Great Lakes Megalopolis

Great Lakes Megalopolis
Megaregion of the U.S. and Canada

Toronto

Chicago

Detroit
Country  United States,
Canada
Population 59,144,461

The Great Lakes Megalopolis consists of the group of North American metropolitan areas which surround the Great Lakes region and Saint Lawrence Seaway. It lies mainly within the Midwestern United States, but extends into western Pennsylvania and Upstate New York , as well as Southern Ontario and the southern part of Quebec areas in Canada. It is the largest and most populated megalopolis in North America.

At its most inclusive, the region cuts a wide swath from the Twin Cities in Minnesota to Pittsburgh PA and Rochester NY. On the Canadian side, it extends as far east as Quebec City. Further south, the region is commonly considered to include Kansas City MO, Cincinnati OH, Indianapolis IN, Louisville KY, and Columbus OH. Within this broad region, there is a smaller core area that includes Chicago IL, Detroit MI, and Pittsburgh PA, which has sometimes been nicknamed Chipitts. The larger region, including fringe areas, had an estimated population of 59,144,461 as of 2011. It is projected to reach a population of approximately 65 million by 2025.

There is substantial overlap between the broader megalopolis and the once-heavily industrialized region known as the Rust Belt; however, the megalopolis and the Rust Belt are not entirely coextensive, and some metropolitan areas may be considered part of one region but not the other, depending on how they are defined geographically.

History of the concept

Map of the emerging American-Canadian megaregions as defined by America 2050. This interpretation excludes the eastern part of the Windsor-Quebec City urban corridor from the Great Lakes Megalopolis.

The region was partially outlined as an emergent megalopolis in the 1961 book Megalopolis: The Urbanized Northeastern Seaboard of the United States by French geographer Jean Gottmann. Gottmann envisaged the development of other megalopolies in the U.S.: BosWash, from Boston to Washington, D.C., Chipitts from Chicago to Pittsburgh, and SanSan, from San Francisco to San Diego. In 1965, Herman Kahn speculated about the future of the three megalopoleis in the year 2000,[1] referring to their names as "half-frivolous" and not mentioning Gottman. In the 1960s and 1970s, urban planner and architect Constantinos Doxiadis authored books, studies, and reports including those regarding the growth potential of the Great Lakes Megalopolis.[2] Doxiadis envisioned Detroit as the central urban area in the Great Lakes Megalopolis. According to him, the megalopolis extended "from Milwaukee and Chicago to Detroit, Pittsburgh and Buffalo and into Canada from Windsor to Montreal and Quebec."[2][3]

The Virginia Tech Metropolitan Institute's Beyond Megalopolis, an attempt to update Gottmann's work, outlined a similar "Midwest" megapolitan area as one of ten such areas in the United States (Canada is discussed tangentially).[4] Over 200 million tons of cargo are shipped annually through the Great Lakes.[5][6][7] Half the nation's population growth and two-thirds of its economic growth is expected to occur within the megaregions over the next four decades. The America 2050 project has identified eleven Megaregions of the United States, including the Great Lakes Megalopolis.[8][A] The Canadian part of the region is also referred to as the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor.

Economy

According to the Brookings Institution, if it stood alone as a country, the economy of the Great Lakes region which includes most of the Great Lakes Megalopolis, would be one of the largest economic units on earth (with a $4.5-trillion gross regional product). The Great Lakes contain one-fifth of the world's surface fresh water and have a combined shoreline of 10,210 miles (17,017 km). About 200 million tons of cargo are shipped by way of the Great Lakes each year.[6][9][10]

Tourism is an important economic factor in and around the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Cruising Coalition supports passenger ship cruises through a joint U.S-Canadian venture to Great Lakes Ports and the Saint Lawrence Seaway.[11][12]

Major surface transportation corridors

The Great Lakes Megalopolis includes the following major inter-urban corridors that are provided with freeway and passenger rail service in both the core and fringe areas of the mega-region. Major waterways for shipping and cruising are also indicated where applicable.

Minneapolis-Chicago

This corridor occupies the northwestern fringe of the megapololis. Interstate highway 94 (I-94) and Amtrak rail run roughly parallel from Minneapolis MN to Chicago IL by way of Madison and Milwaukee WI.

Chicago-Rochester

I-90 and Amtrak run approximately parallel through the core area of the megalopolis from Chicago to Cleveland OH via South Bend IN, then into the eastern fringe area comprising Buffalo and Rochester NY. Amtrak also has a passenger rail link from Cleveland to Pittsburgh PA which is roughly paralleled by I-76. The main water route deviates well to the north of the land route from Chicago to Detroit. It runs north along Lake Michigan, east through the Straits of Mackinac, then south along Lake Huron, the St. Clair River, and Lake St Clair to the Detroit River. From this point, the water route roughly parallels the land route to Rochester by way of Lake Erie, the Welland Canal, and Lake Ontario.

Chicago-Detroit/Port Huron

I-94 takes a more northerly route than I-90 through the megalopolis core area east of Chicago. It extends from that city to the west end of the Windsor-Quebec City Corridor by way of Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Port Huron MI/Sarnia ON. This interstate freeway is also paralleled by Amtrak rail service. The main water route is the same as for the western part of the Chicago-Rochester water corridor from Lake Michigan to the Detroit River.

Windsor/Sarnia-Quebec City

The core area of the Great Lakes megalopolis is often considered to extend as far north and east as Toronto on the Canadian side of the border. The remainder of the Windsor-Quebec City Corridor lies more along the northeastern fringe. The entire Canadian section of the megaregion is sometimes considered a separate megalopolis. Key freeways include Highway 401, Highway 416, and Highway 417 in Ontario which connect with Autoroute 20, Autoroute 40, and Autoroute 50 respectively in Quebec. Passenger rail service is provided in both provinces by Via Rail. Intermediate points along the corridor include London, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa ON, and Montreal QC. The main water shipping route is the same as for the eastern part of the Chicago-Rochester corridor, starting at the Detroit River but continuing east beyond Lake Ontario along the St. Lawrence Seaway to Quebec City and the Gulf of St. Lawence.

Secondary surface transportation corridors

Several corridors have interstate highways but no comprehensive passenger rail service. These highway routes pass through both core and fringe areas of the Great Lakes megalopolis.

Kansas City-Pittsburgh

I-70 follows the southern fringe of the megaregion. It runs from Kansas City MO to just south of Pittsburgh PA by way of St. Louis MO, Indianapolis IN, and Columbus OH.

Indianapolis-Port Huron

I-69 extends from Indianapolis IN to the west end of the Windsor-Quebec City Corridor. Intermediate points include Fort Wayne IN, Lansing, Flint, and Port Huron MI/Sarnia ON.

Cincinnati-Saginaw

I-75 runs from Saginaw MI to Cincinnati OH by way of Detroit MI and Dayton OH.

Selected population centers

Rank Area State/
Province		 Image CSA/CMA
2009 population		 Projected[13][14][15]
2025 population		 Projected increase
2009-2025 		Projected % increase
2009-2025
1 Chicago Illinois
Indiana
Wisconsin		 9,804,845 10,746,109 941,264 9.6
2 Toronto Ontario 5,741,400 7,787,000 2,045,600 35.6
3 Detroit Michigan 5,318,744 5,199,608 -119,136 -2.2
4 Montreal Quebec 3,859,300 4,246,931 387,631 10.1
5 Minneapolis – Saint Paul Minnesota
Wisconsin		 3,604,460 4,031,000 426,540 11.8
6 Cleveland – Akron Ohio 3,515,646 3,795,658 280,012 6.5
7 St. Louis Missouri
Illinois		 2,892,874 3,049,000 156,126 5.4
8 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 2,445,117 2,868,818 367,299 15.0
9 Cincinnati Ohio
Kentucky
Indiana		 2,214,954 2,448,000 233,046 10.5
10 Indianapolis Indiana 1,928,982 2,270,112 341,130 16.5
11 Kansas City Missouri
Kansas		 2,038,724 2,293,564 254,840 12.5
12 Columbus Ohio 2,031,229 2,446,450 415,221 20.4
13 Milwaukee Wisconsin 2,025,898 2,129,949 103,706 5.1
14 Ottawa – Gatineau Ontario
Quebec		 1,451,415 1,596,556 145,141 10.0
15 Louisville Kentucky
Indiana		 1,395,634 1,602,456 206,822 14.8
16 Grand Rapids Michigan 1,327,366 1,530,000 202,634 15.3
17 Buffalo New York 1,203,493 1,040,400 -163,093 -13.5
18 Rochester New York 1,149,653 1,078,600 -71,053 -6.2
19 Dayton Ohio 1,066,261 1,066,261 0 0
20 Hamilton Ontario 740,200 954,858 214,658 29.1
21 Toledo Ohio
Michigan		 672,220 672,220 0 0
22 Madison Wisconsin 628,947 820,483 191,563 30.5
23 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman Ohio
Pennsylvania		 602,964 N/A N/A N/A
24 South Bend-Mishawaka-Elkhart Indiana
Michigan		 564,943 NA NA NA
25 Kalamazoo Michigan 524,030 NA NA NA
26 Lansing Michigan 523,609 547,325 23,716 4.6
27 Kitchener – Waterloo Ontario 492,400 635,196 142,796 29.1
28 London Ontario 492,200 634,938 142,738 29.1
29 Rockford Illinois 455,595 499,400 43,805 9.9
30 Fort Wayne Indiana 414,315 455,623 39,366 9.9
31 St. Catharines – Niagara Ontario 404,400 521,676 117,276 29.0
32 Davenport-Rock Island-Moline Iowa
Illinois		 379,690 452,565 72,875 26.1
33 Fox Cities Wisconsin 360,000 NA NA NA
34 Oshawa Ontario 356,177 419,067 62,890 17.7
35 Windsor Ontario 330,900 426,861 95,961 29
36 Green Bay Wisconsin 304,783 NA NA NA
37 Erie Pennsylvania 280,985 N/A N/A N/A
38 Duluth-Superior Minnesota
Wisconsin		 279,771 N/A N/A N/A
Total CSA/CMA of major metro areas 60,305,653 65,735,336 6,234,698 10.0

See also

Notes

A. ^ a Various sources include Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa in the Great Lakes Megalopolis, while excluding Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Columbus.[16] All these partial-consensus and non-consensus cities lie at the eastern, western, and southern fringes of the megalopolis.

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ Bell, Daniel; Stephen Richards Graubard (1997). Toward the year 2000: work in progress. MIT Press. p. 87. ISBN 0-262-52237-3.
  2. 1 2 Cities: Capital for the New Megalopolis.Time magazine, November 4, 1966. Retrieved on July 16, 2010.
  3. ↑ Doxiadis, Constantinos. (1970) The Great Lakes Megalopolis. Doxiadis Assoc.
  4. ↑ MegaCensusReport.indd
  5. ↑ "About Our Great Lakes -Great Lakes Basin Facts- NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL)". Glerl.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  6. 1 2 "Economy of the Great Lakes Region". Great-lakes.net. 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  7. ↑ U.S Army Corps of Engineers (January 2009).Great Lakes Navigation System: Economic Strength to the Nation. Retrieved on April 11, 2011.
  8. ↑ America 2050: Megaregions: Great Lakes. Regional Plan Association.
  9. ↑ Our lakes facts. NOAA. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  10. ↑ U.S Army Corps of Engineers (January 2009).Great Lakes Navigation System: Economic Strength to the Nation. Retrieved on July 25, 2011.
  11. ↑ Great Lakes Cruising Coalition Retrieved on July 25, 2011.
  12. ↑ http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/papers/1319.pdf
  13. ↑ Federation for American Immigration Reform
  14. ↑ Ontario Population Projections Update
  15. ↑ Institut de la statistique Quebec
  16. ↑ Example: Great Lakes Megalopolis (PDF) (Map). The Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Youngstown State University. 2005.

Coordinates: 41°N 85°W / 41°N 85°W / 41; -85

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