Future Urban Growth and the Nonmetropolitan Population: Policies for Coping with Local Decline.

Peter A. Morrison

Expert InsightsPublished 1972

This paper reviews trends in national urban growth and what they imply for the future nonmetropolitan population. Contiguous urban centers are coalescing into a highly differentiated and interconnected urban system. The expansion of this system is occurring in zones surrounding large urban centers but not yet labeled a part of them. These developments have left some nonmetropolitan areas with populations whose geographic arrangement and socioeconomic composition furthers local economic obsolescence. Two alternative approaches to coping with local decline are examined: (1) a maintenance approach, whereby outmigration would be curtailed and steps taken to rejuvenate the area's economy; and (2) an assisted-migration approach, emphasizing adaptation to rather than reversal of population decline and strengthening the effectiveness of migration as a means of material improvement for individuals. The demographic features of the assisted-migration approach suggest that it is the sounder and more realistic policy strategy. 22 pp.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1972
  • Pages: 22
  • Document Number: P-4801

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Morrison, Peter A., Future Urban Growth and the Nonmetropolitan Population: Policies for Coping with Local Decline. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1972. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P4801.html.
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