1 4 7 10 11 12 2 5 8 3 6 9 - Town of Markham

Rise of the Mega-Region
Mega-regions range in size from 5 million to more than 100 million people. They
produce hundreds of billions - sometimes trillions of dollars - in economic output.
They harness human creativity on a massive scale and are responsible for most of
the world’s scientific achievement and technological innovations.
Cities have always been the natural economic units of the world. But during the
past several decades, cities with central cores surrounded by rural villages and
later by suburbs, have grown into mega-regions composed of two or more cityregions,
such as Boston-New York-Washington corridor. Mega-regions are more
than just a bigger version of a city. In the way that a city is composed of separate
Mega-Region Population GDP2000 GDP2009 GDP2031
1. Greater Tokyo 55 million people $2.5 trillion
2. Boston New York Washington 54 million people $2.2 trillion
3. Chicago to Pittsburgh 46 million people $1.6 trillion
4. Amsterdam Brussels Twerp 60 million people $1.5 trillion
5. Osaka Nagoya 36 million people $1.4 trillion
6. London Leed Chester 50 million people $1.2 trillion
7. Rome Milan Turin 48 million people $1.0 trillion
8. Charlotte Atlanta 22 million people $730 billion
9. Southern California 21 million people $710 billion
10. Frankfurt Stuttgart 23 million people $630 billion
The top twenty mega-regions in terms of economic activity account for 10 percent
of the world’s population, 57% of economic activity, 76% of patented innovations,
and 76% of the most-cited scientists. The Ontario Government, GTHA Region
and Markham must develop a competitive transportation system that includes a
high speed rail transit network, seamlessly integrating high density nodes where
heavy rail crosses heavy rail, density around anchor transit hubs, and major transit
interchange gateways, and other rail transit stops.
neighbourhoods, a new natural economic unit is emerging that results from cityregions
growing upward, becoming denser, and growing outward and into one
another.
The mega-regions of today perform functions that are somewhat similar to those
performed by the great cities of the past --- massing together talent, productive
capability, innovation, and markets. But mega-regions do so on a far larger scale.
Cities now compete on a global terrain. That means that bigger and more competitive
economic units -- mega regions -- have super ceded cities as the real engines of
the global economy.
2000 - World’s top 20 Mega-Regions cited in Richard Florida’s – “Who’s Your City?”
Mega-Region Population GDP2000 GDP2009 GDP2031
11. Barcelona Lyon 25 million people $610 billion
12. Toronto Buffalo Ottawa Montreal 22 million people $530 billion
13. Seoul-San 46.1 million people $500 billion
14. Northern California 12.8 million people $470 billion
15. Southern Florida 15.1 million people $430 billion
16. Fuku-kyushu 18.5 million people $430 billion
17. Paris 14.7 million people $380 billion
18. Dallas-Austin 10.4 million people $370 billion
19. Houston-Orleans 9.7 million people $330 billion
20. Mexico City 45.5 million people $290 billion
In order to ensure that we have a competitive economy, we must have a competitive
rail transit network. Metrolinx, the regions and the communities that have major
transit hubs must do proper Transit Oriented Development planning to ensure
the success of its portion of the rail transit network. We should be able to work
where we want to work, live where we want to live and play where we want to play.
Proper connectivity produces choice, not congestion.
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