The region formed by merging megacities with surrounding populations into a larger urban entity is called a:

• A. Suburb
• B. Megaregion
• C. Megalopolis
• D. Metropolis

Answer: (B)

When several large urban centers grow and their surrounding areas merge, creating an economy and infrastructure that function as one broad urban system, that region is described as a megaregion. This term emphasizes the interconnectedness of multiple cities and their hinterlands—shared labor markets, transportation, and planning—over a single city with its immediate surroundings. A suburb is simply the outlying residential zone of one city, not a connected multi-city region. A metropolis points to one major city and its surrounding area, not a network of several cities. While megalopolis also refers to a very large urbanized area along a corridor of cities, the description given fits the megaregion concept, which centers on the integrated region formed by multiple megacities and their populations.