The megaregion has emerged as the preferred unit of analysis for freight transportation and global trade. In the United States, trade and transportation barriers of state boundaries can impede the formation of megaregions, resulting in the hampering of economic development. As a preliminary investigation of the Gulf Coast megaregion, we performed a content analysis of the relationship between freight-related themes in the comprehensive and long-range plans for the metropolitan areas and the respective 11 parishes (counties) in southeastern Louisiana. Our results indicated a slight correlation between freight transportation infrastructure resources and theme frequencies in the histograms, but an overall lack of planning focus on freight infrastructure or trade capacities throughout the study area. Although freight transportation is becoming important federally, Louisiana state and local governments do not fully plan for it, leading to outdated transportation systems, inefficiency, and congestion.

中文翻译：

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大区域货运规划的脱节阻碍了路易斯安那州墨西哥湾沿岸

大区域已成为货运和全球贸易的首选分析单位。在美国，国家边界的贸易和运输壁垒会阻碍特大区域的形成，从而阻碍经济发展。作为对墨西哥湾沿岸大区域的初步调查，我们对路易斯安那州东南部大都市区与各自11个教区（县）的综合和长期规划中货运相关主题之间的关系进行了内容分析。我们的结果表明，货运基础设施资源与直方图中的主题频率之间存在轻微相关性，但总体上缺乏对整个研究区域货运基础设施或贸易能力的规划。