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Yes but when those fringes have 3,000,000 people it’s an issue.
Boston is not a city of 8.5 million.
Boston is a city of 700,000. The fact is for basis of comparison, there is no perfect stat because they were built for average criterion. There will therefore be outliers. But a CSA never separates an employment center from an employment base both located in the geographic center of a region. Therefore if one must look at only one stat, CSA is better. But ideally you are taking these things into context.
Urban Area is a better measurement of cities actual size
This is the answer. There are so many bloated MSAs, CSAs, even city limits out there that elevate a city's functional size. Conversely, there are constricted city limits, MSAs and CSAs that diminish a city statistically.
The most obvious example of these dynamics plays out in Florida, by giving us Jacksonville as the state's largest city. Not only isn't Jacksonville the functionally largest city in Florida, it isn't even 2nd or 3rd.
This is the answer. There are so many bloated MSAs, CSAs, even city limits out there that elevate a city's functional size. Conversely, there are constricted city limits, MSAs and CSAs that diminish a city statistically.
There are also constricted urbanized areas as well. No stat is perfect and you really have to look at several within the geographical context to get a comprehensive understanding of a place.
Yes but when those fringes have 3,000,000 people it’s an issue.
Boston is not a city of 8.5 million.
I know you don’t like to recognize it, but I work in Andover and I have co-workers that live in Chelsea, Manchester, and Southbridge. We all fly out of Logan.
Depends on the region but honestly a metropolitan division. CSAs have way too much rural land and don’t Necessarily encompass much urbanized area at all. Some do but my most don’t.
Boston is a city of 700,000. The fact is for basis of comparison, there is no perfect stat because they were built for average criterion. There will therefore be outliers. But a CSA never separates an employment center from an employment base both located in the geographic center of a region. Therefore if one must look at only one stat, CSA is better. But ideally you are taking these things into context.
The Boston CSA includes eastern Connecticut and the entire state of Rhode Island. It’s preposterous Is Boston the 5th biggest city in the US? Hell no.
According to the census the “Boston metro division” is Plymouth, Norfolk and Suffolk County.
Middlesex and Essex are Cambridge.
So according to the Census Boston is 2.04 million and Cambridge is 2.41 million.
So Metro divisions are horrible. But so are CSA’s
Okay-that’s fine, either was ..Metro division gives you a better sense of the size scale people ACTUALLY experience life. For me Plymouth Norfolk and Suffolk County is exactly where I spent all my time In n It’s roughly equivalent to the Cambridge metro (which is a little more populous for sure) works just fine for me. When I look at the demographics and population of that 2.01 million it makes a lot of sense and feel accurate.
If your north shore the Middlesex and Essex makes sense and if your south shore I think the Suffolk’s Plymouth Norfolk makes sense. Most people in the north shore don’t see most of Suffolk County (land or population wise) because they don’t really go south of Mass Ave-if they make it that far.
So I’d go Metro Division before CSA, neither is perfect.
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