megalopolis

views updated May 18 2018

megalopolis In ancient Greek, a large planned town. Used by Lewis Mumford (The Culture of Cities, 1940) to refer to a great metropolis growing uncontrollably, and now to denote a very large, functionally interconnected system of cities and suburbs. See also CONURBATION; METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA.

megalopolis

views updated Jun 08 2018

megalopolis. Very large urban region formed of a metropolis that has far outgrown itself and swallowed many towns and villages, or a series of metropoleis that have joined up (e.g. the urban sprawl between Washington, DC and NYC).

Bibliography

Eldredge (ed.) (1967);
L. Mumford (1938, 1946, 1961)

megalopolis

views updated May 14 2018

meg·a·lop·o·lis / ˌmegəˈläpələs/ • n. a very large, heavily populated city or urban complex.