Megaregions

Edited by John Harrison and Michael Hoyler, Department of Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, UK

• Contents:1. Megaregions: Foundations, Frailties, FuturesJohn Harrison and Michael Hoyler2. Megaurban Regions: Epistemology, Discourse Patterns, Big Urban BusinessMarkus Hesse3. Megaregions and the Urban Question: The New Strategic Terrain for US Urban CompetitivenessDavid Wachsmuth4. Beyond Globalization: A Historical Urban Development Approach to Understanding MegaregionsAlex Schafran5. Five Reasons Why Megaregional Planning Works Against SustainabilityStephen M. Wheeler6. Conflicting Spaces of Governance in the Imagined Great Lakes MegaregionMichael R. Glass7. Brave New ‘Megaregional Worlds’? Reflections from a North European PerspectiveLukas Smas and Peter Schmitt8. Globalization and the Megaregion: Investigating the Evolution of the Pearl River Delta in a Historical PerspectiveXu Zhang9. Towards a Megaregional Future: Analysing Progress, Assessing Priorities in the US Megaregion ProjectBilly Fleming10. Megaregions Reconsidered: Urban Futures and the Future of the UrbanJohn Harrison and Michael HoylerIndex

'Contemporary globalization has given a new lease of life to the study of mega-city regions. Their problem has been that they can be easily designated - simply drawing lines around adjacent urban settlement - and superficially discussed. In contrast, this book revels in the complexities of today's massive urbanization. Treating mega-city regions seriously and critically, this outstanding contribution should be necessary reading for anyone concerned for the problems and possibilities in our unique ''urban century''.' --Peter Taylor, Northumbria University, UK'This challenging and exciting volume provides a comprehensive rethinking of the megaregion. Editors and contributors leave readers in no doubt about the extent of the transformations of the urban form under globalization. Replete with excellent empirical examples from around the world, this volume departs from previous studies. These have focused on questions of definition, delimitation and identification. Rather, the volume turns its attention to the construction of ''megaregions'' and the theoretical and methodological challenges that arise from this approach.'--Kevin Ward, University of Manchester, UK'The growth of megaurban regions represents a profound challenge to extant governmental and governance arrangements, many of which continue to take for granted the power and authority of the national state. This edited collection on Megaregions by John Harrison and Michael Hoyler effectively outlines the global scope of the challenge whilst, at the same time, pointing out its implications for the governance of urban regions in different parts of the world. It is an extremely valuable addition to the growing literature on city-regions and processes of regional urbanization.'--Andrew E.G. Jonas, Hull University, UK