Cedar rapids combined with Iowa city to make on MSA (Hiawatha: to move, housing)

[CRMAN21]

I think it will be a csa by 2010 and maybe a msa by 2020 if all goes well.. This area has already tooken over the quad city area

QC 365000 + 1% from 2000
cr ic 425000 + 13% from 2000
And the cedar rapids metro without ic mite overtake qc area in maybe 10 to 20 years since cr grew about 8 % and qc staying stagnat

[Gentleman of Leisure]

To the poster above you cannot count IC/CR as one metro because they are obviously two separate metros. But if you look at in a way where you are counting surrounding areas that are not actually apart of the metro, the QCA would still be larger the corridor area. If you count Clinton and Muscatine counties to the QCA it pushes this area to approx 500,00 give or take.

[green_mariner]

There is something to consider here:Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Tech Corridor - Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Tech Corridor

[Chicago60614]

The big thing is although the CR and IC areas function as fairly independent areas, the northern reaches of the IC area in North Liberty are only 10-12 miles south of the southern reaches of the CR area.


Growing up in Coralville, we were through and through a part of Iowa City. Cedar Rapids in my mind was definitely a different area up north. That said though, Cedar Rapids was somewhere we could drive to in 25 minutes. We didn't go there often, but it was just so damn close.

I remember as a kid we would hit exit 5 on I-380 at N. Liberty, and I'd think "ok, we're out of Iowa City now". Then we'd get to exit 13 at the CR airport, and I'd think "ok, we're in Cedar Rapids now". I was 8 years old so everything was impatient to me......but it was only 8 miles!

[CRMAN21]

Well I said it was one because alot of people comute to and from the two counties(linn and Johnson) but the counties you listed prob don't have as many. Also if you included those other counties then u could count the willamsburg area and west branch but I wouldn't because there isn't alot of commuters like qc

[SharpHawkeye]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

What do you know about the growth in this area?

Well, I'm no expert, but I know that both cities feel like growing cities, and with the numbers that Chicago60614 gave us, I just wouldn't be surprised!

My feeling is that it will be a while yet (20-30 years) before the two are a contiguous metro area. It will happen some day, though, with the growth of North Liberty and eventually Swisher-Sheuyville. But it will get there someday.

Right now, though, I think it does have the kind of exchange between cities that would make up a CSA. The cities share a media market, cultural amenities and I think share enough of the labor pool to form a CSA. But it's all a numbers game, and you never know what will happen.

[Chicago60614]

Iowa City is growing towards the Northwest towards Cedar Rapids, but Cedar Rapids seems to be growing more to the West and certainly the Northeast. Not as much to the South. Not that it really matters a lot.

There are quite a few people living in developments around the Res and Lake McBride, along highway 965, in Shueyville, Swisher, etc. The "corridor" is fairly populated, even if it's not in a heavily developed suburb, or actual city.

[SharpHawkeye]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

Iowa City is growing towards the Northwest towards Cedar Rapids, but Cedar Rapids seems to be growing more to the West and certainly the Northeast. Not as much to the South. Not that it really matters a lot.

There are quite a few people living in developments around the Res and Lake McBride, along highway 965, in Shueyville, Swisher, etc. The "corridor" is fairly populated, even if it's not in a heavily developed suburb, or actual city.

The great thing about the corridor is that, between the lake and the airport and the geography of it, it's fairly narrow. It wouldn't take a lot of development to connect the two, since the development would probably be close to the interstate on either side.

Plus, the lake locks up a lot of the land so it takes even less development to call the two connected.

[CRMAN21]

Ya I agree because marion is crs bigest suburb and it's in the north.. But there are some newer developments in the southern part but it isn't really an actual city but just more of rural cedar rapids

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by CRMAN21

Ya I agree because marion is crs bigest suburb and it's in the north.. But there are some newer developments in the southern part but it isn't really an actual city but just more of rural cedar rapids

When I was there last, I noticed that entire Boyson Road corridor to be growing quite rapidly, also the far west side, and along 151 southwest of the city.

To respond to the other reply, I don't think people realize just how much residential development is already in the corridor. It's mostly hidden by the lakes and trees. Look at a google map of the area all around the Res, and then up from North Liberty all the way to Swisher. You really have to go north of Swisher/Shueyville to see areas that are only rural farmland.