Megalopolis (city type)

Northeast megalopolis (USA), Taiheiyō Belt (Japan)

A megalopolis (sometimes called a megapolis; also megaregion, or supercity)^[1] is typically defined as a chain of roughly adjacent metropolitan areas. The term was used by Patrick Geddes in his 1915 book Cities in Evolution,^[2] by Oswald Spengler in his 1918 book, The Decline of the West, and Lewis Mumford in his 1938 book, The Culture of Cities, which described it as the first stage in urban overdevelopment and social decline. Later, it was used by Jean Gottmann in 1954, to describe the chain of metropolitan areas along the northeastern seaboard of the U.S. extending from Boston, Massachusetts through New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and ending in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia.^[3][4][5] The latter is sometimes called the "BosWash megalopolis".

Definitions

Megalopolis is a Western deformation of the Greek word that derived from Greek: μέγας - 'great' and Greek: πόλις - 'city', therefore literally a 'great city'. This term is closer in meaning to megacity. Because in Greek, πόλις is feminine, the correct term is megalopolis.

A megalopolis, also known as a megaregion, is a clustered network of cities. Gottmann defined its population as 25 million.^[6] Doxiadis defined a small megalopolis a similar cluster with a population of about 10 million.^[7][8][9] America 2050,^[10] a program of the Regional Plan Association, lists 11 megaregions in the United States and Canada.^[7] Literally, megalopolis in Greek means a city of exaggerated size where the prefix megalo- represents a quantity of exaggerated size.^[11] Megapolitan areas were explored in a July 2005 report by Robert E. Lang and Dawn Dhavale of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech.^[12] A later 2007 article by Lang and Nelson uses 20 megapolitan areas grouped into 10 megaregions.^[13] The concept is based on the original Megalopolis model.^[9]

Modern interlinked ground transportation corridors, such as rail and highway, often aid in the development of megalopolises. Using these commuter passageways to travel throughout the megalopolis is informally called megaloping. This term was coined by Davide Gadren and Stefan Berteau.^[14]

Africa

• Cairo–Giza–Qalyubia–Helwan–6th of October City (Greater Cairo), Egypt (16 million) The area around the Nile is also very densely populated.
• Nile River Delta Governorates (Alexandria, Beheira, Kafr el-Sheikh, Gharbia, Monufia, Qalyubia, Dakahlia, Damietta, Al Sharqia, and Port Said) have a combined population of 41,045,135. The total area of these Governorates is 18,199 square miles making the population density 2,255.4 per square mile.
• The Gauteng City Region (PWV) in South Africa, which includes the urbanised portion of Gauteng Province (Pretoria, Centurion, Midrand, Johannesburg and the Vaal Triangle, with a population of over 10 million)^[15][16][17]
• The region in Morocco including El Jadida-Casablanca-Rabat-Salé-Kenitra, concentrating in the long coastal belt, on around 250 km with a depth of 40 to 50 km, more than 11 million inhabitants.
• The Nairobi Metropolitan Region consisting of the counties of (Kajiado-Kiambu-Nairobi-Machakos-Murang'a) in Kenya, which have a combined population of 8 million people.^[18]

Asia

East Asia

China

• Pearl River Delta Megalopolis (珠江三角洲): (Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Foshan, Jiangmen, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Macau, Huizhou) (55,000,000),^[19][20] if Shantou/Quanzhou added (Guangdong Megalopolis) 70,000,000. If other areas added, 120,000,000.^[21]
• Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis (長江三角洲): (Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Jingjiang, Wuxi, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Taizhou, Nantong, Huzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Jiangyin, Haimen, Zhangjiagang, Zhoushan, Ma'anshan) (88,000,000)^[21]
• Bohai Economic Rim (环渤海经济圈): Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Anshan, Fushun, Dandong, Sinuiju, Tangshan, Yantai, Shenyang, Jinan, Qinhuangdao, Qingdao, Weihai (66,400,000)^[22]
• South China Coast : Xiamen, Fuzhou, Wenzhou, Shantou, Jieyang, Chaozhou (25,000,000)
• Central Plain (中原): Kaifeng, Xinxiang, Zhengzhou, Luoyang (14,170,000)
• The central Liaoning city cluster in China. Within 150 km from its center Shenyang (7.2 million), it has Fushun (3 million), Anshan City (3.6 million), Benxi (1.5 million), Liaoyang (1.8 million), Yingkou (2.2 million), Panjin (1.2 million), and Tieling (3.4 million), with a total population of 23 million. And it can be further extended to Dalian (6.2 million), Fuxin (2 million) and Dandong (2.4 million). This area used to be the most industrialized region in China. It declined during 1980s-1990s, but in recent years, it has rapidly revived.
• Northeastern Cities or the Harbin–Changchun Area (哈尔滨长春地区): Harbin, Qiqihar, Daqing, Changchun, Jilin City, Siping including Rason in North Korea and Vladivostok in Russia (21,832,000)
• Sichuan basin (四川盆地) or the Chengyu Megalopolis (成渝都市圈): Chengdu, Chongqing, Zigong, Luzhou (20,878,000)
• Greater Wuhan Megalopolis (大武汉都市圈): Wuhan, Huangshi, Xinyang, Jiujiang, Yueyang (20,000,000)
• Guanzhong (关中): Xi'an, Xianyang, Baoji, Weinan (16,722,000)
• Greater Changsha Metropolitan region (长株潭城市群): Changsha, Zhuzhou, Xiangtan(12,994,400 in 2000)

In July 2012, the Economist Intelligence Unit brought out a report entitled; Supersized cities: China’s 13 megalopolises, which pinpoints the 13 emerging megalopolises in China, and highlights the demographic and income trends that are shaping their development.

Japan

• Taiheiyō Belt – Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, Mie, Osaka, Hyōgo, Wakayama, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, and Ōita in Japan. (80,000,000)

South Korea

• Seoul National Capital Area - Seoul, Incheon, Suwon, Goyang, Yongin, Seongnam, and the rest of Gyeonggi-do: (25,000,000)^[23]
• Southeast Economic Belt - Busan, Daegu, Pohang, Ulsan, Changwon, and the rest of South Gyeongsang Province: (8,500,000)

South Asia

Dhaka, Bangladesh; part of the emerging chain of cities in the Bengal region

Transnational (South Asia)

Bangladesh

1. Dhaka(Greater Dhaka Megalopolis consists four city Corporations Dhaka South, Dhaka North,Gazipur, and Narayanganj and five municipals Savar Municipality (A class),Dohar Municipality (A class),Dhamrai Municipality (A class),Tongi Municipality (Special Class),Sonargaon Municipality(B class)(17,000,000)
2. Chittagong (40,09423)

India

• Maharashtra - 1.Mumbai (also includes Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivali, Ulhasnagar, Vasai-Virar, Ambernath, Badlapur, and Panvel), 2.Pune (also includes Pimpri-Chinchwad), Aurangabad, Solapur, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Alibag (39,500,000)
• Delhi National Capital Region and Jaipur (35,000,000)
• South India - Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai (Although widely separated geographically) (31,500,000)
• Gujarat - Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Anand, Nadiad, Bharuch, Ankleshwar (19,200,000)
• Kolkata (Also includes the suburban areas of kolkata Barrackpore,Dum Dum,Bidhannagar,Naihati,Kanchrapara,Kankinara,[kalyani,West Bengal], Rajarhat,Ichapore,Halisahar and Howrah) (14,112,536)

Nepal

Kathmandu valley, which consists of 5 municipalities namely Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kirtipur and Madhyapur Thimi, along with the peripheral cities of Banepa, Panauti and Dhulikhel.

Southeast Asia

Rank	Megalopolis Name	Country	Population in millions	Major cities
1	Java	Indonesia	141[24]	Jakarta, Bandung, Serang, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Bekasi, Bogor, Depok, Malang, Semarang, Tasikmalaya, Tangerang, Cirebon
2	Mega Manila	Philippines	40+	Manila, Angeles, Baguio, Batangas, Dagupan, Olongapo
3	Central Thailand	Thailand	20+	Bangkok, Ayuthaya, Pattaya
4	Southeast Economic Zone	Vietnam	16+	Đồng Nai, Bình Dương, Ho Chi Minh City, Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu Province, Long An, Tiền Giang

• Central Luzon [Dagupan-Manila-Lucena] (36,000,000)
• Central-Thai Bangkok-Ayutthaya-Pattaya (16,000,000)
• Malaya Kuala Lumpur-Selangor-Seremban (8,000,000)
• Sijori [Johor Bahru-Singapore-Batam-Bintan (9,000,000)
• Red River Delta in Vietnam (Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, & Hai Duong) (10,000,000)^[25][26]

Southwest Asia

Iran

• Greater Tehran: A region located in Iranian Tehran and Alborz Province in central Northern Iran with its influence expanding in Qom Province, Qazvin Province and Mazandaran Province, home for at least 15 million people, it is one of the most populous urban areas in the Greater Middle East and the surrounding regions. Tehran was a small village 200 years ago when it was first chosen as the Capital city and it has been growing at a very fast rate.

Europe

• 

  The Blue Banana

• 

  The Golden Banana

• 

  The Green Banana

Transnational (Europe)

Rank	Megalopolis Name	Population in millions	Countries & Respective Cities
1	Blue Banana	110–130[27]	United Kingdom: Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Birmingham, London  Belgium: Brussels, Antwerp  Netherlands: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht  Luxembourg: Luxembourg  Germany: Rhine-Ruhr, Frankfurt am Main, Munich, Stuttgart, Nuremberg  France: Strasbourg, Lille   Switzerland: Zürich, Basel  Italy: Turin, Milan,Genoa
2	Golden Banana	40–45[28]	Italy: Turin, Genoa  France: Lyon, Nice, Toulon, Marseille, Nîmes, Montpellier, Narbonne, Perpignan, Toulouse  Monaco: Monaco  Andorra: Andorra  Spain: Manresa, Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Castellón de la Plana, Sagunt, Valencia, Alicante, Murcia, Cartagena
3	Green Banana	40	Poland: Gdańsk, Katowice  Czech Republic: Ostrava, Olomouc, Brno  Austria: Vienna  Slovakia: Bratislava  Hungary: Budapest  Slovenia: Ljubljana  Croatia: Zagreb  Italy: Trieste
4	Atlantic Axis	12[29]	Portugal: Setúbal, Lisboa, Santarém, Leiria, Coimbra, Viseu, Aveiro, Porto, Braga, Viana do Castelo  Spain: Vigo, Ourense, Pontevedra, Santiago de Compostela, Coruña
5	Gulf of Finland	10	Russia: Gatchina, Saint Petersburg, Vyborg  Finland: Lappeenranta, Kotka, Kouvola, Lahti, Vantaa, Helsinki, Espoo, Hämeenlinna, Tampere, Turku  Estonia: Tallinn
6	STRING	8.5[30]	Germany: Hamburg  Denmark: Copenhagen  Sweden: Malmö

Denmark and Sweden

Rank	Megalopolis Name	Population in millions	Major cities
1	Greater Copenhagen	3.9[31][32]	Copenhagen, Malmö, Helsingborg, Lund, and Roskilde

France

Rank	Megalopolis Name	Population in millions	Major cities
1	Paris metropolitan area	12.3[33]	Paris & most of Île-de-France
2	Lyon economic region	5.5[28]	Lyon & Rhône-Alpes river area
3	Marseille metropolitan region	1.8[28]	Marseille, Aix-en-Provence
4	Toulouse economic region	1.5[28]	Toulouse, Andorra (independent state, not a part of France)
5	Nice economic region	1.1[28]	Nice, Monaco (independent city state, not a part of France)

Germany

^[28][34]

Rank	Megalopolis Name	Population in millions	Major cities
1	Rhine-Ruhr	13.5	Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen
2	Berlin-Brandenburg	5.95	Berlin, Potsdam
3	Frankfurt Rhine-Main	5.52	Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Mainz
4	Stuttgart Metropolitan Region	5.29[28]	Stuttgart
5	Munich Metropolitan Region	5.2[28]	Munich
6	Hamburg Metropolitan Region	5.0	Hamburg
7	Saxon triangle	4.36[28]	Leipzig, Halle, Dresden
8	Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg EMR	3.91[28]	Hannover, Braunschweig, Göttingen, Wolfsburg
9	Nuremberg Metropolitan Region	3.5[28]	Nuremberg
10	Bremen/Oldenburg Metropolitan Region	2.37[28]	Bremen, Oldenburg

Italy

^[28][35]

Rank	Megalopolis Name	Population in millions	Major cities
1	Grande Milano	7.5	Milan
2	Naples metropolitan area	4.46	Naples
3	Rome metropolitan area	4.3	Rome
4	Turin economic region	4.1	Turin & Piedmont centre and south area
5	Venice-Padova-Treviso metropolitan area	2.6	Venice & Padova & Treviso central-eastern Veneto region
6	Genoa metropolitan region	1.5	Genoa
7	Conca d'Oro	1.1	Palermo and neighboring cities

Low Countries

Netherlands, Belgium & Luxembourg:^[28]

Rank	Megalopolis Name	Population in millions	Major cities
1	Randstad	7.5	Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht
2	Flemish Diamond	5.5	Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Leuven
3	Brabantse Stedenrij	2.0	Eindhoven, Tilburg, Breda, 's-Hertogenbosch, Helmond

Spain

^[28]

Rank	Megalopolis Name	Population in millions	Major cities
1	Madrid region	6.3	Madrid
2	Barcelona	4.5	Barcelona
3	Valencia	2.2	Valencia, Sagunto
3	Murcia-Alicante	2.2	Murcia, Alicante, Cartagena, Benidorm

United Kingdom

Rank	Megalopolis Name	Population in millions	Major cities
1	London commuter belt	21.0[36]	London, Southend-on-Sea, Chatham, Luton, Reading
2	Northern England	9.4[28][37]	Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Warrington, Bradford, Birkenhead, Preston, Blackburn, Blackpool
3	English midlands	6.3[28][37]	Birmingham, Nottingham, Coventry, Leicester, Wolverhampton, Derby, Stoke-on-Trent
4	Central Belt	3.6[37]	Glasgow, Edinburgh
5	South Hampshire-Brighton	2.8[28][37]	Southampton, Portsmouth, Brighton, Worthing, Littlehampton, Bournemouth
6	Tyne & Wear Region	2.2[28][37]	Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough
7	Cardiff-Bristol-Swansea	2.2[28][37]	Cardiff, Bristol, Swansea, Newport

North America

Canada

Quebec City in Quebec City – Windsor Corridor

Megalopolis Name	Population in millions 2000	Population in millions 2025 (projected)	Population percent growth 2000 - 2025 (projected)	Major cities	Related articles
Quebec City – Windsor Corridor	18	21	16.7%	Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, Montreal, Oshawa, Ottawa, Peterborough, Quebec City, Toronto, Trois-Rivieres, Windsor	Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, Southern Ontario
Calgary-Edmonton Corridor	2	4	100%	Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, St. Albert, Airdrie	Calgary-Edmonton Corridor, Calgary Region, Edmonton Capital Region, Central Alberta

Mexico

Mexico City megalopolis

Megalopolis Name	Population in millions 2015	Population in millions 2025 (projected)	Population percent growth 2000 - 2025 (projected)	Major cities	Related articles
Bajío	11	?	?%	León, Querétaro, Aguascalientes, Celaya, Irapuato, San Juan del Río, Salamanca	Bajío
Mexico City megalopolis	34	?	?%	Mexico City, Puebla, Cuernavaca, Toluca, Pachuca, Tula, Tlaxcala, Cuautla, Tulancingo

United States

Phoenix in the Arizona Sun Corridor

Oakland in Northern California

San Bernardino in Southern California

Constituent urban areas of each megalopolis are based on reckoning by a single American organization, the Regional Plan Association (RPA). The RPA definition of the Great Lakes Megalopolis includes some Canadian metropolitan areas with the United States, including some but not all major urban centres in the Windsor-Quebec City Corridor. Note that one city, Houston, is listed in two different Megalopolis regions as defined by the RPA, (the Gulf Coast and Texas Triangle).^[7][38]

Megalopolis Name	Population in millions 2010	Percent of U.S. Population (2010)	Population in millions 2025 (projected)	Population percent growth 2010 - 2025 (projected)	Major cities
Arizona Sun Corridor[39][40]	5.6	2%	7.8	39.3%	Mesa, Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott
Cascadia	8.4	3%	8.8	5.0%	Abbotsford, Boise, Eugene, Portland (OR), Salem, Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver (BC), Vancouver (WA), Victoria
Florida	17.3	6%	21.5	24.3%	Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers
Front Range	5.5	2%	6.9	26%	Albuquerque, Cheyenne, Colorado Springs, Denver, Pueblo, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Taos
Great Lakes	55.5	18%	60.7	9.4%	Akron, Ann Arbor, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Des Moines, Detroit, Duluth, Erie, Flint, Fort Wayne, Green Bay, Grand Rapids, Hamilton, Indianapolis, Kalamazoo, Kansas City, Lansing, London, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Omaha, Oshawa, Pittsburgh, Quad Cities, Rochester (NY), Rochester (MN), Rockford, Saginaw, St. Louis, Saint Paul, South Bend, Toledo, Toronto, Windsor
Gulf Coast	13.4	4%	16.3	21.6%	Baton Rouge, Corpus Christi, Houston, Mobile, Gulfport, Biloxi, New Orleans, Pensacola
Northeast	52.3	17%	58.4	11.7%	Allentown-Bethlehem, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Boston, Harrisburg, Hazleton, Nashua, Newark, New York, Norfolk, Ocean City, Philadelphia, Portland (ME), Pottsville, Providence, Richmond, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Knowledge Corridor (Springfield and Hartford), Trenton, Virginia Beach, Washington, Wilmington, Worcester
Northern California	14	5%	16.4	17.1%	Fresno, Modesto, Oakland, Reno, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Stockton
Piedmont Atlantic	17.6	6%	21.7	23.3%	Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Durham, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Greenville, Huntsville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, Montgomery, Nashville, Raleigh, Winston-Salem
Southern California	24.4	8%	29	18.9%	Anaheim, Bakersfield, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Tijuana
Texas Triangle	19.7	6%	24.8	25.9%	Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio

Oceania

Australia

Megalopolis Name	Population in millions	Major cities
Sydney Region	5.6[41]	Greater Sydney (including Central Coast and Blue Mountains) (4.75 million), Newcastle (365,000), Wollongong (294,000)
Greater Melbourne	4.4[41]
South East Queensland	3.5[41]	Greater Brisbane (2.2 million), Gold Coast-Tweed Heads (681,000), Sunshine Coast (330,000), Toowoomba (149,000)

South America

Composite image of the Earth at night, created by NASA and NOAA. The brightest areas of the Earth are the most urbanized, but not necessarily the most populated. It is possible to see various metropolises close to each other in South America, but to the exception of a few central Argentine cities close to Buenos Aires, only in between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo there is a continual strip of urbanization (that is not as thin as the Argentine ones).

Brazil

Megalopolis Name	Population in 2013	Major cities	Other cities
Expanded Metropolitan Complex of São Paulo	+32,200,000	São Paulo and Campinas	Sorocaba, Jundiaí, São José dos Campos, Piracicaba and Santos

Colombia

The following megaregions in Colombia are expected to have nearly 93% (55 Million people) of its population by 2030, up from the current 72%. There are currently 4 major megaregions in Colombia.

Megalopolis Name	Population in 2015	Population in 2030 (projected)	Major cities
Bogota National Capital Metropolis	17,000,000	26,500,000	Bogotá, Soacha, Facatativá, Chía, Tunja, Fusagasuga, Zipaquirá, Madrid, Funza, Cajica, Ubate, Sibate, Guaduas, Villa de Leyva and Tocancipá
Pacific Belt	9,000,000	14,000,000	Medellin, Cali, Bello, Pereira, Colombia, Manizales, Armenia, Itagui, Yumbo, and Palmira
Northeast Atlantic Region	6,000,000	10,500,000	Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Ciénaga, Malambo, Baranoa and Turbaco
Santander Belt	3,000,000	5,200,000	Bucaramanga, Cúcuta, Ocaña, and Pamplona

Other sources^[42] show that another megaregion may be considered:

Megalopolis Name	Population in 2015	Population in 2030 (projected)	Major cities
Golden Triangle	29,500,000	41,000,000	Bogotá, Soacha, Medellin, Cali, Bello, Manizales, Armenia

Venezuela

Megalopolis Name	Population in 2013	Major cities	Other cities
Caracas-Valencia Megalopolis	+9,000,000	Caracas, Valencia, and Maracay	Cagua, Maiquetia, and Guatire

Argentina

Satellite image of Greater Buenos Aires at night. Urban sprawl created a vast conurbation of 12,801,365 inhabitants including the City of Buenos Aires, a third of the total population of Argentina.

Megalopolis Name	Population in 2013	Major cities	Other cities
Greater Buenos Aires	13,641,973	Buenos Aires, Merlo, Buenos Aires, Quilmes, Banfield, Buenos Aires	Lanús, Hurlingham, Buenos Aires , and Avellaneda

Peru

Megalopolis Name	Population in 2013	Major cities	Other cities
Lima-Callao Megalopolis	10,523,796	Lima and Callao	Provincias Lima Norte, Provincias Lima Sur, and Provincias Lima Este

See also

Merger (politics) Arcology Conurbation Ecumenopolis Ekistics Global city Settlement types: Hamlet Village Town City Metropolis Types of inhabited localities in Russia

Metroplex Transborder agglomeration Urban agglomeration Developed environments: Exurban Rural Suburban Urban

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