Megacities located in close proximity to one another

[iheartthed]

What are the most closely located megacities in different regions of the world? Beijing and Tianjin appear to be the most closely located megacities in the world. London and Paris appear to be the most closely located megacities located in different countries, and maybe the second most closely located in pair in the world? Los Angeles and Mexico City the most closely located pair in North America. What are some others?

[Nouvellecosse]

Rio and Sao Paulo are pretty close. Using the google maps measure feature it looks like they're only about 350km or 220 miles from centre to centre. And as much as 100km less than that from edge to edge.

[sopas ej]

Here you go:


Megacities in 2024 and possible megacities by 2050.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Rio and Sao Paulo are pretty close. Using the google maps measure feature it looks like they're only about 350km or 220 miles from centre to centre. And as much as 100km less than that from edge to edge.

Yeah, Rio and Sao Paulo are the first that came to mind.

Truly separate cities located in rather close proximity to each other.

[Metro-One]

I feel like Toronto has a real chance at being a mega city by 2050.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

I feel like Toronto has a real chance at being a mega city by 2050.

Depending on how you measure it, Washington does too.

Edit: Also, Chicago has been in a holding pattern on the edge of megacity status for a number of decades. It could easily achieve that by 2050 through a random growth spurt.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Edit: Also, Chicago has been in a holding pattern on the edge of megacity status for a number of decades. It could easily achieve that by 2050 through a random growth spurt.

If Chicago can achieve fully-authenticated "MegaCity"™ status by actually repopulating forlorn west and southside neighborhoods...... GIDDY-UP!!!


But if it's just another half-dozen or so new Schaumburgs out in the corn, who could ever possibly begin to care?

[muppet]

Guangzhou-Shenzhen have merged they're so close (via Dongguan) -86 miles, closer than Beijing-Tianjin's 90 miles.



Shanghai-Hangzhou (100 miles) is close too, if you consider the latter a megacity 8.8-12m in population.

Also Chongqing-Chengdu (166 miles)


Dhaka - Kolkata is 150 miles, beating London - Paris ' international 214 miles.


Bengaluru - Chennai 204 miles


A contender for the closest is possibly Shanghai to the merged cities of Suzhou-Wuxi - 50 miles. Geographers have recently considered all 3 cities merged thanks to Kunshan growing in between Shanghai and the others:

https://www.google.com/maps/@31.2728...oASAFQAw%3D%3D



Shanghai at right, Suzhou and Wuxi at left:

[jd3189]

Originally Posted by muppet

Guangzhou-Shenzhen have merged they're so close (via Dongguan) -86 miles, closer than Beijing-Tianjin's 90 miles.

Ain't this what they literally call the Pearl River Delta? Probably one of the most impressive urban areas in the world.

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by jd3189

Ain't this what they literally call the Pearl River Delta? Probably one of the most impressive urban areas in the world.

Yup, also an economic powerhouse.

[sopas ej]

Looking at this map again, which megacity would you say is the furthest away from any other megacity? Is it NYC?

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Looking at this map again, which megacity would you say is the furthest away from any other megacity? Is it NYC?

I think Lima just edges out NYC until Bogota is confirmed as a megacity.

[Nouvellecosse]

Does a megalopolis actually count though? If two are so close that they've merged then they don't really seem like separate but close mega cities anymore, at least to me. Same way that if two metro areas are so close that they meld together, they don't really seem like separate metro areas anymore.

[Yuri]

I think Guangzhou-Shenzhen and Shanghai-Suzhou shouldn't count. They're pretty much merged together at this point.

Shanghai-Hangzhou could become one, but Hangzhou has 9.3 million according to the Chinese last census. Its metro area area is smaller than the prefecture itself (11.9 million). So in China I'd only count Beijing-Tianjin.

São Paulo-Rio de Janeiro had gotten the 1st spot for a while as Rio broken the 10 million mark by 1991-1992 whereas Tianjin has only became a megacity in the mid-2000's. Rio-SP might have beaten London-Paris too depending on how you define both metro areas.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Yuri

I think Guangzhou-Shenzhen and Shanghai-Suzhou shouldn't count. They're pretty much merged together at this point.

Shanghai-Hangzhou could become one, but Hangzhou has 9.3 million according to the Chinese last census. Its metro area area is smaller than the prefecture itself (11.9 million). So in China I'd only count Beijing-Tianjin.

São Paulo-Rio de Janeiro had gotten the 1st spot for a while as Rio broken the 10 million mark by 1991-1992 whereas Tianjin has only became a megacity in the mid-2000's. Rio-SP might have beaten London-Paris too depending on how you define both metro areas.

I thought London and Paris are closer than SP and Rio when I checked Google Maps yesterday, but I was measuring from roughly the city centers.

[Crawford]

DC, I guess technically, by CSA, but DC does NOT feel like a megacity. You can walk from downtown to suburban neighborhoods, which is really rare for a big city in sprawly America. Feels smaller than Baltimore if you knew nothing about the cities.

But yeah, certainly a "megacity" in terms of economic and obviously political power.

[iheartthed]

I agree that DC does not feel like a megacity. And Chicago does feel like a megacity but isn't quite there yet.

[muppet]

Yeah I suppose if they've merged they wouldn't count

[muppet]

Another one is Nagoya which might be the winner (66 miles to Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto), provided you consider it a megacity.

Its built up area counts 9.5m, but metro is 10.1m.

At left and middle - Tokyo at right, not too far off either:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.8671...oASAFQAw%3D%3D

[Yuri]

Originally Posted by muppet

Another one is Nagoya which might be the winner (66 miles to Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto), provided you consider it a megacity.

Its built up area counts 9.5m, but metro is 10.1m.

At left and middle - Tokyo at right, not too far off either:

I was so focused on Tokyo-Nagoya that forgot Osaka-Nagoya. Nagoya is complicated because to make it 10 million we need to use a very generous definition.

Originally Posted by Crawford

DC, I guess technically, by CSA, but DC does NOT feel like a megacity. You can walk from downtown to suburban neighborhoods, which is really rare for a big city in sprawly America. Feels smaller than Baltimore if you knew nothing about the cities.

But yeah, certainly a "megacity" in terms of economic and obviously political power.

"Washington-Baltimore" might be called a megacity. Without the hyphen, no way.

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I thought London and Paris are closer than SP and Rio when I checked Google Maps yesterday, but I was measuring from roughly the city centers.

São Paulo-Rio de Janeiro (Praça da Sé and Praça XV de Novembro): 358 km;

London-Paris (Cannon Street/London Stone and Notre Dame): 343 km.

I meant when Rio and Paris became megacities. Rio de Janeiro is more straightforward (1991-1993). Paris, it depends: Ilê-de-France would be in the early 1980's; aire urbaine in the late 1990's.