[bootlegga]

$1:

The U.S. and Canada's emerging cities are not experiencing the kind of super-charged growth one sees in urban areas of the developing world, notably China and India. But unlike Europe, this huge land mass' population is slated to expand by well over 100 million people by 2050, driven in large part by continued immigration.

In the course of the next 40 years, the biggest gainers won't be behemoths like New York, Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles, but less populous, easier-to-manage cities that are both affordable and economically vibrant.

Americans may not be headed to small towns or back to the farms, but they are migrating to smaller cities. Over the past decade, the biggest migration of Americans has been to cities with between 100,000 and 1 million residents. In contrast, notes demographer Wendell Cox, regions with more than 10 million residents suffered a 10 per cent rate of net outmigration, and those between 5 million and 10 million lost a net 2.4 per cent.

To read it all;

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/personal-fi ... ing-cities

[BartSimpson]

The new major megalopolis of North America; Guelph, Ontario.

[Lemmy]

Don't laugh. Guelph is a nightmare to get around because of growth. When I first came to Guelph as an undergrad in 1987, it had a population around 70,000. It's more than doubled in 20 years. The city streets were laid out like a spoked wheel. What do you think happens when you try urban development on that plan? GRIDLOCK! There's a popular saying in Canada: "We have two seasons, winter and construction". In Guelph, there's one season and it ain't winter.

[Bruce_the_vii]

People all over Canada know Toronto is large, congested and expensive. The breaks on growth should be put on now so it does not become a Chicago. I have a bright idea in this regard, raise wages. Specifically legislate a high minimum wage in the Greater City Area only so businesses recolate elsewhere.

[ASLplease]

its always alot easier to figure out a way to spend other people's money, bruce.

[Bruce_the_vii]

You're right there. Increasing minimum wage would inflate a little, cost. That is what I'm advocating. However I calculate the cost would be minimal and I have a list of some 35 advantages to it. So it's a strategy rather than a social program. In particular it's a way of approaching the problem economic growth is to less than average jobs, specifically to jobs without a pension. You don't really want to grow the country in that manner. Cutting the bottom skews the growth up. So this is strategic. Maximizing grow is costing people, pick your poison.