1. Megalopolis: Your Mental Image?

2. What is Megalopolis? Historical background –Initially coined by French Geographer, Jean Gottmann in 1961 –The large population agglomeration which extended from Boston to Washington Traditionally BosNyWash, but now incorporates Philadelphia and Baltimore too! Today: any agglomeration of coalescing super cities

3. Megalopolis

4. Physical Geography Three physiographic regions –Atlantic Coastal Plain –Piedmont –Appalachians Traversed by numerous rivers Temperate (C) and Continental (D) climates Occasional hurricanes SNOW!

5. Physical Geography Coastal location Numerous estuaries Soils are variable (3 distinct categories) –Baltimore to the Philadelphia area –New York City's surrounding area –Boston vicinity Relatively flat or gently rolling terrain Fall line provided early water power

6. Fall Line Cities Situated along boarder between Piedmont and Atlantic coastal plain Where river rapids and falls occur Examples…

7. Relative Location To Europe, for trade and immigration Good routes to interior Along the Europe-Caribbean-South American trade route Good accessibility resources –Good harbors –Routes to interior (natural & man-made) –Great stop off/service point for others conducting trade

8. Historical Settlement Mainly Europeans Many Native Americans The Dutch William Penn William Penn’s Map of Philadelphia, PA

9. Establishing a Megalopolis Largest US cities, 1790

11. Population increase due to immigration Ellis Island Statue of Liberty, from Ellis Island

12. Urban Land-Use Change

14. Megalopolis Today Urbanness - the dominant theme Comprised of 10 major metropolitan areas of over one million people and numerous smaller cities 17.5% of the total U.S. population 1.5% of the total land area 17% of all U.S. export trade passes through its six major ports A region of international significance

15. Key Ideas Related to Megalopolis Metropolitan Coalescence Conurbation Central Business District (CBD) Urban Sprawl Gentrification Baltimore Harbor

16. Washington, D.C. L’Enfant’s Plan for US Capitol

17. Urban Landscapes Major Components 1.Spatial Interaction 2.Functional Complexity 3.Public Services 4.Accessibility 5.Intensity of Change

18. Major Components Spatial Interaction –People, via sidewalks, parking lots, subways –Information, via communication lines, wires, terminals –Utilities, including sewage, water, electricity, and gas

19. Major Components Functional Complexity –Residential –Industrial –Commercial –Recreational

20. Major Components Public Services –Provide water, sewage, garbage pick- up, police protection, fire protection, public schools, road works, health care, and etc.

21. Major Components Accessibility –Created and maintained to ensure access to the core from the periphery and along periphery –Accomplished via bypasses, beltloops, parkways, and limited access expressways

22. Major Components Intensity of Change –The dynamic nature of the urban landscape –“Nothing seems permanent” Economic ventures Shifts in transportation networks Developments and declines in residential areas

23. Where’s Megalopolis?

24. 1990 2000

25. Readings & Discussion Reading: Heterolocalism Reading: Revitalization of Atlantic City Reading: Denevan, William M. 1992. “The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the American in 1492,” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 82: 369–385. –Disputes the common thought that Native Americans did not adversely affect the landscape before Columbus’ arrival. Why did Megalopolis emerge very early as the political-economic core of North America? How does Gentrification affect a city?

26. Related Book Domosh, Mona. 1996. Invented Cities: The Creation of Landscape in Nineteenth- Century New York and Boston. New Haven: Yale University Press. –A good read. Just what the title says.

27. WebSources Digital Atlas of Megalopolis http://www.umbc.edu/ges/student_projects/digital_atlas/credits.htm Boswash: The Metropolitan Area from Boston to Washington, D.C. http://geography.about.com/cs/urbansprawl/a/megalopolis.htm Ellis Island in New York City (searching for your family roots?) http://www.ellisisland.org/ An Outline of American Geography: Megalopolis http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/geography/geog04.htm Climate in Megalopolis: Insights from Northeast Snowstorms http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0832515.html