ABSTRACT
In 1950 Megalopolis had a population of almost 32 million people. One in four of all U.S. residents lived in this region. By 2000 the population had increased to almost 49 million (Table 3-1). In absolute terms the area saw an increase of almost 17 million people, but the Megalopolis share of the total U.S. population fell from almost 21 percent to just over 17 percent. This change can be read in a number of ways. On the one hand, the numbers indicate a relative shift in national population away from Megalopolis. The economic geography of postwar growth, a shift from the frostbelt of the Midwest and Northeast to the sunbelt of the West and South, shrunk the relative share of the population of Megalopolis. There has been a differential rate of metropolitan growth across the country. Between 1980 and 2000, while the New York and Boston consolidated metropolitan statistical areas (CMSAs) grew by approximately 10 percent, to 21.20 million and 5.81 million, respectively, the Los Angeles CMSA grew by 29.7 percent, to 16.37 million. The United States shifted its center of economic gravity and population distribution toward the South and West, and Megalopolis no longer holds the position of dominance noted by Gottmann. The declining proportion of national population is an indicator of the region's decline in national importance. The region neither dominates the national economy nor shapes the national identity to the extent that it did in 1950. Population Change in Megalopolis https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">
1950
2000
Population
31,924,488
48,720,108
Percentage of U.S. population
20.9
17.3
Population per square mile
610.2
931.3
U.S. population per square mile
42.6
80.5
