Contrasts to the South

The South has had a notorious reputation for usually being more conservative in politics and its close connection to slavery and loss. This is in opposition to the Northern colonies in which New York City dwells in that remain much more radical and diverse in both politics and demographics. The South also has less population density, which did result in Agrarian Settlement patterns and usage of vast land for farming and manufacturing, unlike New York City, whose population density is the greatest in the United States. This sometimes results in higher poverty levels due to economic stress, but the South has always been much more impoverished because of the lack of economic power to begin with.

Vs.

Appalachia - Beautiful but Problematic

New York City is not terribly far from the most northern point of the Appalachian region. In comparison, it's easy to understand the huge success of New York City and it's growth as a Megalopolis, as it has available resources such as it's many waterways to attain natural crops and trade and with a rather flat topography. The Appalachian region's hilly and irregular topography is a reason why there is little to no farming and growth of crops, forcing a majority of landowners to have necessary support from surrounding regions.

New York City is also much more compact than the Appalachian region, which is made up more of valleys and clearings. It is for this reason that many people from New York vacation through these valleys not just for the picturesque nature but to find open spacing. The economy of the Appalachian region has nearly doubled because many people can afford 2nd homes in the area.

NYC is Not Bypassed

This post consists of looking at the Bypassed East, which is a general region located in Northern New England. While the state of New York is certainly a part of Northern New England, the CITY of New York is NOT a part of the Bypassed East. That doesn't mean we can't talk about it, right? In fact, only a portion of the state of New York is a part of The Bypassed East, and this includes the Adirondack Mountains in the North Eastern part of the state. These mountains make up a part of the southern extension of the Canadian Shield and, compared to the rest of the mountain ranges in the Bypassed East, it is more rounded rather than angular.

Manufacturing in the Big Apple

New York City provides a plethora of different types of industries that deal with manufacturing. The website MadeInNYC.org states the following:

"There are over 6,000 manufacturing companies in New York City, employing approximately 81,000 New Yorkers. A healthy industrial sector adds stability to the local economy by providing stable jobs and bringing much-needed export dollars into the City."

This also adds to the many non-English speaking citizens to pursue career opportunities and have a formidable living stature. NYC is also a major supporter of manufacturing "green" products as population density has increased the amount of pollution and greener products are helping to tone it down.

NYC manufactures everything construction and furniture, clothing and fabrics, jewelry, paper supplies and printing, food (mainly apples with as many as 32 million bushels annually), metals and ore, and electrical. For such a big city in a small area, there's no wonder as to why it would need to manufacture a lot to be financially stable as well as environmentally stable.

Metropolis? Think Megalopolis

Just upon personal experience, New York City is one of the most crowded cities in the United States if not the entire world. There are times when you practically walk with others - in droves. There is close to no point in driving your car around the streets and you're better off using the many ways of transport to get from destination to destination, such as the subway, bus, or taxi. Buildings escalate as you walk next to them and they overshadow the 8 million people that crowd into Times Square every New Year. This is one dense city that is well-defined as a Megalopolis.

New York City's location is essential to making it a Megalopolis, in that it's on the island of Manhatten. The fact that it's surrounded by waterways makes it an absolute prime spot for harboring ships and bringing in trade. This further helped the development of the city when it was colonized during the British settlement, and then they further expanded into new suburbs. The Hudson River has allowed for more port facilities and accessibility. These factors have helped to bring settlers close to sites such as NYC, for there is a lot in terms of business and economic relations.

The city has since been built around it's primal site. The amount that it has expanded is slight, however, because now such a small city has to fit it all within the confines. This is why urbanized areas are filled with tall buildings, overcrowding, and dense population. As much as these may sound like hindrances, however, the large amount of people have contributed to growing development of localized transportation and communication. NYC boasts a highly complex subway network, which is unlike any of it's kind around the world.

The Megalopolis known as New York City is perhaps the greatest in the entire U.S., and it can be certain that it will remain that way for a long time more.