Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville rank in the top 50 largest cities in the nation by area. Atlanta and New Orleans are the only other top 50 cities in the Eastern Gulf States region. These four Florida urban centers anchor what is known as the Florida Megaregion, one of eleven recognized in the United States. New Orleans and Baton Rouge are part of the Gulf Coast Megaregion. The growing urban sprawl throughout the Gulf States leads to increasing areas of impervious surface, which results in altered water flows and more urban runoff that transports high levels of nutrients and pollution to aquatic resources. For example in central Mississippi, pathogens, litter/trash, nutrients, and pesticides from increasing urban development [...]
