Honky Tonk Foodie
Texas is certainly a mega state. The second-largest amount of land in the U.S. (Alaska is the first), we are used to the term being applied to our fair state. Have you also heard of megaregions? Texaplex, as dubbed by author David Winans, and also known as The Texas Triangle, is one of 11 megaregions in the United States. Megaregions are urban areas that are much larger in scale than a metropolitan statistical area, defined by the US Census Bureau. Texaplex is composed of four main urban centers: Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin; their interstate connections of I-45, I-10, and I-35 form a triangular shape.
Photo: NASA, the Texas triangle from space
Texaplex includes 66 counties, with Burleson County being at the center. The 60,000-square-mile region is the location of most of Texas’s largest cities and metropolitan areas; in 2008, this area contained 17 million people, which is nearly 75% of Texas’s total population. Texaplex, however, contains less than a quarter of the Lone Star state’s overall landmass (261,231.71 square miles). Dallas–Fort Worth was an original recognized megapolitan by Dr. Robert Lang of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech.
Photo: envato elements
The reasons Texans congregate in these areas can be attributed to the 52 Fortune 500 companies found here, as well as top tier universities, ten major professional sports teams, and a multitude of successful businesses. Further, a lack of state income tax, temperate climate, and affordable housing draw new residents and keep the originals here. Over the next 40 years, the Texaplex population is projected to add 10 million more people, growing more than 65%. If accurate, then 78% of Texans will be living and working within the Texas Triangle. Do you consider yourself to be a part of Texaplex? How many people do you know live outside of this region and by how many miles?
