Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023
Physical distance doesn’t matter. Patterns of how people move within cities matter. People in one city might commute 20 miles to work by car, while in another travelling such a distance would be almost unfathomable and people who work in one district might never set foot in another just a few miles away. E.g., hit restaurants in London that start in Soho will often open another location in Shoreditch, or vice versa, because many people literally go to one and never the other.
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Arguing about city growth limits is difficult because cities are political constructs. Suppose in the Year 2500 Chicago changes the state laws and annexes the rest of the state of Illinois? Politically, it’s very possible and would make the theoretical limit very large indeed.
Using commuting zones and CBDs is also debatable, because the boundaries are fuzzy and don’t really account for decentralized employers like manufacturers. Reverse commuting, super-commuting, zooming, etc. can also create limitless cities. If the main CBD reaches its limits, a city can build new transportation routes to create a supporting node.
I would use infrastructure to estimate possible limits. Cities are basically corporations that exist to provide certain unified utilities, transportation, and other such services that can’t scale infinitely.
Water and sewage connections are really excellent to distinguish the core city from exurbs and satellite cities. Gas, Public Transit, Electric and Internet are also useful.
https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/2050/d...t/water-supply
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/..._325812868/amp
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/..._257935537/amp