Friday, March 18, 2011

Not Really a Megalopolis, but Close


So, what is a megalopolis and is Seattle part of one?
A megalopolis is an urbanized region that is dominated by a chain of large, densely populated metropolitan areas that have coalesced over time to produce even larger conurbations.[1]
The term megalopolis is used to refer to the areas of New York City and its surrounding cities such as, Boston, Washington D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia, to name a few. So, in essence, Seattle cannot be part of megalopolis, but it is part of a large urban metropolitan area.
Location, location, location…hey, it’s important!

FUN FACT: Seattle's Harbor Island is the largest man made island in the nation.[2]
There are several reasons why a city grows in size and in population, the main reason is the site characteristics. The site characteristics refer to the physical features that make up the immediate environment of that place’s location.[3]

As illustrated by the chart, there have been ups and downs in Seattle’s population, it happens to a lot of cities.
This is the view from the Bank of America building in Downtown Seattle.

FUN FACT: The Washington State Ferry System is the largest in the country and the third largest in the world, carrying over 25 million passengers annually. Seattle's Pier 52 is the busiest ferry terminal in the U.S.[4]
Because of Seattle’s proximity to Asia, the Port of Seattle trades with many Asian countries, the top five include: China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Vietnam.


[1] Stephen S. Birdsall, Eugene J. Palka, Jon C. Malinowski, and Margo L. Price, Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada 7th Edition (Wiley, 2008), 64.
[2] Whiting, J. (2011). Seattle Trivia & Fun Facts. http://www.jetcityorange.com/Seattle/Seattle-trivia.html (18 Mar. 2011).
[3] Birdsall, Palka, Malinowski, and Price, Landscapes of the U.S. and Canada, 66.
[4] “Seattle Trivia & Fun Facts,” accessed March 18, 2011.

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