Megaregions: Thinking Big Catherine L Megaregions: Thinking Big Catherine L. Ross, Harry West Professor City Planning\Civil and Environmental Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology

Megaregions Predicted Super-Metropolis Map of 1975 “Tomorrow’s map will be vastly different from today’s. Great pouches over much of it will indicate the super-metropolis cities which are already evolving out of our once-separated urban centers. The ‘regional cities’ of tomorrow will be nearly continuous complexes of homes, business centers, factories, shops, and service places. Some will be strip or rim cities; some will be star-shaped or finger shaped; others will be ‘satellite towns’ around a nucleus core. They will be saved from traffic self-suffication by high-speed transportation – perhaps monorails that provide luxurious nonstop service between the inner centers of the supercities, as well as links between the super-metropolises themselves.” Published in the Chicago Tribune on July 23, 1961. “Tomorrow’s map will be vastly different from today’s. Great pouches over much of it will indicate the super-metropolis cities which are already evolving out of our once-separated urban centers.” Published in the Chicago Tribune on July 23, 1961.

Megaregions were predicted in the 1960s! “The ‘regional cities’ of tomorrow will be nearly continuous complexes of homes, business centers, factories, shops, and service places… They will be saved from traffic self-suffocation by high-speed transportation – perhaps monorails that provide luxurious nonstop service between the inner centers of the Supercities, as well as links between the super-metropolises themselves.”

Megaregions “The neighborhood is a critical building block for a city, cities are now the building blocks for megaregions which in turn are the new economic unit in world markets.” Ross, Catherine. Megaregions: Planning for Global Competitiveness, Island Press, 2009

Megaregions………… Networks of metropolitan centers and their surrounding areas, connected by existing environmental, economic and infrastructure relationships.

Megaregions in Asia Source: Who’s Your City, Richard Florida (2008). [www.whosyourcity.com]

Megaregions- A World View London, England Emerging European Megaregions Source: Megacities Press Special, Siemens AG, 2008. [http://w1.siemens.com/press/en/events/megacities/index.php]

Cities that Anchor Megaregions Atlanta, Georgia Cities that Anchor Megaregions

Crossing the Border How people will live and work in the future? Frame a new theoretical account for how people will live and work in the future How people will live and work in the future?

Significance of National Gateways Source: Volpe Webinar 07/24/2012 (ARC)

Freight and Megaregions Global goods movement: Port of Savannah Connected places: emerging economies of megaregions as new economic development opportunities Establishing interdependent critical infrastructure Creating multi-jurisdictional growth strategies and action initiatives (agglomeration economics across borders) Recognizing domestic and global regional networks Linking freight and economic growth policy Developing advanced analytics to capture regional trade networks E-commerce impact on logistics and freight corridors Source: Ross, C. Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development Introduction Team Study Context Why RS&H Approach Questions

By 2050, the U. S. population will exceed 400 million By 2050, the U.S. population will exceed 400 million. More than 70 percent of those people will probably reside in or live near one of 10 mega-regions scattered across the country.

Emerging Trends Shifts in Freight Movement Panama Canal Expansion in 2015 expected to change supply chain configurations and redirect movement to east coast ports. Ports deepening harbors Shipping companies buying larger ships Rising costs of labor in China expected to change production locations Source: Rodrigue, 2010. http://people.hofstra.edu/jean-paul_rodrigue/downloads/Panama%20Canal%20Study%202011%20Final.pdf

GPS Truck Data

Megaregions Why Megaregions Matter NON-MEGAREGION Area 29.6% 70.4% Population (2008) 76.54% 23.46% Employment 76.98% 23.02% GRP (2008) 81.47% 18.53% Fortune 500 companies revenue (2008) 92.07% 7.93% Patents (2008) 86.77% 13.23% Megaregions-scale analysis captures relevant economic and demographic phenomena 10 megaregions account for 30% of national territory and 75% of the nation’s population and employment.

Why Megaregions Matter Planning tool appropriate for the global economy Spill over traditional metropolitan boundaries Economic Base Transport activities/interactions economic contribution Big planning challenges – don’t match existing institutions very well

Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion Overview Megaregion stretching from Birmingham to Raleigh. Fast growing population, development, and business. Definition by Contant, Ross, et al. (2005) accounts for— Population Development patterns Geographic characteristics Passenger and freight movement Infrastructure linkages Ecologically sensitive areas Source: Contant, Ross, et al., 2005. http://www.cqgrd.gatech.edu/sites/files/cqgrd/files/cqgrd_2005_pam.pdf

Economic Competitiveness n Industries cluster within regions due to economies of scale or agglomeration effects Sub-centers develop complementary economies and through cooperation position themselves advantageously in the global marketplace A unified geographic entity with the combined assets of its sub-regions may rise to greater global prominence

Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion Characteristics Growing and leading industries based on location quotients include— Wholesale Management Administrative and waste services Construction Transportation and warehousing Source: Ross et al., 2012. Megaregions: Gap and Opportunity Analysis for the U.S. Megaregions

The twenty-first century requires a high quality physical environment that is attractive to knowledge workers with a responsive, efficient government. Regions will be prosperous because they achieve a high quality of life.

Conclusions Challenges of Growth on Infrastructure Likely to Continue Population, economic, and freight growth. Will require new ways of working together to coordinate investment across boundaries. New and Ever-Changing Dynamics Freight movement is in permanent transformation, driven by economic processes and technological innovation. Multiple Stakeholders Will Present Difficulties in Planning Process Successful planning will need to bring together public- and private-sector actors at different levels and scales. Successful Approaches to Planning Programs Are Being Tested and Refined Case studies present opportunities for refining planning practice.