Economists, demographers and planers are at work looking at what America will look like at mid-century, in what is called America 2050. While it sounds far off into the future and chances are, I and many of you will be long gone from the scene, it really is not that distant. How many of you remember 1970, only a short 40 years ago? The America 2050 forecasters are projecting an America that will have 11 megaregions of economic and political activity. They are: the Northeast; the Piedmont Atlantic, Southern Florida, the Gulf Coast, the Texas Triangle, the Great Lakes, the Front Range (Rocky Mountains), the Arizona Sun Corridor, Southern California, Northern California, and the Pacific Cascades. These megaregions will, in the view of forecasters, be where the economic, cultural and political action is likely to be centered. Most of these megaregions will also be majority minority. The project is looking at the transportation, energy, and infrastructure needs of these megaregions and how they connect to each other. There are already signs of cohesion within several of these areas as political boundaries break down because of technology and improved infrastructure. While much of what we do is going virtual, we will still need to live somewhere in a community. These communities will get larger and our antiquated political systems will most likely lag these developments. But our businesses cannot afford to be behind the demographic and structural changes that are inexorably taking place as we speak long before we get to America 2050. Are you ready for change?
April 5, 2010
