Washington DC Predicted To Join New York As A Megacity I hope that Uncle Will reads this news piece and reflects on the long term value of a D.C.-based MLS team before he signs on the dotted line to move United to Baltimore. http://www.wusa9.com/rss/local_article.aspx?storyid=116341 WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- The movie "Minority Report" envisions a futuristic Washington DC, dense with people where skyscrapers handle the region's frantic growth. As it turns out, that fictional Washington may not be that far from reality. A list of predictions has been released from a well-know local consulting group and big changes could be a-foot for Washington. "We could double in size in the next 20 to 25 years," says Deb Westphal, the managing partner of Toffler Associates. The Reston-based company, that forecasts the future was founded by Alvin and Heidi Toffler, the minds behind the best-seller Future Shock. One of the firm's predictions for the next 40 years, Washington DC will explode in size to join the ranks of New York City as a megacity. The change could dramatically alter the way we live our lives. "How we travel, how we move, how we get our supplies, the stress on the infrastructure, all will be questions as the city continues to grow," says Westphal . . .
Are you kidding? It has been predicted that Baltimore and Washington were going to be one megalopolis for a long time, as they continually sprawl toward each other. And you really think DC is going to grow like that and not encompass Baltimore as well? If anything it would make Will Chang think he could move to Baltimore with no concerns at all. Beyond that, people have been speculating for decades that the corridor from Boston to DC would become a single giant urban area with no break or interruption.
This. Hell, I'd add DC to Richmond to that. While it's no secret Richmond isn't as big or prestigious as DC, Bal'mer, Philly, NYC and Bastin, it's a decent-sized market. More importantly, it's slowly sprawling north while the DC area's southern edge creeps past Frednecksburg. (Which won't be able to be called that much longer.)
I don't think he means 'join' as in physically connect to NYC but join as in 'join the ranks' of other megacities. In other words he's just saying DC will become a megacity like NYC, LA, Tokyo and London.
Yes I realize that, and I'm saying by the time "DC" is that big (cause we know the actual lines of the District aren't going to change so we must be talking about the DC metro area) it is going to include Baltimore in it's grasp. EDIT: DC 68 sq miles, NYC, 462 sq miles.
But, it seems to me that putting a team in Baltimore is a bit like putting a team in, say, North Jersey. It's a short term fix and a long term cop out. Eventually, MLS will return to D.C. and, when that happens, "Baltimore United" will be roughly in the same position as the New Jersey Devils/New Jersey Nets vis a vis the New York Rangers/New York Knicks. How much pizazz are the Red Bulls going to be generating when the Cosmos eventually are reborn in Queens?
I think you're getting hung up on the physical definitions of city limits and the like. Urban economies function well beyond their static jurisdictional boundaries. First, the entire Northeast Corridor is already one large megalopolis. It certainly functions that way economically. Second, even as DC and Baltimore grow increasingly more interconnected, that doesn't mean there isn't a significant difference in place. Third, the report is referencing DC's relative position amongst the primary cities of the world - New York, London, Hong Kong, etc. That's something measured in terms of economic might and political influence, not necessarily raw size. There's a reason why Tokyo has a lot more pull than Lagos, for example. The larger point remains - MLS isn't at a point yet where teams in both Baltimore and DC make sense. Moving DCU to Baltimore means you've positioned the one team (for the time being) you can have in those two markets in the weaker part of it. It means you can't fully take advantage of DC's benefits, but you've also just signed a portion of the DC market over to a Baltimore team, making it hard to re-capture the DC market fully without simultaneously undermining the team in Ballmer.
It's kinda funny talking about this as these studies and predictions are based on scales of 50-100 years or more. Like Will Chang will be around then and gives a flip about any of it. If he's smart, and the league is smart, they do everything in their power to keep a team in DC.
The study is irrelevant, all of the points I mention apply right now. I'd also note that Will Chang is somewhat irrelevant, too - he is merely an investor in the league which will presumably still be around many decades from now. Even if Chang wants to flip the team (and I have no indication that he does), the league is the one that has the long-term stake in the team's location.
Actually, it's not even like that. Newark is only about 10 miles away from NYC as the crow flies. It's considered a pain in the ass to get to because of NYC megacity traffic. (And because, NYC being a megacity, it's perceived that anyone who lives there can get anything they need on a regular basis without going more than a few blocks from home). The physical distance between Baltimore and DC is not like New-York-to-Newark, it's more like New-York-to-Princeton (or New York to Norwalk, CT in the other direction). If DC becomes a megacity, unless their accompanying 'traffic miracle' pans out, Baltimore gets further away, not closer. And it certainly gets mentally further away. Absolutely. The population ratio has been swinging DC's way for the last 40 years. And since the Great Recession has made DC the highest per capita income metro area in the country, that trend isn't going to halt any time soon. Or at least, every owner has to think about what his team would be worth when he's done with it.
This is a lot of jibber jabber over a report by a bunch of Futurists. ...now where did I put the keys to my flying car.
With as many numb-nuts as there are on the roads today, I sure don't want those idiots flying over me! Funny, how I used to dream of this happening, as a kid. If it were to happen tomorrow, I would move to someplace where it wasn't allowed!
Can DC have skyscrapers? I thought nothing could be taller than the capitol building. I like it though, more of a Parisian feel of a timeless city.
I guess it's lucky that they'll cost 200 grand a pop. That'll be a good limiting factor on the number of chuckleheads who try to buy one.
There is a height restriction; but the idea of building height being limited by the height of the Capitol is an urban legend.