"Charlantingham"

[golden eagle]

I touched on this in a thread in the Southeast board. About a decade ago, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a story in which the Charlotte, Atlanta and Birmingham metros would eventually meet up and form the megalopolis known as "Charlantingham". The idea blew my mind, but considering the northeast megalopolis from north of Boston to south of Washington, and with one developing on the west coast, a metro stretching from Alabama to North Carolina wouldn't be so far-fetched. Imagine Tuscaloosa, Macon and Greensboro/Winston-Salem being "suburbs".

BTW, the AJC article is no longer available to view, which is why I don't have a link to it.

[Takumi]

As I said in the other thread, I could also see Raleigh/Durham being part of this, but that would definitely be the northeasternmost extent of it for a long, long time. The area between there and Richmond/Petersburg is still very rural.

[golden eagle]

I believe it could also stretch out to include Huntsville and Chattanooga too. What about the possibility of including Columbia, SC?

Quick question: to qualify as a megalopolis, does it have to be a continuous urban area, or just a continuous string of metro areas?

[Takumi]

I believe it could also stretch out to include Huntsville and Chattanooga too. What about the possibility of including Columbia, SC?

I'd include Columbia as well. It directly connects to Charlotte via I-77 and to I-85 via I-26, so it's certainly not isolated from it.

Quick question: to qualify as a megalopolis, does it have to be a continuous urban area, or just a continuous string of metro areas?

I've seen it defined as either/or. If it's the latter, you could argue that Richmond and even Hampton Roads could be considered part of the northeast megalopolis.

[broadhurst04]

I'd be more inclined to say the megalopolis stretches from Greenville-Spartanburg in the SW to Raleigh-Durham in the NE, with Charlotte and the Triad in between. Isn't there considerable rural space and distance between Birmingham and Atlanta, and also between Atlanta and Greenville? From GSP to RDU is a more tightly packed string of cities totalling just over 7 million people in a corridor roughly 250 miles long.

[huskeroadgeek]

Isn't there considerable rural space and distance between Birmingham and Atlanta, and also between Atlanta and Greenville? From GSP to RDU is a more tightly packed string of cities totalling just over 7 million people in a corridor roughly 250 miles long.

It's been 10-15 years since I was last in these areas, but I-85 between Atlanta and Greenville was still quite rural in most places and I-20 between Birmingham and Atlanta was also quite rural. I'm sure the development has moved outward somewhat since then, but not that much to change the overall nature of the area. Those seem a long ways from becoming any sort of true megalopolis.

[golden eagle]

I believe it could also stretch out to include Huntsville and Chattanooga too. What about the possibility of including Columbia, SC?

I'd include Columbia as well. It directly connects to Charlotte via I-77 and to I-85 via I-26, so it's certainly not isolated from it.

In that case, I'd also include Augusta, GA. Aiken County, SC (which is in the Augusta metro area) borders the Columbia metro.

[6a]

I moved to Columbus from Anderson, SC in 2008, and previously lived in Charlotte, Atlanta and central VA.  Metro Atlanta's local calling area (not long distance) includes parts of Alabama off I-20.  Yes, you can call another state from Atlanta for free.  Going NE on 85, things really thin out once you pass 985, but you aren't far from civilization.  The next non-outlet exit I would call a city exit is Clemson Blvd in SC - I think it was exit 19.  Then you have to go up to Greenville for another exit with similar services. 

There are more rural areas between Gaffney and Charlotte, so I think that while the idea has merit, it is far from reality.  People from Anderson might go to Atlanta once in a while to hit the clubs, but people from Elberton go to Anderson for fun.

[golden eagle]

It's still rather rural between Birmingham and the west Atlanta suburbs. In fact, the Anniston area breaks up the rural monotony.