What is a Mega-Region?

As metropolitan regions began to expand throughout the later half of the 20th century, the boundaries between these regions began to blur, creating a new geographic scale known as the "mega-region". Roughly five years ago, the concept of the mega-region surfaced, and was recognized quickly by urban planners and regionalists as a new way to look at the United States when it came to advocating for infrastructure funding. The mega-region concept is being pushed most prominently by America 2050, a national initiative to meet the infrastructure, economic development, and environmental challenges of the nation as we prepare to add about 130 million additional Americans by the year 2050. Since mega-regions are where most of the population growth by mid-century will take place, America 2050 has made this concept a major focus. Mega-regions comprise multiple adjacent metropolitan areas connected by overlapping commuting patterns, business travel, linked economies, environmental landscapes and watersheds, and social networks.

The rise of the mega-region concept has as much to do with development patterns and local economies as anything else. In the past, states have been the primary advocate for infrastructure funding. However, as the diversity between urban regions within states continues to grow, and as the development patterns around cities continues to expand in a sprawling manner, it has become clear that states may not necessarily be the best adovcating force for funding infrastructure improvements. For example although New York City and Buffalo are both in the state of New York, they have very different economies and face different challenges with economic development, infrastructure, and the environment. New York City identifies more economically with Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, and Washington D.C. Meanwhile, the issues Buffalo faces are more similar to those faced by Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.

At least ten mega-regions have been identified in the U.S. In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and the eastern part of the Commonwealth are covered by the Northeast Mega-Region, while the western part of the Commonwealth is covered by the Great Lakes Mega-Region.

Mega-regions very well may shape the future of transportation in the U.S. In the second half of the 20th century, the Interstate Highway System enabled the growth of metropolitan regions throughout the country. Now, emerging mega-regions need a transportation network that will work for places 200-500 miles across. The Obama administration's desired nationwide high-speed rail system may very well be that transportation alternative. Mega-regions also will need new intermodal freight systems that link rail, truck, seaports, and airports. Improvements to the freight system will need to create new capacity, to make the nation's goods movement system more efficient and reliable as it becomes increasingly integrated into global markets.

The goal of the mega-region concept is to focus economic development and job creation into areas with the infrastructure in place to support all this population increase. It will strengthen already economically viable areas, and fight against the sprawling development pattern that has in many ways symbolized the later half of the 20th century. By negating sprawl and encouraging the vitality of these mega-regions, it will be easier for the U.S. to focus finite amounts of transportation and infrastructure funding.

For more information about Mega-Regions and America 2050, please click here