Map by Bill Rankin — Citynoise, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons - 

A quick look at the map of the Northeastern US shows that the principal cities lie roughly in a straight line from Washington to Boston. This Northeast Corridor names a busy rail line, and the megalopolis contains about 17% of the US population on less than 2% of its land area. The Northeast megalopolis (aka “BosWash”) generates trillions in economic activity every year and accounts for more than 20% of the US GDP.

For the purposes of this project, I’m calling it the Megatropolis. The midwest hip-hop collective Doomtree’s second studio album, 2011’s “No Kings”, features a fierce track called “The Grand Experiment.” Play it loud:

 

 

In the fourth verse, Mike Mictlan describes the aspirations of future humanity:

I’m gonna live forever

Give me guerilla arms

Slingshot me into outer space

In hypercolored glitter bombs

We’ll make our mark, huh?

They’ll put no stops to us

We’ll leave our footprints on foothills

And dance the Megatropolis.

 

We have a Megatropolis. What better pursuit than to dance our way through it?