BosWash: World’s largest megalopolis that extends from Boston to Washington D.C.
Do you know what a megalopolis is? Well, it refers to a supercity or a mega-region formed by a group of metropolitan areas that are often taken as a continuous urban stretch connected through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology among others. The term megalopolis, when literally translated, means, “very large city”. It was coined in ancient Greece where people wanted to build a planned megacity upon the Peloponnese Peninsula. While their idea was never a reality, a mini city of sorts, named Megalopolis, was established and it exists till date.
Now, fast forward to the 20th century, one of the world’s first and largest megalopolis emerged in the United States. It was spread across the country’s northeast and began with Boston all the way to Washington D.C.
Guess what its name is? An amalgamation of the first parts of the names of Boston and Washington D.C. aka, BosWash. If you are wondering how Americans came upon this idea, here’s the whole story for you.
USA is introduced to the idea of a megalopolis
While the idea of megalopolis existed, thanks to the Greeks, no one ever really took it seriously. However, during the 1950s, Americans started taking the idea of megalopolis seriously, thanks to a French geographer named Jean Gottman.
As it happened, Gottman was studying the north-eastern regions of USA and realised that a vast metropolitan area ranging over 500 miles exists from Boston in the north to Washington D.C. in the south. Gottman published his research in a 1961 book named Megalopolis: The Urbanized Northeastern Seaboard of the United States where he concluded that although independent and discrete, they are uniquely linked. This is what inspired the governments of both the places to join hands and establish BosWash.
BosWash at a glance
If you look at USA’s map, you will realise that the region spread across Boston until Washington D.C. is really the political heartland of the nation. In fact, it can be deemed as the most functional urban region in the USA, providing it with majority of the essential services. Maybe that’s why BosWash holds the nickname of ‘Main Street of the Nation” in the real world.
Also known by several other nicknames such as Northeast Megalopolis, Northeast Corridor, Acela Corridor and Boston-Washington Corridor, BosWash happens to be the world’s largest and USA’s only megalopolis, with respect to economic output. With 52.3 million population, it comprises of the following states namely: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. And as the name suggests, it also houses the three largest federal cities of the country, namely Boston, New York City (not duly recognised in the name) and Washington D.C.
For those unaware, BosWash is the centre of government, banking, media, academics and most importantly, immigration. Can you guess why? Because of his strategic location along the Atlantic Coast. However, it’s the economic activity combined with transportation and communication that links Boston to Washington D.C. the most.
Locational advantage
As you can probably imagine, the north-eastern coast of USA is not only close to the Atlantic, but also to Europe. In fact, this was the region that was first occupied by colonial settlers. It slowly grew in popularity due to the job opportunities it offered across various sectors, especially mining and agriculture. In addition, BosWash has a perfect temperate climate which isn’t particularly prone to tropical storms, that tend to increase further south. Above all, it was the interpenetration of land and sea that gave BosWash all its due advantages. It has the country’s most notable harbours such as Chesapeake Bay, Port of New York and New Jersey, and Boston Harbour among others. The region also houses navigable rivers such as the Hudson, Delaware and Connecticut. And it wasn’t before long, that the region had the densest population in the whole of USA.
Fun fact: The Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka Megalopolis in Japan is one true example of a megalopolis in the east.