Northeast Megalopolis vs. California Urbanized Area's

[Shawn]

Originally Posted by JManc

I wish we could do that here. Lawns look nice when they are freshly mowed but they are unsustainable not too mention $$$ to properly maintain. I would go with native SE Texas plants and trees in my yard if I could.

When I was little, my parents' 3/4 acre property was about 2/3 grass lawn, 1/3 "Southeastern Mass mixed deciduous" woods. And although my dad *legit* enjoys mowing the lawn, even at 68 years old, my parents adopted a "back to nature" strategy over the years. Now, the property is about 1/3 grass lawn, with the rest reverting back to the native woods covering all of Southeast Mass and Rhode Island. Basically, only the front lawn is remaining. They were able to replace most of the back yard's grass with lily-of-the-valley and a bunch of different native heath and heather varieties.

[Shawn]

If we applied the CSA commuter standards the Census uses to define combined metro areas to Japan . . . Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe would all be in the same CSA.

The Tokyo-Yokohama-Osaka CSA would have over 90 million people. And it would still clock in at over 10,000 pp sq mile.

[SFBruin]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Every moderately sized town has ethnic restaurants

Fwiw, I once got Thai food in Dickinson, ND.

So the story checks out I guess, haha.

[SacTownAndy]

Originally Posted by homebucket

As for Norcal, I don't think Sacramento and the Bay Area are developed enough in between to be considered a megalopolis. There's 5 segments (3-6 miles each of nothingness) of wilderness and farmland and wetlands in between on the I-80 corridor that isn't developed: between Vallejo and Fairfield, Fairfield and Vacaville, Vacaville and Dixon, Dixon and Davis, Davis and Sacramento.

The 10 mile stretch on I-80 from Davis to Sac (Yolo Causeway) will never be developed. During rainy winters they open the weir on the Sacramento River and it completely floods that area with up to 10 feet of water. Thus the elevated freeway. Locals call it "Lake Yolo".

It's nuts to me when I take the Capitol Corridor and see all of the new development south of Fairfield and Vacaville. Stuff you don't see from I-80.