How Texas would look different if broken into 7 states

How Texas would look split into megaregions Two social scientists split Texas up into megaregions - distinct areas joined not necessarily by geography, but by how people live and commute. >>>Scroll through the gallery to see the seven distinct regions and a few facts about each less How Texas would look split into megaregions Two social scientists split Texas up into megaregions - distinct areas joined not necessarily by geography, but by how people live and commute. >>>Scroll ... more Photo: Garrett Dash Nelson, A Postdoctoral Student In Geography At Dartmouth College, And Alasdair Rae, An Urban Data Analyst At The University Of Sheffield In England Photo: Garrett Dash Nelson, A Postdoctoral Student In Geography At Dartmouth College, And Alasdair Rae, An Urban Data Analyst At The University Of Sheffield In England Image 1 of / 68 Caption Close How Texas would look different if broken into 7 states 1 / 68 Back to Gallery

Texas could be seven distinct megaregions instead of one big state, if two scientists were ever allowed to put their concept of how people live into action.

The scientists, Garrett Dash Nelson, a postdoctoral student in geography at Dartmouth College, and Alasdair Rae, an urban data analyst at the University of Sheffield in England, developed their megaregion proposal based on where people live, work and how they get from one to the other.

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The pair studied 4 million point-to-point commutes, which accounts for 130 million travelers. Then they carved up the numbers and maps to show where the bulk of people drive the most each day.

What they found is, regardless of nearby population centers, seemingly unrelated areas that are father apart have more in common than smaller towns do with large population centers. The two researchers concluded that has to do with the towns that connect the various regions, rather than proximity.

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Along with breaking up the states, the two researchers had some fun with what to call these new regions.

Instead of Houston or Harris County, the area would be known as "Akoksia" - a name that comes from the Atakapan’s Akoksi tribes that once lived in the Baytown area. Other areas also take their names from Native American tribes who once populated the area.

So, while Texas secessionist want the state to leave the Union, these two scientist are just floating the idea of reorganizing things a bit.

Scroll through the gallery to see more about the regions that Texas would be broken up into and the names they were given.