Great Lakes Megalopolis

The Great Lakes Megalopolis consists of the group of metropolitan areas in North America largely in the Great Lakes region and along the Saint Lawrence River. It extends from the Midwestern United States in the south and west to western Pennsylvania and Western New York in the east and northward through Southern Ontario into southwestern Quebec in Canada. It is the most populated and largest megalopolis in North America.

Great Lakes Megalopolis
Megaregion of the U.S. and Canada
Chicago
Toronto
Detroit
Countries	United States  Canada
States	Illinois  Indiana  Iowa  Kansas  Kentucky  Michigan  Minnesota  Missouri  New York  Ohio  Pennsylvania  West Virginia  Wisconsin
Provinces	Ontario  Quebec
Largest city	Toronto (2.97 million)
Largest metropolitan area	Chicago metropolitan area (9,812,676)
Population	85,011,531[1]

At its most inclusive, in the United States the region cuts a wide swath from the Twin Cities in Minnesota in the west, south to St. Louis and Louisville, Kentucky, and east to Rochester, New York; in Canada, it continues northeasterly to Quebec City. This broader region had an estimated population of 59,144,461 as of 2011 and is projected to reach a population of about 65 million by 2025. Within this broad region, there is a core area of more continual urban development that includes Chicago, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, South Bend, Detroit, Cleveland, Toledo, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Rochester, Hamilton, Toronto and the metropolitan areas between these.

History of the concept

1907 Canadian major internal and cross border shipping routes

Map of the emerging American-Canadian megaregions as defined by America 2050.[2] This interpretation excludes the eastern part of the Windsor-Quebec City urban corridor from the Great Lakes Megalopolis.

The region was partially outlined as an emergent megalopolis in the 1961 book Megalopolis: The Urbanized Northeastern Seaboard of the United States by French geographer Jean Gottmann. Gottmann envisaged the development of other megalopolises in the U.S.: from Boston to Washington, D.C., from Chicago to Pittsburgh, and from San Francisco to San Diego.

In 1965, futurist Herman Kahn speculated about the three megalopolises in the year 2000.[3] In the 1960s and 1970s, urban planner and architect Constantinos Doxiadis wrote books, studies, and reports about the growth potential of the Great Lakes Megalopolis.[4] Doxiadis envisioned Detroit (on the U.S.-Canada border across from Windsor) as the central urban area in this megalopolis, which he defined as extending "from Milwaukee and Chicago to Detroit, Pittsburgh and Buffalo and into Canada from Windsor to Montreal and Quebec".[4][5]

In 2005, the Virginia Tech Metropolitan Institute's Beyond Megalopolis, an attempt to update Gottmann's work, outlined a similar "Midwest" megapolitan area as one of ten such areas in the United States (Canada is discussed tangentially).[6] Over 200 million tons of cargo are shipped annually through the Great Lakes.[7][8][9] The America 2050 project identified 11 Megaregions of the United States, including the Great Lakes Megalopolis.[10]^[A] The Canadian part of the region is also referred to as the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, and the densest part in Southern Ontario has long been known as the Golden Horseshoe.

Governments

There are multiple government jurisdictions throughout the megalopolis. In addition to the federal governments of the United States and Canada, there are multiple U.S. state and two Canadian province jurisdictions, and many county and local governments. Most of the states have joined the provinces in forming the Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers to coordinate economic and environmental strategies throughout most of the region.[11]

Economy

According to the Brookings Institution, if it stood alone as a country, the economy of the Great Lakes region, which includes most of the Great Lakes Megalopolis, would be one of the largest economic units in the world with a $4.5-trillion gross regional product, roughly equal to Japan's. The five Great Lakes contain one-fifth of the world's surface fresh water and have a combined shoreline of 10,210 miles (17,017 km). About 200 million tons of cargo are shipped through the Great Lakes each year.[8][12][13]

Tourism is important to the region's economy. The Great Lakes Cruising Coalition supports passenger ship cruises through a joint U.S-Canadian venture to Great Lakes Ports and the Saint Lawrence Seaway.[14][15]

The Chicago metropolitan area, also called Chicagoland, is the largest metro economy in the Great Lakes Megalopolis. Chicago has one of the largest global urban area economies.[16]

Education

The Great Lakes Megalopolis is home to several of the most prestigious universities in the United States, including Carnegie Mellon University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame, University of Rochester, Washington University in St. Louis, and Case Western Reserve University. The region also contains large public research universities such as the University at Buffalo, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, Ohio State University, University of Pittsburgh, Purdue University, McMaster University. Michigan State University, University of Toronto, and University of Wisconsin.

Major land and marine transportation corridors

The Great Lakes Megalopolis includes the following major inter-urban corridors that are provided with freeway and passenger rail service in both the core and fringe areas of the mega-region. Major waterways for shipping and cruising are also indicated where applicable. Amtrak in the United States and Via Rail in Canada offer rail passenger service, while most Class I freight rail services also connect these points. A major rail shipping service in both Canada and the United States is provided on tracks owned by Canadian National Railway Company.

Chicago-Minneapolis/St. Paul

This corridor occupies the northwestern fringe of the megalopolis. It occupies northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and parts of eastern Minnesota. Interstate 94 and Amtrak rail run roughly parallel from Chicago to Minneapolis/St. Paul by way of Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin.

Chicago-St. Louis

Interstate 55, Amtrak, and the Illinois Waterway connect Chicago to St. Louis.

Chicago-Indianapolis-Cincinnati

Interstate 65 extends from the Chicago area southeast to Indianapolis, where Interstate 74 travels through to Cincinnati. Amtrak runs regular service along this same route.

Chicago-Buffalo-Rochester

Interstate 90 and Amtrak run approximately parallel through the core area of the megalopolis from Chicago to Cleveland via South Bend, Indiana, and Toledo, Ohio, then into the eastern fringe area comprising Buffalo and Rochester, New York. Amtrak also has a passenger rail link from Cleveland to Pittsburgh which is roughly paralleled by Interstate 76. The main water route deviates well to the north of the land route from Chicago to Detroit. It runs north along Lake Michigan, east through the Straits of Mackinac, then south along Lake Huron, the St. Clair River, and Lake St Clair to the Detroit River. From this point, the water route roughly parallels the land route to Rochester by way of Lake Erie, the Welland Canal, and Lake Ontario.

Chicago-Detroit

Interstate 94 takes a more northerly route than I-90 through the megalopolis core area east of Chicago. It extends from that city to the west end of the Windsor-Quebec City Corridor by way of Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Port Huron, Michigan/Sarnia, Ontario. This interstate freeway is also paralleled by Amtrak rail service. The main water route is the same as for the western part of the Chicago-Rochester water corridor from Lake Michigan to the Detroit River.

Windsor-Quebec City

The core area of the Great Lakes megalopolis extends as far northeast as Toronto in Ontario, Canada. The remainder of the Windsor-Quebec City Corridor northeast of Toronto lies along the northeastern fringe of the megaregion. The entire Canadian section of the broader megaregion is sometimes considered a separate megalopolis. Key freeways include Highway 401 and Highway 417 in Ontario which connect with Autoroute 20 and Autoroute 40 respectively in Quebec. Highway 416 and Autoroute 50 link the National Capital Region with Highway 401 and the Montreal area respectively, but the two freeways do not link directly with each other across the Ontario-Quebec border. Passenger rail service is provided in both provinces by the Via Rail Corridor Service. Intermediate points along the corridor include London, Kitchener, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, and Montreal. The main water shipping route is the same as for the eastern part of the Chicago-Rochester corridor, starting at the Detroit River but continuing east beyond Lake Ontario along the St. Lawrence Seaway to Quebec City and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Toronto, Hamilton, St. Catharines, and Niagara Falls, Ontario in Canada and Niagara Falls, New York and Buffalo in the United States also form an almost continuous urban area.

Secondary land or marine transportation corridors

Several corridors have interstate highways but no comprehensive passenger rail service. These highway routes pass through both core and fringe areas of the Great Lakes megalopolis. The upper Great lakes region has a marine corridor that connects Lakes Superior, Huron, and Michigan. However, this route does not include parallel Amtrak passenger rail or interstate highway service.

Kansas City-Pittsburgh

Interstate 70 follows the southern fringe of the megaregion. It runs from Kansas City to just south of Pittsburgh by way of St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Columbus, Ohio.

Detroit-Grand Rapids

Interstate 96 serves traffic between the Detroit and Grand Rapids metro areas. The route passes through Lansing on the way and extends to Muskegon to the northwest of Grand Rapids

Evansville-Indianapolis-Port Huron

Interstate 69 extends from Evansville to Martinsville, Indiana. From there, the route is temporarily an arterial highway, Indiana State Road 37, to the Interstate 465 ring road around Indianapolis. From there, I-69 resumes and continues to the west end of the Windsor-Quebec City Corridor, crossing the border into Canada and becoming Ontario Highway 402, which eventually leads to Highway 401. Intermediate points include Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Lansing, Flint, and Port Huron, Michigan/Sarnia, Ontario.

Cincinnati-Saginaw

Interstate 75 runs from Saginaw, Michigan, to Cincinnati by way of Detroit, and Toledo, Lima, and Dayton, Ohio.

Duluth-Lake Huron

The waterway connecting Duluth, Minnesota, and western Lake Superior to points east and south includes the Soo Locks connecting to Lake Huron, then south to Port Huron MI/Sarnia ON or through the Straits of Mackinac to the metropolitan areas around Lake Michigan.

Selected American and Canadian population centers

Rank	Area	State/ Province	Image	CSA/CMA 2009 population	Projected[17][18][19][20] 2025 population	Projected increase 2009-2025	Projected % increase 2009-2025
1	Chicago	Illinois Indiana Wisconsin		9,804,845	10,216,648	411,803	4.2
2	Toronto	Ontario		5,541,400	6,682,061	1,140,661	20.5
3	Detroit	Michigan		5,318,744	5,583,400	264,656	5.0
4	Montreal	Quebec		3,859,300	4,246,931	387,631	10.1
5	Minneapolis–Saint Paul	Minnesota Wisconsin		3,604,460	4,031,000	426,540	11.8
6	Cleveland–Akron	Ohio		3,515,646	3,469,943	-45,703	-1.3
7	St. Louis	Missouri Illinois		2,892,874	3,049,000	156,126	5.4
8	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania		2,445,117	2,868,818	367,299	15.0
9	Indianapolis	Indiana		2,386,199	2,779,921	393,722	16.5
10	Cincinnati	Ohio Kentucky Indiana		2,214,954	2,448,000	233,046	10.5
11	Kansas City	Missouri Kansas		2,038,724	2,293,564	254,840	12.5
12	Columbus	Ohio		2,031,229	2,446,450	415,221	20.4
13	Milwaukee	Wisconsin		2,025,898	2,129,949	103,706	5.1
14	Ottawa–Gatineau	Ontario Quebec		1,451,415	1,596,556	145,141	10.0
15	Louisville	Kentucky Indiana		1,395,634	1,602,456	206,822	14.8
16	Grand Rapids	Michigan		1,327,366	1,530,000	202,634	15.3
17	Buffalo	New York		1,203,493	1,251,633	48,140	6
18	Rochester	New York		1,149,653	1,133,558	-16,095	-1.4
19	Dayton	Ohio		1,066,261	1,066,261	0	0
20	Hamilton	Ontario		740,200	954,858	214,658	29.1
21	South Bend–Elkhart	Indiana Michigan		720,647	NA	NA	NA
22	Toledo	Ohio Michigan		672,220	672,220	0	0
23	Madison	Wisconsin		628,947	820,483	191,563	30.5
24	Youngstown	Ohio Pennsylvania		602,964	N/A	N/A	N/A
25	Kalamazoo	Michigan		524,030	NA	NA	NA
26	Lansing	Michigan		523,609	547,325	23,716	4.6
27	London	Ontario		510,200	634,938	142,738	29.1
28	Tri-Cities	Ontario		492,400	635,196	142,796	29.1
29	Rockford	Illinois		455,595	499,400	43,805	9.9
30	Fort Wayne	Indiana		414,315	455,623	39,366	9.9
31	St. Catharines–Niagara	Ontario		404,400	521,676	117,276	29.0
32	Quad Cities	Iowa Illinois		379,690	452,565	72,875	26.1
33	Fox Cities	Wisconsin		360,000	NA	NA	NA
34	Oshawa	Ontario		356,177	419,067	62,890	17.7
35	Windsor	Ontario		330,900	426,861	95,961	29
36	Green Bay	Wisconsin		304,783	NA	NA	NA
37	Erie	Pennsylvania		280,985	N/A	N/A	N/A
38	Duluth	Minnesota Wisconsin		279,771	N/A	N/A	N/A
39	Lafayette	Indiana		262,341	N/A	N/A	N/A
40	Rochester	Minnesota		259,813	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Total CSA/CMA of major metro areas			60,323,653	65,735,336	6,234,698	10.0

American Statistical Areas Along the Great Lakes

An enlargeable map of the U.S. statistical areas along the Great Lakes. The lighter area shows the Great Lakes Basin watershed

Along the Great Lakes, there are 27 United States statistical areas - 13 Combined Statistical Areas, 3 Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and 12 Micropolitan Statistical Areas, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget.

The following sortable table lists the 27 statistical areas of the United States located on the Great Lakes with the following information:

1. Statistical areas on this table are based on the map to the right. All of these statistical areas are located along the Great Lakes.
2. Populations are based on lists from: Combined Statistical Areas, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and Micropolitan Statistical Areas.
3. This list excludes Canadian cities along the Great Lakes.

Combined Statistical Areas, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and Micropolitan Statistical Areas located on the American side of Great Lakes

Rank	Map Reference Number	Combined Statistical Area	2018 Population	2010 Population	Change	Lake(s)
1	16	Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI CSA	9,886,910	9,840,929	+0.47%	Lake Michigan
2	15	Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI CSA	5,353,002	5,318,744	+0.64%	Lake Erie and Lake Huron
3	21	Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH CSA	3,599,264	3,630,166	−0.85%	Lake Erie
4	13	Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI CSA	2,049,391	2,025,989	+1.16%	Lake Michigan
5	14	Grand Rapids-Kentwood-Muskegon, MI CSA	1,406,918	1,320,064	+6.58%	Lake Michigan
6	24	Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY CSA	1,206,992	1,215,826	−0.73%	Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
7	25	Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY CSA	1,162,893	1,175,001	−1.03%	Lake Ontario
9	19	Toledo-Fremont, OH CSA	833,576	843,900	−1.22%	Lake Erie
8	26	Syracuse-Auburn, NY CSA	727,647	742,603	−2.01%	Lake Ontario
10	17	Kalamazoo-Battle Creek-Portage, MI CSA	504,022	493,020	+2.23%	Lake Michigan
11	12	Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North, MI CSA	377,932	391,569	−3.48%	Lake Huron
12	9	Green Bay-Shawano, WI CSA	367,045	352,422	+4.15%	Lake Michigan
13	22	Erie-Meadville, PA CSA	357,124	369,331	−3.31%	Lake Erie
14	1	Duluth, MN-WI MSA	278,799	279,771	−0.35%	Lake Superior
15	18	Niles, MI MSA	154,141	156,813	−1.70%	Lake Michigan
16	7	Traverse City, MI μSA	149,914	143,372	+4.56%	Lake Michigan
17	23	Jamestown-Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY μSA	127,939	134,905	−5.16%	Lake Erie
18	11	Sheboygan, WI MSA	115,456	115,007	−0.39%	Lake Michigan
19	27	Watertown-Fort Atkinson, NY μSA	85,129	83,686	+1.72%	Lake Ontario
20	10	Manitowoc, WI μSA	79,074	81,442	−2.91%	Lake Michigan
21	20	Sandusky, OH μSA	74,615	77,079	−3.20%	Lake Erie
22	3	Marquette, MI μSA	66,516	67,077	−0.84%	Lake Superior
23	6	Marinette, WI-MI μSA	63,417	65,778	−3.59%	Lake Michigan
24	2	Houghton, MI μSA	38,332	38,784	−1.17%	Lake Superior
25	4	Sault Ste. Marie, MI μSA	37,517	38,520	−2.60%	Lake Huron and Lake Superior
26	5	Escanaba, MI μSA	35,857	37,069	−3.27%	Lake Michigan
27	8	Alpena, MI μSA	28,360	29,598	−4.18%	Lake Huron

The following four sortable tables list the 27 census statistical areas of the United States located on the Great Lakes, by lake, with the following information:

1. Populations are based on lists from: Combined Statistical Areas, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and Micropolitan Statistical Areas.
2. The list excludes Canadian cities along the Great Lakes.

Combined Statistical Areas, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and Micropolitan Statistical Areas located on the American side of Lake Erie

Rank	Map Reference Number	Census Statistical Area	2018 Population	Comment
1	15	Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI CSA	5,353,002	Also located on Lake Huron.
2	12	Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH CSA	3,599,264
3	24	Buffalo-Cattaraugus-Olean, NY CSA	1,206,992	Also located on Lake Ontario.
4	19	Toledo-Fremont, OH CSA	833,576
5	22	Erie, PA MSA	357,124
6	23	Jamestown-Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY μSA	127,939
7	20	Sandusky, OH MSA	74,615

Combined Statistical Areas, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and Micropolitan Statistical Areas located on the American side of Lake Huron

Rank	Map Reference Number	Census Statistical Area	2018 Population	Comment
1	15	Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI CSA	5,353,002	Also located on Lake Erie
2	12	Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North, MI CSA	377,932
3	4	Sault Ste. Marie, MI μSA	37,517	Also located on Lake Superior
4	8	Alpena, MI μSA	28,360

Combined Statistical Areas, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and Micropolitan Statistical Areas located on Lake Michigan

Rank	Map Reference Number	Census Statistical Area	2018 Population	Comment
1	16	Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI CSA	9,886,910
2	13	Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI CSA	2,049,391
3	14	Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI CSA	1,406,918
4	17	Kalamazoo-Battle Creek-Portage, MI CSA	504,022
5	9	Green Bay-Shawano, WI CSA	367,045
6	18	Niles-Benton Harbor, MI MSA	154,151
7	7	Traverse City, MI μSA	149,914
8	11	Sheboygan, WI MSA	115,456
9	10	Manitowoc, WI μSA	79,074
10	6	Marinette, WI-MI μSA	63,471
11	5	Escanaba, MI μSA	35,857

Combined Statistical Areas, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and Micropolitan Statistical Areas located on the American side of Lake Ontario

Rank	Map Reference Number	Census Statistical Area	2018 Population	Comment
1	24	Buffalo-Cattaraugus-Olean, NY CSA	1,206,992	Also located on Lake Erie
2	25	Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY CSA	1,162,893
3	26	Syracuse-Auburn, NY CSA	727,647
4	27	Watertown-Fort Drum, NY μSA	85,127

Combined Statistical Areas, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and Micropolitan Statistical Areas located on the American side of Lake Superior

Rank	Map Reference Number	Census Statistical Area	2018 Population	Comment
1	1	Duluth, MN-WI MSA	278,799
2	3	Marquette, MI μSA	66,516
3	4	Sault Ste. Marie, MI μSA	37,517	Also located on Lake Huron
4	2	Houghton, MI μSA	38,332

See also

• Megalopolis (city type)
• Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers
• Megaregions of the United States
• Great Lakes
• Quebec City – Windsor Corridor
• Conurbation
• Combined Statistical Area
• Census Metropolitan Area

Notes

A. ^ ^a Various sources include Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa in the Great Lakes Megalopolis, while excluding Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Columbus.[21] All these partial-consensus and non-consensus cities lie at the eastern, western, and southern fringes of the megalopolis.

Gallery

• 
  Green Bay (right) to Indianapolis (far lower left)
• 
  Lakes Erie (right) and Ontario (left)
• 
  Indianapolis (left) to St. Louis (right)
• 
  Saint Paul
• 
  Fox Cities
• 
  Duluth
• 
  Cleveland
• 
  Jackson Wisconsin

References

1. "Great Lakes States 2020". Retrieved 2020-04-12.
2. "Beyond Megalopolis: Exploring America's New "Megapolitan" Geography - America 2050". america2050.org. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
3. Bell, Daniel; Stephen Richards Graubard (1997). Toward the year 2000: work in progress. MIT Press. p. 87. ISBN 0-262-52237-3.
4. Cities: Capital for the New Megalopolis.Time magazine, November 4, 1966. Retrieved on July 16, 2010.
5. Doxiadis, Constantinos. (1970) The Great Lakes Megalopolis. Doxiadis Assoc.
6. "MegaCensusReport.indd" (PDF). America2050.org.
7. "About Our Great Lakes -Great Lakes Basin Facts- NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL)". Glerl.noaa.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
8. "Economy of the Great Lakes Region". Great-lakes.net. 2012-04-13. Archived from the original on 2012-05-04. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
9. U.S Army Corps of Engineers (January 2009).Great Lakes Navigation System: Economic Strength to the Nation Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on April 11, 2011.
10. America 2050: Megaregions: Great Lakes. Regional Plan Association.
11. "Home - Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers". Cglslgp.org.
12. Our lakes facts Archived 2012-03-08 at the Wayback Machine. NOAA. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
13. U.S Army Corps of Engineers (January 2009).Great Lakes Navigation System: Economic Strength to the Nation Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on July 25, 2011.
14. Great Lakes Cruising Coalition Retrieved on July 25, 2011.
15. "Forecasting 2020 U.S. County and MSA Populations" (PDF). Knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu. April 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
16. Perry, Mark J. (2018-10-02). "Can You Guess Which U.S. Metro Area Has a Higher GDP than Canada?". fee.org. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
17. "Home - Federation for American Immigration Reform". fairus.org. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
18. Finance, Government of Ontario, Ministry of. "Ontario Population Projections Update". Fin.gov.on.ca.
19. Institut de la statistique Quebec Archived 2003-12-07 at the Wayback Machine
20. "Preliminary Population Projections to the Year 2020 in Michigan Metropolitan Areas" (PDF).
21. Example: Great Lakes Megalopolis (PDF) (Map). The Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Youngstown State University. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-05.