U.S. Megalopolises 50 years later

a. ____________________

Exactly 50 years ago, geographer Jean Gottmann created the term "megalopolis" to describe the expanding regional mega-city taking shape between Boston and Washington, D.C., gobbling up rural areas in its wake.

"BosWash" is the nickname futurist Herman Kahn gave this potentially 400-mile urban area in the late 1960s. He called the urbanizing area from Chicago to Pittsburgh along the Great Lakes and Ohio River "ChiPitts" and the California coastal development stretching from San Francisco to San Diego "SanSan."

In a 1967 book, he predicted that by 2000 one-half of the U.S. population would live in those three megalopolises and that any examination of U.S. population trends in the 21st century "would largely be a study of BosWash, ChiPitts, and SanSan."

b. _____________________________

But a somewhat different story has unfolded over the past 50 years. The three megalopolises' share of U.S. population actually declined somewhat between 1960 and 2010. Rather than growing to encompass one-half of the U.S. population, the three areas are only home to about one-third of all U.S. residents.

c. _______________________________

The U.S. population has shifted to the South and West since the 1950s. Today the South is the most populous region, followed by the West, Midwest, and Northeast. In 2010, the West overtook the Midwest as the second most-populous census region—just as it overtook the Northeast in 1990.

Old industrial cities in the Northeast and Midwest–often called the Rust Belt—lost population, as manufacturing declined and people left in search of better jobs. Many metro areas in ChiPitts–such as Detroit, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh—have been plagued by high rates of out-migration since the 1970s.

The fastest growing areas have been mainly outside the three megalopolises. These fast-growing areas included suburbs of metropolitan areas in the South and West, such as the region around Orlando; the "Research Triangle" area of North Carolina; and the areas surrounding such cities as Las Vegas, Atlanta, and several cities in Texas (Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin). The northern Virginia exurbs of Washington, D.C. —at the southern end of BosWash—are an exception.

d. ______________________________

Population aging has fueled growth in retirement destinations, which tend to be outside the three metropolises. During the 2000s, retirement-destination counties—ones that are attractive to people age 60 and older—were among the big demographic "winners." One-third of the 440 retirement counties grew at least twice the national average between 2000 and 2010. Two of the large, fast-growing retirement destinations are Maricopa County, Arizona, and Clark County, Nevada.

e. ___________________________

The U.S. population shifted from rural areas to urban and suburban communities, a trend begun in the 1930s. Today more than 80 percent of U.S. residents live in metropolitan areas. The U.S. metropolitan population grew 11 percent during the 2000s, more than double the rate for areas outside metros. Metros in the South and West grew fastest, while the metro population in the Northeast and Midwest increased at less than half the national rate.

Within metropolitan areas, most U.S. population growth during the past century has taken place in suburban areas, rather than central cities. By 2010, 51 percent of the population lived in suburbs, compared to 31 percent in 1960. The share of the population living in central cities has remained fairly constant; it was 32 percent in 1960 and is 33 percent today. The rural population has shrunk dramatically, as rural areas have lost population.

(From: http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2011/us-megalopolises-50-years.aspx)

3. Complete the sentences with these words from the text:

1. The U.S. __________rose, thanks to a post-war baby boom.

2. Most have arrived safely in Europe, but more than 4,200 others never made it, according to the International Organization for__________, or IOM.

3. He says things often end poorly for animals stuck in _________ areas.

4. At the time, Lower Manhattan’s rapidly __________population was plagued by yellow fever, cholera and devastating fires.

5. The word “_________” still suggests that it’s time to stop working and embrace leisure full time.

6. The money was intended to be spent on improving the availability of electricity in _______ areas.

7. Eatonville is a ______ of Orlando and is a historically African-American community of 2,200 residents.

8. Out of every ________in the U.S., the Washington, D.C. ________tops the list with the highest number of ENERGY STAR certified buildings.

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