia megalopolis has two major cities called Vancouver, and I’ve been to both.

[@sir_vaughn2018]

One of them is just slightly more important

[@giovannichao4154]

surprised the northern CA bay area isn't considered a Megalopolis. It includes multiple well interconnected cities stretching from San Jose to SF/Oakland to Sacramento

[@petesplacestuff4781]

There is too much wide open space in the Great Lakes “megatroloplis”. I used to live there. I now live the Georgia megalopolis. Went from miles of Corn and cows to miles of brick houses and Starbucks.

[@BDUBZ49]

Brick houses are good! Technically, he explains this Great Lakes area as a "mega-region". I see Milwaukee/Chicago/Gary as 1. Maybe Detroit/Toledo/Cleveland as another. And Toronto/Buffalo/Rochester (maybe Syracuse) as a 3rd actual megalopolis.

[@brent829]

I have lived in Charlotte and Anderson, SC and I feel ya. In Anderson I live South of town in the absolute boonies. They just built a Starbucks on the south edge of Anderson so I once again live less than a 10 min from a Starbucks. Which is true pretty much anywhere on the 85 corridor from Raleigh to Atlanta. So many other areas of the country have these great big open spaces but even the rural areas in the south are not so sparsely populated.

[@EvilMonkey7818]

True. I grew up in Buffalo. The last time I drove from visiting there my next destination was different than usual, so I didn't take interstate routes for long. I was amazed at how quickly and for how long I traveled in farm and dairy country. The Great Lakes region as a whole is almost entirely rural. It's multiple, very separated places. The connectivity is calling soda 'pop.'

[@Greatdome99]

"Growth" doesn't always equate to quality of life. For existing residents, it's bad, bad, bad. The only ones who benefit are banks, land developers and builders--oh yeah, and municipalities who need growth to pay existing debt.

[@RobertMJohnson]

There is no steady state. You are either growing or dying. If you aren’t growing, people will seek jobs elsewhere.

[@kristopherr8131]

The decline in the growth of the northeast has more to do with saturation than decline in importance. Similar with the Los Angeles area there is no room left to grow.

[@stevenscibelli3326]

slow growth is in the NE and Cali is sustainable. The population/development explosion in the south, especially Florida is a catastrophe in waiting

[@Kyle-ms2et]

@@stevenscibelli3326I would say the same about Texas. The Great Lakes megalopolis is more sustainable than the Texas Triangle imho

[@kristopherr8131]

@@stevenscibelli3326 I did not say the growth in Florida and the southeast is sustainable. At some point they will run out of developable land and saturate the population. The point is that the northeast and portions of California are already saturated with scarcity of developable property for expansion.

[@thomthom6268]

Cali is sooo one story. It has plenty of room to grow vertically. Texas also.

[@MasonBarge]

Hahaha. Take a trip to Tokyo or Hong Kong.

[@andrewtaylor3167]

Why is the Ohio Valley part of the Great Lakes megalopolis and Albuquerque part of the Front Range, but Birmingham/Chattanooga not part of the Piedmont?

[@ickyelf4549]

The Ohio Valley is heavily German and developed industrially at the same time as the Great Lakes cities, including the Kentucky side. It’s even connected to the Great Lakes by canals (or was, before railroads made the canals obsolete). So it’s ethnically, culturally, and historically similar to Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, etc.

[@montraix]

Santa Cruz, Scott’s Valley, Half Moon Bay, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale, Cambell, Cupertino, San Jose, Fremont, Milpetas, Mountain View, San Mateo, Palo Alto, Burlingame, Pacifica, Daly City, Redwood City, Menlo Park, Hayward, San Leandro, Foster City, Castro Valley, Oakland, South San Francisco, San Francisco, San Bruno, Union City, Dublin Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon, Danville, Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Lafayette, Orinda, Berkeley, Emeryville, El Cerrito, Richmond, Albany, Benicia, Fairfield, Davis, San Rafael, Mill Valley, Sausalito, Fairfield, Sacramento, Elk Grove, Roseville, Folsom, all more contiguous than most of the corridors you presented. Population of 10.2 million at a minimum

[@BS-vx8dg]

Congrats on being the rare Anglo-American who can pronounce Tijuana correctly.

[@christopherdicola]

well idk about that... popular party destination

[@BS-vx8dg]

@@christopherdicola Yes. And 90% of the party goers pronounce it incorrectly.

[@highway2heaven91]

The NE megalopolis could arguably extend north to Portland, ME and south to Richmond-Petersburg. The SE Megalopolis could also include Nashville, Chattanooga, Huntsville, Birmingham and maybe Montgomery as well.

[@mannfan12]

I live in San Antonio and can attest to the insane population growth within the Texas Triangle (which is the megalopolis he described)

[@jamesrush2645]

Col, NM seriously there’s several hundred mile gaps between towns and 400 plus miles between Denver and Abq.

[@robLV]

San Antonio-Austin has been called "Greater San Marcos" and I'm here for it

[@macc.1132]

The Florida megalopolis population growth will come to a crashing halt as home insurance rates have skyrocketed recently due to all the category 4 and 5 hurricanes that now come thru the state. Not to mention it's a nearly flat state sitting at sea level, so the coastal areas are the highest risk of disaster. Poorly drawn flood maps and building codes that are ... friendly for developers mean the average Joe will be taking it on the chin in the coming years.

[@Grant_Orr]

If your gonna consider Albuquerque in the Denver Megapolis, your mise well consider puting Las Vegas and Phoenix in the SoCal one.

[@Eric__J]

Curious about how the Northwest area would qualify, but the nearly contiguous Bay Area to Sacramento and portions of the nearby Central Valley don't qualify. This would be San Jose to Santa Rosa, the I-80 corridor (~10 miles on each side) to about 40 miles northeast of Sacramento, Sacramento to Stockton, Stockton via I-5/I-205/I-580 to the Bay Area, and possibly even Modesto.

[@ricardoesco8146]

Nice vids 😊

[@djbeezy]

Tyler Texas should be lumped into that Texas megalopolis. It is a city with over 100k people and growing rapidly. The surrounding areas encompass a population of over 1 million people. Plus, after you leave the city limits you are still almost always in a populated area all the way into Dallas.

[@richh650]

Very good video but my only question is, why do you show Nashville in the end when it is not part of any Megalopolis?

[@Bolts4Life]

8:13 As a San Diegan, my favorite part of the entire video was you pronouncing Tijuana correctly. It’s Tee-Hwanna and not Tee-a-wanna like most pronounce it.

[@BeaverGeography]

I gotchu

[@WYO_Dirtbag]

You can't go from from Wellington to nearly CO. Springs on i25 anymote without seeing homes and buildings the entire way. Not a point in which you don't see structures. It's only in recent times that has happened. Used to be breaks with farmland, not anymore

[@willp.8120]

But like the Salt Lake Valley, that development is long but narrow. Makes it look big from one direction but small from the other direction. You're literally out on the grassland plains ten to fifteen miles east of downtown Denver, just outside the loop.

[@rongee7337]

GREAT INFO

[@johnnyjohnson4742]

Why is the southern part of the Jersey shore just cut off? No Atlantic City? I feel like that area as mid Atlantic as it gets

[@artscience9981]

Seems like Huntsville and Nashville should be included in the Southeast Megalopolis. Both flourishing and fast-growing cities.

[@wailingalen]

I grew up (b. 1984) and lived in the Greensboro Charlotte area from 90 to 2001, 2001 to 2014, Lived in north Tampa bay and Houston area after that. I witnessed massive growth in those years and there was ALWAYS some kind of interstate construction and expansion ongoing on 85 in nc And the bridges that connect Tampa and at Pete, always congested and under construction. In Houston area you can drive for hours it seems and pass through dozens of towns up down 59 and across 10 and not even notice it if it weren’t for the signs. They have all grown into each other into one big metro. Pasadena, deer park, spring, belle aire, Katy and dozens of other towns that are surrounded by the big cities

[@a.caguax78]

Most of Florida is sub-tropical. Only the very bottom is tropical. Some areas like Tampa Bay have many tropical characteristics due to its location.

[@reelheel5919]

A ton of growth between Nashville and Huntsville too.

[@timphares3061]

Your own drawing of the Midwestern megalopolis shows part of Canada. Both Buffalo and Detroit have "suburbs" in Canada.

[@robotinmyspace7656]

How come you left out the Arizona Sun Corridor?

[@michaelphillips2079]

Strictly speaking, a large geographic area with several large urban areas that are separated by large amounts of rural area is not a megalopolis. There needs to be a degree of continuous urban development. So for just one example (there are others) the area of Texas bounded by Dallas - Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio/ Austin is not a megalopolis because there is a lot of rural areas between them. " Megalopolis" is another example of an overused term whose meaning has been watered down.

[@williamdavis5530]

Florida Panhandle is the northwest region of Florida, south of Alabama and part of Georgia. The area you’re speaking about would be the “pan” to the “panhandle” (although no one calls it that). Could just call it the shaft of Florida.

[@stevenleslie8557]

The Phoenix/Tucson corridor is often overlooked with a modest population of about 6 million people. It is certainly one of the fastest growing and could have upwards of 10 million in about 10 years.

[@StandingTALL4now]

Agreed! Sadly though, it should be heavily encouraged to move anywhere else but Tucson-Phoenix, especially considering how water access is and will be much more of a problem in the future.

[@macc.1132]

@@StandingTALL4now Yep. The opposite of Florida's situation, I think Arizona's water problems will limit growth. The Colorado River is already overburdened and cannot keep up with demand.

[@josseppie]

Pueblo Colorado has a population of 165,000 and part of the front range urban corridor thus part of the main area in the megalopolis

[@johnwakefield9378]

Biggest water issues are from people moving to low humidity places which by definition do not halve water to support any where near the population they had 20 yrs ago. Issues has been obvious but ignored by most why?

[@EdgeXXI]

How can you not mention Prescott-Phoenix-Tucson-Nogales-Sierra Vista metros AKA the AZ Sun Corridor. There isn't one day where the 10 and 17 fwys aren't backed up outside the urban centers and between larger population centres.

[@PhillProbst]

You said that the southern CA megalopolis was your "1st international" megalopolis, yet the great Lakes one included Toronto. (?)

[@jorgev651]

Having driven in all of these with the exception of the So Cal one. The PNW is in the most need of better infastructure, even more so then then the NY/DC area.

[@njebei]

With the cost of housing and insurance rising so fast in Florida, it's going to be interesting to see if their they approach 20% growth like we've seen the past two decades. It wouldn't surprise me if it slows tremendously in the back half of the 2020s. Texas, on the other hand, should easily hit the 25% rate per decade we've seen this century.

[@thomasgrabkowski8283]

It would sustain itself due to its popularity as a retirement destination and with the rapidly aging population

[@davidmontville4885]

0:23 It RAISES (not BEGS) the question. Use it properly or not at all.