196 



ineteaang burdens on the Nation's resources and its environment. 

 TbesB burdens, in turn, will tax the ability of decisionmakers and the 

 Nation's population to cope with the complexity and insistence of the 

 problems generated by a post-industrial, urbanized society. 



SeCTIOX 2, TkEXI>S IX the EsTCARIXE 2i0XE POPUL-VTIOX AND ECOXOMT 

 FUTUKE POPtTLATIOX GROWTH LX THE ESTTAKIXE ZOXE 



The estuarine zone economic region includes the coastal counties 

 plus a few noncoastal counties included as part of estuarine zone 

 S^LSA's.^ The overall recent population growth rate in the estuarine 

 zone ecc«iomic region has exc-eeded that of the Nation as a whole. From 

 1930 through 10&), the population of the coastal counties and SMSA's 

 increased 78 percent, compared to a national growth rate of 46 per- 

 cent. Future population growth is projected to continue above the 

 national average, but at a somewhat lower rate. Estuarine zone popu- 

 lation is expected to more than double between 19^') and 2020 fnom 

 60 million to 139 million persons. Approximately 3.5 percent of the 

 Nation's total population will then be located on the land area encom- 

 passed by the national estuarine economic region. 



TTiis report focuses on the characteristics of the major urban regions 

 presented in figure IV.-1:.7. Three of the four major urban regions 

 anticipated bv the year 2000 front on the coastal zone : the Atlantic 

 seaboard region, the Florida Peninsula urban region, and the Cali- 

 fornia 'Tnegalopolis." The Lower Great Lakes urban regicm does not 

 border the marine coastal zone but is contiguous to the Great Lakes. 



Major characteristics of the three coastal-related major urban 

 regions are set out below : 



(1) The Atlantic seaboard region extended from Augusta, 

 Elaine to Prince William Cotmty, Va.. in 1960, covering :/)^oZ 

 square miles with a total population of Z7.'> million. By the year 

 2000 it will increase in size to f'AJ)fX) s^^juare miles and will contain 

 78 million persons. It will then extend south to Hampton Roads, 

 Va. and increase in density from 741 pers<His per square mile to 

 1,050. 



(2) The Florida Peninsula urban region included 11,300 square 

 miles in 1960 and contained 3.3 million persons. By the year 2000 

 the region is expected to cover 20/JOO square miles and contain 

 nearly 14 million people. 



(3) The California "megalopolis" will close the gap between 

 the two major urban areas existing in California in 1960, the 

 southern California urban region which extends from the Mexican 

 border in the south to San Maria on the north and has a popula- 

 tion of 8.9 million, and the bay area-central California region, 

 extending from southern Monterey County to Sonoma County in 

 the north and inland to Modesto vrith a population of 4.9 million. 

 In 2000 it will be an agglomeration of urban and metropolitan 

 zon^ 600 miles in length with a population of 44.i> million people. 



Graphic presentation of the growth of these major regions is pre- 

 sented in figures IV.4.8, IV.4.9, and IT.4.10. 



- SMSA's are Standard MetzofKdltaii Statistical Areu. 



