Although knowledge of how the population of an area is structured and how it is constantly changing will not solve problems created by the changes, it will provide a basis for understanding the needs of an area and for better program planning. Population processes that produce growth or decline in areas include natural increase, migration, and…

Current U.S. settlement patterns have begun to exhibit a significant shift away from very large metropolitan centers toward more thinly settled peripheral areas. This new trend has been the subject of many recent studies which have considered data on the county level but have been unable to detect population movement within counties and among…

Several simulations of population, income, and employment in rural and urban America during 1970-2000 were made based on alternative assumptions. The assumptions entailed implementation of certain policies that might effect a more equal rural-urban balance by the year 2000, in addition to a continuation of current trends. If basic trends continue,…

Describing issues relative to economic development in nonmetropolitan areas, this document presents narrative and tabular data re: (1) the causal forces behind economic decline in rural America (technology, shifting patterns of demand for goods and services, and changes in life styles and residential preferences); (2) the incidence and indicators…