Quote:
Originally Posted by skysoar
My response to this statement is that, 40 percent of the workforce between Summit (Akron) and Stark (Canton) cross county lines whereas only 19 percent of the workforce of Cuyahoga and Summit cross county lines, and this is how combining metros are determined by the OMB. I would add this is why Akron and Canton have filed with the OBM to become one Metro area as they supersede the threshold of 25 percent. Also the Cuyahoga Valley National Park which lies between them is the great barrier of any continuity of Cleveland flow and Akron flow. Lastly there is no such thing governmentally as the Cleveland CMSA. There is the Cleveland-Akron- Canton CMSA to be correct, an area probably 60 to 70 miles north to south and therein lies the problem with the vast majority of categorizing CMSA , they are too ambiguous to be reliably definitive.
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I agree with you that Akron and Canton are more culturally connected than Akron and Cleveland. But physically I'd say Akron is more connected to Cleveland. Sure the national park is in between, but its nothing both sprawl down both sides of the park. The park is more of an island surrounded by Cleveland/Akron. The entire northern third of Summit County (Akron) is comprised of Cleveland suburbs, as is a good chunk of Portage County (the other county in the Akron MSA). Richfield, Sagamore Hills, Northfield, Twinsburg, Aurora, Streetsboro, Boston Hts, even half of Hudson, is all Cleveland sprawl. If we are going to say the Akron MSA is not connected to Cleveland, then that's something like 100,000 people that should be subtracted from Akron and added to Cleveland. The reverse can be said about Wadsworth (Medina County, Cleveland MSA) which is thoroughly an Akron suburb.
I know Akron loves their independence from Cleveland, but the reality is that Cleveland sprawl has been swallowing it up. The two are thoroughly connected, and everything I just said speaks to how absurd MSA measurement can be.