The concept of the citya 'as well as the statea and the nation statea 'is passé, agree contributors to this insightful book. The new scale for considering economic strength and growth opportunities is the megaregion,a a network of metropolitan centers and their surrounding areas that are spatially and functionally linked through environmental, economic, and infrastructure interactions.
Recently a great deal of attention has been focused on the emergence of the European Union and on European spatial planning, which has boosted the region's competitiveness. Megaregions applies these emerging concepts in an American context. It addresses critical questions for our future: What are the spatial implications of local, regional, national, and global trends within the context of sustainability, economic competitiveness, and social equity? How can we address housing, transportation, and infrastructure needs in growing megaregions? How can we develop and implement the policy changes necessary to make viable, livable megaregions?
By the year 2050, megaregions will contain two-thirds of the U.S. population. Given the projected growth of the U.S. population and the accompanying geographic changes, this forward-looking book argues that U.S. planners and policymakers must examine and implement the megaregion as a new and appropriate framework.
Contributors, all of whom are leaders in their academic and professional specialties, address the most critical issues confronting the U.S. over the next fifty years. At the same time, they examine ways in which the idea of megaregions might help address our concerns about equity, the economy, and the environment. Together, these essays define the theoretical, analytical, and operational underpinnings of a new structure that could respond to the anticipated upheavals in U.S. population and living patterns.
Table of Figures List of Tables Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Introduction
PART I. Spatial Planning and Defining the Megaregion Chapter 1. Scale Matters Chapter 2. The Megalopolis, The Blue Banana, and Global Economic Integration Zones in European Planning Thought Chapter 3. Spatial Planning in Asia Chapter 4. Identifying Megaregions in the United States
PART II. Planning and Designing for Livable Megaregions Chapter 5. Megaregions or Megasprawls? Chapter 6. Megapolitan America Chapter 7. The Imperative of Growth, The Rhetoric of Sustainability Chapter 8. Mobility in the Megaregion Chapter 9. Investing in Megaregion Transportation Systems Chapter 10. Social Equity and the Challenge of Distressed Places
PART III. Spatial Planning for a Future America Chapter 11. Novel Spatial Formats Chapter 12. Governing American Metropolitan Areas Chapter 13. The Megaregion and the Future of American Planning
Index
"Ross's book investigates the origins of megaregions, and ways that transportation, economic development, social justice, and environmental and climate strategies must be formulated at this new scale. This book is essential reading for policy makers, planners and others interested in learning about these places that are now home to nearly three out of four Americans."
