[pj3000]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I don't think using a standard geometric constraint would be apples to apples. For instance, it's not a terrain issue, but I didn't include Windsor, Ontario, in the count for Detroit. With Windsor included, that's about 1.5 million people in an area that is roughly the same size as Dallas (in case you cared).

I think counting 300 or 600 contiguous miles would make the point, and it would start to look the same as urbanized area the larger you made the land area parameter. For instance, if you counted 600 contiguous miles in Miami it would cover half of the urbanized area. If you assume that 50-60% of the population lives in that area, it would most likely be ordered in the same place as the Miami urbanized area, fourth behind NYC, LA, and Chicago.

Yeah, a standard circle is not a true "apples to apples" comparison in real life. Just a apples to apples from a purely geometric parameter. Theoretical exercise.

Urbanized area can be somewhat misleading in cases where a fully developed area is not highly populated; and obviously MSA is in actuality not a specific measure of the size of a city, but rather its reach (which as we well know on here, there are highly tenuous assumptions). At some circular square mileage measure, the largest city list would likely approximate highest population density list.

Interesting way to look at things regardless.

Originally Posted by Stay Stoked Brah

10 mile radius = 314 square miles

Detroit (including Windsor) = 1,676,930
Dallas = 1,305,068
Miami = 1,257,084 (some water)
Minneapolis = 1,262,872
Denver = 1,270,312
Atlanta = 918,355
Seattle = 831,088 (lots of water)
DC = 1,792,926
Chicago = 3,096,327 (some water)
St. Louis = 961,428
Houston = 1,431,672
Boston = 1,621,346 (some water)
Philadelphia = 2,201,664
Los Angeles = 3,853,219
Jersey City = 6,047,279 (map tool wouldn't center on lower Manhattan)

Cool, thanks for this. I wonder if at some radius, NYC is not the largest city? Like, if NYC was only 100 sq miles... roughly 6 mile radius... I imagine large portions of the most populous boroughs Brooklyn and Queens would be eliminated, if centered in Manhattan.