Megalopolis

A megalopolis (/ˌmɛɡəˈlɒpəlɪs/), also called a supercity or megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enough that coordinating policy is valuable, although the constituent metropolises keep their individual identities.

The megalopolis concept has become highly influential as it introduced a new, larger scale thinking about urban patterns and growth. It helps us understand how cities and towns that are close together can work together to solve problems and share resources. This idea is important for planning how places will grow and for making life better for the people who live in these big, connected areas.

Etymology and earlier definitions

The word "megalopolis" comes from the Greek words for "big city." It was first used for a town named Megalopolis in Arcadia over 2,000 years ago.

Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, a professor named Jean Gottmann used the term to describe a big group of cities along the northeastern coast of the United States, from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C.. He called this area the Northeast megalopolis.

Modern definitions

A megalopolis, also known as a megaregion, is a group of nearby big cities that work together. These cities share ways to move around, like trains and highways, and they have similar jobs, resources, and nature. Because they are close, it helps to make plans for the whole group, even though each city keeps its own special character.

People have used different names for these big city groups. In China, they call them "city clusters." These clusters are areas where many cities are close together. In Brazil, there is a special meaning for a similar word. Some experts have created a way to measure these city groups more fairly, but right now, each country uses its own rules to describe them.

List of megalopolises

Main article: List of megalopolises

In popular culture

Judge Dredd

In the Judge Dredd comic books, there is a huge made-up city called Mega-City One. It is so big that it covers much of what is now the Eastern United States and some of Canada. Different writers and artists have shown it in different ways, but it is always linked to the busy areas around New York City.

Sprawl trilogy

In William Gibson’s books called the Sprawl trilogy, “the Sprawl” is a nickname for the “Boston-Atlanta Metropolitan Axis”. It is a huge spread of cities and towns along the East Coast of the United States, from Boston to Atlanta. In the story, this area has grown together into one big city, enclosed in round glass buildings and merged into one large city.

Megalopolis (film)

In Francis Ford Coppola’s 2024 movie Megalopolis, a character named Cesar Catalina, played by Adam Driver, tries to build a new city of the future in a place called New Rome. He uses a special material called “Megalon” to build it on top of a crater left by a falling satellite.

Dune

In the story Dune, the main city on the planet Arrakis is called Carthag. It was the seat of power for a strict ruling family. Later, a different family, the Atreides, ruled from another city called Arrakeen.