Who gets to claim suburbs between Baltimore and DC? (commuting to, metro area)

[Rufus Clay Banger]

If you live in Southern Howard County, MD, then you know you'll never, ever be represented in the DC media market. Not in weather forecasts...not in breaking news....not in traditional reporting. Even more absurd is that Leesburg, VA, which gets every type of coverage imaginable in the DC news market, sits at the virtually the same latitude as Laurel, Howard County. But, nope, you'll hear nothing about it in the DC news, even as thousands commute to DC daily.

Baltimore barely covers the area either, so we're talking about as close to a "news no man's land" as it gets.

[the resident09]

DC news has been expanding it's reach further into Howard and A. Arundel. Just last night there was a report on a murder in Columbia that took place, Fox 5 covered it. This was just after they ran news from DC and MoCo. We all know how the news runs, they bring up all bad stuff first in the beginning 8 mins. Because of the issue being a murder, Howard County took precedence over some other news worthy activities that day in the DMV.

[slowlane3]

The U.S. Census Bureau groups entire Counties into an MSA - they do not split up counties.

Sometime in the 1950s, fast-growing metropolitan Washington surpassed the more lackluster metropolitan Baltimore in population and influence. So Frederick city, MD, to give an example, is equidistant in miles to both Washington and Baltimore. But because Montgomery County grew high-tech suburbs reaching out to the northwest, Frederick residents are more likely to commute to Germantown and Gaithersburg than they are to Baltimore. Therefore, all of Frederick County, MD, extending clear out to Emmitsburg on the PA border, is included in the Washington MSA.

And because many people commute to Baltimore from Kent Island, that means the Census Bureau has included ALL of Queen Anne's County - even east to the Delaware border - as part of metropolitan Baltimore

The most ridiculous example are San Bernardino County, CA (the nation's largest county, extending approximately 220 miles across) and next to it, Riverside County, both east of Los Angeles. On countless statistical maps and reports, ALL of these 2 really enormous counties are color-coded representing whatever point the writer is trying to make, so it appears that they're suburban, when in fact most of their land area is desert wasteland.

[Digger 68]

Originally Posted by slowlane3

The U.S. Census Bureau groups entire Counties into an MSA - they do not split up counties.

Sometime in the 1950s, fast-growing metropolitan Washington surpassed the more lackluster metropolitan Baltimore in population and influence. So Frederick city, MD, to give an example, is equidistant in miles to both Washington and Baltimore. But because Montgomery County grew high-tech suburbs reaching out to the northwest, Frederick residents are more likely to commute to Germantown and Gaithersburg than they are to Baltimore. Therefore, all of Frederick County, MD, extending clear out to Emmitsburg on the PA border, is included in the Washington MSA.

And because many people commute to Baltimore from Kent Island, that means the Census Bureau has included ALL of Queen Anne's County - even east to the Delaware border - as part of metropolitan Baltimore

The most ridiculous example are San Bernardino County, CA (the nation's largest county, extending approximately 220 miles across) and next to it, Riverside County, both east of Los Angeles. On countless statistical maps and reports, ALL of these 2 really enormous counties are color-coded representing whatever point the writer is trying to make, so it appears that they're suburban, when in fact most of their land area is desert wasteland.

And what did you base this on?

[dukeofbelair]

The question isn't who gets to claim them. The question is why the region isn't just understood to be one metroplex.

Nobody asks if Grapevine or Arlington is a suburb of Dallas or Fort Worth. They just call them the Middle Cities region and shrug. The distance between Fort Worth and Dallas, and the distance between their respective highway loops is similar to Baltimore and DC. The metro areas aren't too far off (7.5 million for DFW, 9.7 Million for DC-BMore)

Why is there such an effort to view these as two distinct metropolitan areas?

[the resident09]

Originally Posted by dukeofbelair

The question isn't who gets to claim them. The question is why the region isn't just understood to be one metroplex.

Nobody asks if Grapevine or Arlington is a suburb of Dallas or Fort Worth. They just call them the Middle Cities region and shrug. The distance between Fort Worth and Dallas, and the distance between their respective highway loops is similar to Baltimore and DC. The metro areas aren't too far off (7.5 million for DFW, 9.7 Million for DC-BMore)

Why is there such an effort to view these as two distinct metropolitan areas?

Totally agreed, but to answer your question it's the history of the region, and the fact that Baltimore was it's own city and metro first before DC. That's where it stops.

A blind man/woman can see this is one large metropolitan region with two heads, and two independent spheres, really not different from Dallas Fort Worth to be honest. Everything outside those spheres is utter suburbia no different from metro Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, or New York. It's just the in between suburbs are just feeder towns that go into either DC or Baltimore's sphere. Some more than the other, but it goes both ways.

For the first 150 years of these two cities the region around them grew independently. I think the next 150 years they will grow more congruent and with each other.

[BigCityDreamer]

Originally Posted by dukeofbelair

The question isn't who gets to claim them. The question is why the region isn't just understood to be one metroplex.

It isn't understood that way yet. But I believe it will be in the future.

I think the Baltimore suburbs especially will have less and less of an identity apart from the DC area. That is how things are trending.

Where does the wealth in Howard County come from anyway?

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by dukeofbelair

Why is there such an effort to view these as two distinct metropolitan areas?

History and Money.

[Digger 68]

Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer

It isn't understood that way yet. But I believe it will be in the future.

I think the Baltimore suburbs especially will have less and less of an identity apart from the DC area. That is how things are trending.

Where does the wealth in Howard County come from anyway?

Not on the northern side of the Baltimore County........the largest, and most affluent part of the county that very few people on here know anything about.

The wealth in Howard County came from both cities. Southern Howard County is what you are talking about.

I wonder where the wealth comes from up here

[BigCityDreamer]

Originally Posted by Digger 68

Not on the northern side of the Baltimore County........the largest, and most affluent part of the county that very few people on here know anything about.

The wealth in Howard County came from both cities. Southern Howard County is what you are talking about.

I wonder where the wealth comes from up here

But I am asking where do most of the high earners make their money?

It is it tied to the DC area or the Baltimore area?