America's emerging megaregions and implications for a national growth strategy

The purpose of this paper is to consider the implications of emerging “megaregions” in the USA and the challenges they present to planning for large‐scale systems of transportation infrastructure, environmental resources, and economic growth, and their implications for developing a national growth strategy.

The paper examines the existing research on megaregions and their applications in addressing specific challenges in large geographical areas. It also discusses the efforts of a privately led initiative to create a national growth strategy and how megaregions may provide an interim scale toward national planning.

The paper finds that while ad hoc megaregional partnerships and governance will help lay the groundwork for large‐scale investments and policies needed to address the expanding spatial dynamics of the twenty‐first century economy, ultimately the USA requires a national plan to prepare for future growth.

The recognition and study of US megaregions is relatively new. The contribution of this paper is that it discusses how megaregions might shape a national strategy for growth in the USA in the next half century.