From 1940 to 1970, the United States was characterized by both rapid population growth and rapid urbanization. However, in the 1970's, both of these trends have diminished. A decline in the birth rate has brought lower overall growth--with the decline being the greatest in the major metropolitan areas. There is firm evidence of shift in population…

A number of potential consequences are discussed (problems of social integration, fiscal effects, land utilization issues) and the analytic utility of a social systems perspective is examined. Understanding the reversal phenomenon and its sociocultural impacts, it is suggested, represents a formidable research challenge for rural sociologists.…

A systematic description and evaluation of the socioeconomic conditions of nonmetropolitan United States provides important information for policymakers and researchers in rural education. This book is one of a series aimed at converting the statistics of the 1980 census into an analytical profile of major changes in U.S. life. The volume…

Examining the reversal in out migration since 1970, this study of seven coal-producing, non-metropolitan counties in Eastern Kentucky explored employment related reasons for moving and compared socioeconomic characteristics of residents and migrants. Viewed as typical of major social and economic trends in central Appalachia, Kentucky was chosen…

Educational, medical, and other services in rural areas have been undergoing a consolidation and centralization process to bring about more efficient operation. A research project sponsored by the United Methodist Church was designed to assess the position of the church as a decentralized unit in a small community relative to its leadership…