Megapolitan Area

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Megapolitan Area

A Megapolitan Area is a clustered network of American cities whose population exceeds or will exceed 10 million by the year 2040. There are currently 10 megapolitans identified in the United States. The criteria and terms were introduced in a July 2005 report by Robert E. Lang and Dawn Dhavale of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech. A later 2007 article by Lang and Nelson uses 20 megapolitan areas grouped into 10 megaregions.

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Regional Plan Association

The Regional Plan Association is an independent, not-for-profit regional planning organization, founded in 1922, that focuses on recommendations to improve the quality of life and economic competitiveness of the 31-county New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region....
defines 10 similar megaregions.

The concept draws on the earlier idea of Megalopolis (city type).

Table

The following table ranks the Lang/Dhavale megapolitan areas by population as of 2000 (in millions):

Name	Pop	Major cities	Related articles
Northeast	55.0	Boston, Worcester Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester is a city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts in the United States. A 2006 estimate put the population at 175,898, making it the estimated second-largest city in New England, after Boston, Massachusetts.... , Providence Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the Capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, and one of the first cities established in the United States.... , New York City New York City The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population.... , Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond Richmond, Virginia Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....	Northeast Northeastern United States The Northeast is a region of the United States. According to the definition used by the United States Census Bureau, the Northeast region consists of nine states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.... , BosWash BosWash BosWash is a group of metropolitan areas in the Northeastern United States United States, extending from Boston, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, to Washington, D.C., including Manchester, New Hampshire; Worcester, Massachusetts; Springfield, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; Bridgeport, Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut, New Haven, C... , Northeast Corridor Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor is the busiest passenger railroad line in the United States by ridership and service frequency. The route is fully electrified and serves a BosWash from Washington, D.C., in the south through Baltimore, Maryland, Wilmington, Delaware, Philadelphia, Trenton, New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey, New York City, New Haven, Con...
Midwest	39.5	Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents.... , Detroit, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus Columbus, Ohio Columbus is the Capital , the largest, and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located near the Geographic centers of the United States, Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County, Ohio, although parts of the city also extend into Delaware County, Ohio and Fairfield County, Ohio counties.... , Grand Rapids Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 197,800. It is the county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Michigan....	Midwest, ChiPitts ChiPitts ChiPitts is a group of metropolitan areas mostly within the Great Lakes region /Midwestern United States area of the United States, but also including parts of Pennsylvania and New York in the Northeastern United States U.S.... , Rust Belt Rust Belt The Rust Belt, sometimes called the Manufacturing Belt, is an area in parts of the Northeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic States, and portions of the Upper Midwest.... , Great Lakes region Great Lakes region (North America) The Great Lakes Region includes the Canada Provinces and territories of Canada of Ontario, the six United States states derived from the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 , and portions of Western New York and Northwest Region....
Southland	21.0	Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile.... , San Diego, Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, Nevada, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and entertainment.... , Riverside Riverside, California Riverside is a large city located in the Inland Empire in Southern California. It is also the county seat of Riverside County, California, California, United States.... /San Bernardino San Bernardino, California San Bernardino is the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. San Bernardino's estimated population, as of 2006, is 205,010....	Southern California Southern California Southern California, or So Cal, is defined as the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population centers on the cities of Los Angeles, California, San Diego, California, San Bernardino, California, and Riverside, California.... , California California California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
Piedmont	18.4	Atlanta, Charlotte, Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham is the largest city in the United States state of Alabama and is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama. It also includes part of Shelby County, Alabama.... , Raleigh Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh is the Capital of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats of Wake County, North Carolina. Raleigh is known as the ?City of Oaks? for its many oaks.... , Greenville Greenville, South Carolina Greenville is a mid-sized city located in the upstate of South Carolina. It is the county seat of Greenville County, SC and the principal city in the Greenville-Mauldin, South Carolina-Easley, South Carolina Greenville-Mauldin-Easley metropolitan area .... , Columbia Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 116,278 according to the United States Census, 2000 .... , Greensboro	Southeast Southeastern United States The US Southeast is the eastern portion of the Southern United States, but the Census Bureau does not provide a standard definition of a "Southeast" region of the United States, and organizations that need to subdivide the US are free to define a "Southeast" region to fit their needs.... , Piedmont Piedmont (United States) Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south.... , New South New South New South or New South Creed is a phrase that has been used intermittently since the American Civil War to describe the Southern United States, in whole or in part.... , South Atlantic States South Atlantic States The South Atlantic United States form one of the nine Census Bureau Divisions within the United States that are recognized by the United States Census Bureau....
I-35 Corridor	14.5	Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Kansas City Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson County, Missouri, Clay County, Missouri, Cass County, Missouri, and Platte County, Missouri counties.... , Austin Austin, Texas Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Travis County, Texas. Situated in Central Texas and part of the Southwestern United States, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 16th-largest in the United States.... , Oklahoma City Oklahoma city Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:Oklahoma City metropolitan area... , Wichita Wichita Wichita* is the name of:Wichita , a Native American tribeWichita language, the language of the tribe...	I-35, TTC-35 Trans-Texas Corridor The Trans-Texas Corridor is a transportation network in the planning and early construction stages in the U.S. state of Texas. The network, as originally envisioned, would be composed of a network of supercorridors up to wide to carry parallel links of tollways, railroads, and public utility lines.... , International Mid-Continent Trade Corridor International Mid-Continent Trade Corridor The International Mid-Continent Trade Corridor is a supercorridor linking highways in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The North American SuperCorridor Coalition promotes and lobbies for further development of the corridor....
Peninsula	12.8	Miami, Tampa Tâmpa T?mpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* T?mpa, a village in Bacia Commune, Hunedoara County* T?mpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mures County... , St. Petersburg, FL, Orlando Orlando, Florida Orlando is a major city in Central Florida, United States and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Florida. It is also the principal city of Orlando-Kissimmee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area....	Florida Florida Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast.... , South Florida, Central Florida Central Florida Central Florida is the central region of the United States state of Florida, on the East Coast. The region enjoys a hot but stormy climate, with many thunderstorms, and hurricanes threatening often....
NorCal	11.6	San Francisco, San Jose San Jose, California San Jose or San Jos? is the List of cities in California city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States.... , Sacramento Sacramento, California Sacramento is the Capital of the United States U.S. state of California, and the county seat of Sacramento County, California. Located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's expansive California Central Valley, it is the seventh-largest city in California..... , Reno Reno Reno may refer to:...	Northern California Northern California Northern California or Nor Cal is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento, California; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the Sequoia forests, the North Coast, California, the Big Sur coastline area, the Sierra Nevada including Yosem... , , SanSan SanSan The SanSan megalopolis is a name for a hypothetical chain of metropolitan areas in western California along the coast extending from San Francisco, California to San Diego, California....
Gulf Coast	11.5	Houston, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Mobile Mobile, Alabama Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern United States United States state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama....	Gulf Coast
Cascadia	7.1	Seattle, Portland Portland, Oregon Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States United States, near the confluence of the Willamette River and Columbia River rivers in the state of Oregon....	Pacific Northwest Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America . There are several partially overlapping definitions but the term Pacific Northwest should not be confused with the Northwest Territory or the Northwest Territories of Canada.... , Cascadia Cascadia Cascadia, a term that derives from the Cascade Range, may refer to:* the Pacific Northwest* Cascadia, a former plant genus now included in Saxifraga... , Ecotopia Ecotopia *Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston* is the title of a wikt:seminal novel by Ernest Callenbach, published in 1975. The society described in the book is one of the first ecology utopias and was influential on the counterculture, and the green movement in the 1970s and thereafter....
Sun Corridor	4.1	Phoenix Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix is the capital and largest city in the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the fifth most populous city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,552,259 residents, and is the anchor of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area with 4,179,427 residents.... , Tucson	Arizona Arizona The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona.... , Valley of the Sun

The populations of the last two are projected to exceed 10 million by 2040.

Cities not included

24 of the top 100 primary census statistical areas

Table of United States primary census statistical areas

The following table of the 719 primary census statistical areas of the United States of America compares the Core Based Statistical Area and Combined Statistical Area of the United States....
are not included in any of the 10 megapolitan areas.

Hawaii Hawaii File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....	Honolulu, HI MSA
Mountain West	Boise City-Nampa, ID MSA, Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield, UT CSA, Provo-Orem, UT MSA, Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO CSA, Colorado Springs, CO MSA, Albuquerque, NM MSA
Mississippi Valley	Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI CSA, Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA CSA, St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL CSA, Louisville-Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, KY-IN CSA, Lexington-Fayette-Frankfort-Richmond, KY CSA, Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Columbia, TN CSA, Memphis, TN-MS-AR MSA, Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, AR CSA, Jackson-Yazoo City, MS CSA
South Atlantic Coast	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA is a U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Area as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget as of June, 2003.... , Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC MSA, Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC MSA, Jacksonville, FL-GA MSA
Upstate New York Upstate New York Upstate New York is the region of New York north of the core of the New York metropolitan area. It has a population of 7,121,911 out of New York State's total 18,976,457....	Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY CSA, Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY CSA, Syracuse-Auburn, NY CSA, Albany-Schenectady-Amsterdam, NY CSA

Megapolitan Area

Table

Cities not included

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