CRP 384
Instructor: Ming Zhang
Megaregions (also termed “super-city regions” or “city cluster regions” in the European and Asian context) refer to large geographies consisting of two or more metropolitan areas and their hinterlands. Studies have shown that future population and economic increases in the United States would concentrate in its eleven megaregions, and so are the growing socioeconomic and environmental challenges. Planning for Megaregions is designed to achieve the following learning outcomes:
- Understand megaregion and related concepts and their planning/policy relevance in the U.S. and international context.
- Develop a working knowledge of the geospatial and socioeconomic characteristics of and significant challenges facing the U.S. megaregions.
- Identify/highlight challenges facing the U.S. megaregions concerning economic competitiveness, spatial inequality, and environmental resilience.
- Learn from international experience on megaregional approaches to address the mega-challenges, emphasizing transportation.
The course offers opportunities for international experiential learning. In 2019 and 2020, the course participants attended the workshops organized in Manchester(UK) and The Randstad (The Netherlands)/The Rhine Ruhr (Germany), respectively. The theme for this summer is high-speed rail/high-performance rail (HSR/HPR) and community/regional development. Students will participate in an international workshop in Japan and South Korea on June 6-16. The main activities of the workshop include attending lectures by the hosting universities, riding HSR and its integrated public transportation services, field-investigating HSR/HPR-integrated new towns and industrial parks, and exploring transit-oriented development and historic neighborhoods (program details will be available in April).