Why One of America’s Largest Cities Isn’t on the Map

Описание: Most people think of New Jersey as a place you pass through.
Highways, suburbs, and exits between New York and Philadelphia.

But that idea hides something much bigger.

In this documentary, we explore how one of America’s largest urban areas exists in plain sight — without ever being recognized as a city. New Jersey isn’t lacking density, people, or economic power. What it lacks is unity.

We break down:
✓ How New Jersey’s geography shaped where people could settle
✓ Why the state never developed a single dominant city
✓ How historical land deals and local control fractured urban growth
✓ What “boroughitis” did to city building in the late 1800s
✓ And how millions of people now live inside a city that doesn’t know it’s a city

This isn’t a story about decline or failure.
It’s about borders, governance, and how lines on a map can hide an entire metropolis.

Once you stop seeing New Jersey as suburbs — and start seeing it as one fragmented city — everything clicks.

💬 Do you think New Jersey should function as a single city, or is fragmentation part of its identity?
Let us know in the comments.

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