Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
1970 that the definition stabilized to include whole counties with two defining
criteria: a population of 50,000 inhabitants and the presence of commuters (limited
to 50%). Even with such a simple definition, the geography of metropolitan areas
continues to change from one census to another.
The 1970 census identified 232 metropolitan areas (including Honolulu in the
Hawaiian Islands), covering 13% of the country, and representing 69% of the
population.
More than 81.5 million people lived in one of 34 metropolitan areas with over
1 million inhabitants. While 19 of these cities were concentrated in the Northeast,
there were six in the South and nine in the West, including six in California. With
more than 7 million people, Los Angeles had the second largest population in the
country, just before Chicago.
As Meinig [MEI 04] pointed out, widespread access to home air-conditioning,
starting in 1950, completely transformed the conditions for settling in Southern
cities. The coasts were attractive, with nearly 27% of the population living in a
coastal county on the Atlantic or Pacific.
The rise of the Sunbelt was not only due to the appeal of the sun and the beach;
the militarization of US industry also played a key role. The US Navy was,
naturally, based on the coast, and the successive wars of the Pacific, Korea, and
Vietnam, strengthened the importance of naval bases on the Pacific coast. It was, in
the main, the decision of the US Air Force (USAF) to be based in frost-free areas
that explains the rise of the Sunbelt since the bases in that area preceded the arrival
of the aeronautics industry. Having reached its maximum potential for domestic
production, the US oil industry was another factor that explained the success of
many cities in the production regions of the South and West (see Chapter 2).
The attractiveness of the Sunbelt was also supported by population aging. New
middle-class retirees in search of mild winters brought great profit to Florida, but it
was in Phoenix, Arizona, that the first residential community reserved for seniors
was created (Sun City, 1959).
The population of small towns and predominantly rural areas (non-metropolitan
areas), spanning 87% of the territory of conterminous states, had not increased by
more than 10 million people in 40 years (+20%), with an average density of 9 people
per km². The average population growth in the High Plains and mountains slowed
down despite the development of some western cities such as Denver. About 74% of
the population lived under the altitude of 250 meters.
