Endless Cities

John Vidal writes in the Guardian about the convergence of meta-cities into "mega-regions," the first being a conflation of Hong Hong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, comprising 120 million people. Other mega-regions, he says, are in Japan and Brazil, with others forming in India and west Africa.

Vidal cites Eduardo Lopez Moreno, co-author of a UN Report entitled, State of the World's Cities 2008/2009, as saying:

"Research shows that the world's largest 40 mega-regions cover only a tiny fraction of the habitable surface of our planet and are home to fewer than 18% of the world's population [but] account for 66% of all economic activity and about 85% of technological and scientific innovation."

The article adds, however, that mega-regions may intensify urban sprawl and social inequity.

Read the entire article: UN report: World's biggest cities merging into 'mega-regions'

Also, check out PrimeNC and America 2050 for swell maps of the U.S. as a cluster of mega-regions.

(Image borrowed from America 2050)