[llamaorama]

Counterpoint: a metro area will eventually hit a limit on geographic size, but it will spawn new edge cities that feed off the region’s population. It will grow leapfrog style.

This is because some economic activities like logistics would have a different definition of what’s “close by” versus an office commuter. Also some might want to still be close enough to do a one-off meeting or a fun day trip even if they aren’t near enough to come in daily. Plus the mere presence of people creates jobs on the edge and people who do those jobs aren’t reliant on going into the urban core.

As it is now, in DFW the far north suburbs are actually more oriented around the Plano-Frisco corridor and have less to do with the CBD.

Likewise I’m sure that Riverside-San Bernardino are the true separate metro the census bureau recognizes them to be, though I’ve never visited these places.