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You're not describing these cities very well. It surely isn't Houston.
The growth of the sunbelt cities that the OP mentions is a very different from cities in the mega region in the northeast. The established cities began their development in a core and began to expand upward and outwards. The sunbelt cities on the otherhand are more concerned about simple economic efficiency with little to no regard to efficient land use policy. As another poster mentions they're running out of land though not technically. When people move there because it's cheap to buy a house out in the suburbs away from the car then you run into issues of long commutes and congestion that hamper these cities from becoming mega cities. They might have the numbers of a large city, but they're too spread out and not as dense(which is what I mean by urban). An energy shock or the continuing rising price of oil will make these places become less attractive and it's part of the reason why I choose DC even though it's not listed. It's growing at an amazing pace and the areas around it are growing upward and outward while the region continues to invest heavily in infrastructure for alternative transportation.
And I don't think it's Houston either, but out of the ones listed, Houston has the most potential.
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This thread should have a poll. I say Houston, Htown's post pretty much explains it all. The Panama Canal expansion will indeed create a boom for the port of Houston and it seems to be leading the way for industries.
and what does the density in the central city have to with which one gets to 10M first?
Because it indicates it has some ingredients that make it attractive enough that people will pay a premium to live in such as walkability, livability, good public transportation, and amenities. That's why people will pay premium to live a small space or share a one bedroom with roommates to live in places like NYC or SF. It's happening in DC which is why it's growing the way it is now.
And the term "megacity" has more than meaning either looking at purely population or structural/population density. The second meaning is what I'm going by since using "city" to describe sprawl is too loose in my opinion.
Because it indicates it has some ingredients that make it attractive enough that people will pay a premium to live in such as walkability, livability, good public transportation, and amenities. That's why people will pay premium to live a small space or share a one bedroom with roommates to live in places like NYC or SF. It's happening in DC which is why it's growing the way it is now.
And the term "megacity" has more than meaning either looking at purely population or structural/population density. The second meaning is what I'm going by since using "city" to describe sprawl is too loose in my opinion.
I think you are confusing things. a mega city is a metro area having 10M people, it has nothing to do with paying premiums and stuff like that. Maybe you are thinking of World Class cities?
There are many mega cities around the world that are far from World Class. Heck you can find better amenities in 2M metros in the US than some cities having more than 10M people around the world.
As for living in a small space, all the southern Metros (well maybe not Miami) has enough space to hit 10 M and still maintain a really low average density. Houston and DFW would have to Increase their average Density to just over 1000 ppsm to get to megacity. Does that sound like the situation you are confusing it with? I think not. If you are sharing a 1 bedroom when the density is 1000 ppsm then something is really wrong.
And to answer the question, the only south of the maxon dixie line that I think will become a mega city is DC with the areas outside of the city limits starting to resemble boroughs:
Houston is growing at a fast pace, but that's just in the metro region in general and it's suburban. Same with Charlotte
Baltimore(btw of Columbia, Silver Spring, Rockville, Bethesda, Annapolis, Greenbelt, Hyattsville) has a better chance of being Mega Cities than the list of Virginia towns that you listed......
Would normalization of relations with Cuba help, or hurt Miami? My guess is that it would help. Some folks would return home, but Miami would become the gateway for a new marketplace.
I do expect some thawing once Castro kicks the bucket.
Would normalization of relations with Cuba help, or hurt Miami? My guess is that it would help. Some folks would return home, but Miami would become the gateway for a new marketplace.
I do expect some thawing once Castro kicks the bucket.
Gateway, maybe, but Miami benefited from being so close to Cuba. If given the choice to take a dingy or a plane, I would opt for the plane. With the normalization of relations with Miami I would expect a spread of people around the Country.
with the improved relations I would also expect a closing of the door to amnesty, so I don't think we would see as many Cubans coming as they once did.
I think you are confusing things. a mega city is a metro area having 10M people, it has nothing to do with paying premiums and stuff like that. Maybe you are thinking of World Class cities?
There are many mega cities around the world that are far from World Class. Heck you can find better amenities in 2M metros in the US than some cities having more than 10M people around the world.
As for living in a small space, all the southern Metros (well maybe not Miami) has enough space to hit 10 M and still maintain a really low average density. Houston and DFW would have to Increase their average Density to just over 1000 ppsm to get to megacity. Does that sound like the situation you are confusing it with? I think not. If you are sharing a 1 bedroom when the density is 1000 ppsm then something is really wrong.
I'm not thinking of world class city. I'm thinking of agglomerations which none of the sunbelt cities would fall under because they're not that densely populated. I used the demand to live closely together for amenities as an example since people choose to live away from the city and only move to the area because for jobs. Paris for example is 40sq miles and has a density of over 54,000(that's just an average based on land area and population. Houston by contrast is 627 sq miles with a density of 3000. Most European and Asian cities are like this with very little sprawl on the outskirts. That's why I don't use the standard definition. It's too loose for the typical American city which happen to be like that. It includes everyone in the metro region even if they're living an hour or two hours away from the actual city.
Quote:
Originally Posted by $mk8795
Baltimore(btw of Columbia, Silver Spring, Rockville, Bethesda, Annapolis, Greenbelt, Hyattsville) has a better chance of being Mega Cities than the list of Virginia towns that you listed......
I forgot to include the Maryland cities as well, but they're growing in the same fashion as the Virginian ones all around DC. I guess it more than makes up for DC's height limitations.
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