In the next fifty years the United States will face explosive population growth. Like most countries around the world, the population in the United States is increasingly concentrating in urbanized areas. This population shift will challenge planners, academics and decision makers to develop a new theoretical and practical framework in order to provide equal opportunities for all Americans, while keeping the U.S. globally competitive.

One approach receiving national interest is the concept of the Megaregion, which takes the form of multiple metropolitan areas that are connected by social, economic, environmental, transportation and communication relationships.

On June 28-29, 2007 the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development at the Georgia Institute of Technology hosted a symposium on Megaregions that brought together leading researchers and practitioners from several disciplines to discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by newly developing Megaregions. Papers were presented by 14 academics who are contributors to a forthcoming book that is being co-edited by Georgia Tech's Dr. Catherine Ross, executive director of CQGRD and Harry West chair, and Dr. Cheryl Contact, director of the City and Regional Planning Program. The symposium gave the participants a chance to engage in discussion of the theoretical basis of Megaregions from a multidisciplinary perspective and advance the field of Megaregions study.

Presenters and attendees included Armando Carbonell, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy; Chris Nelson, Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech; Susan Fainstein, Harvard University; Norman Fainstein, Connecticut College; Scott Campbell, University of Michigan; Tridib Banerjee, University of Southern California; Tom Luce, University of Minnesota; and Myron Orfield, University of Minnesota; and from Georgia Tech Catherine L. Ross, Cheryl Contant, Jason Barringer, Karen Leone de Nie and Jiawen Yang. Additional contributors are Andreas Faludi, Delft University of Technology: Saskia Sassen, University of Chicago; and Adjo Amekudzi and Michael Meyer of Georgia Tech.

With generous funding provided by the Ford Foundation and Georgia Power the symposium was a great success, and the authors look forward to completing the manuscript in 2008.