The term “rural” suggests many things to many people, such as agricultural landscapes, isolation, small towns, and low population density.However, defining “rural” for health policy and research pu...

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Rural Definitions for Health Policy and Research

A structural model of regional economic growth is estimated using data for 2243 rural US counties Five indices designed to capture specific amenity and quality of life characteristics are constructed using fifty-four separate indicators Results suggest that amenity characteristics can be organized into consistent and meaningful empirical measures that move beyond ad hoc descriptions of amenities In addition to insights into the influence of local characteristics ranging from tax burdens to income distribution on regional economic growth, results suggest that predictable relationships between amenities, quality of life, and local economic performance exist

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The Role of Amenities and Quality of Life In Rural Economic Growth

This review examines research on the assimilation of immigrant groups. We review research on four primary benchmarks of assimilation: socioeconomic status, spatial concentration, language assimilation, and intermarriage. The existing literature shows that today's immigrants are largely assimilating into American society along each of these dimensions. This review also considers directions for future research on the assimilation of immigrant groups in new southern and midwestern gateways and how sociologists measure immigrant assimilation. We document the changing geography of immigrant settlement and review the emerging body of research in this area. We argue that examining immigrant assimilation in these new immigrant gateways is crucial for the development of theories about immigrant assimilation. We also argue that we are likely to see a protracted period of immigrant replenishment that may change the nature of assimilation. Studying this change requires sociologists to use both birth cohort and genera...

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ASSESSING IMMIGRANT ASSIMILATION: New Empirical and Theoretical Challenges

Low-density rural home development is the fastest-growing form of land use in the United States since 1950. This ''exurban'' development ( ;6-25 homes/km 2 ) includes urban fringe development (UFD) on the periphery of cities and rural residential development (RRD) in rural areas attractive in natural amenities. This paper synthesizes current knowl- edge on the effects of UFD and RRD. We present two case studies and examine the patterns of biodiversity response and the ecological mechanisms that may underlie these responses. We found that many native species have reduced survival and reproduction near homes, and native species richness often drops with increased exurban densities. Exotic species, some human-adapted native species, and species from early successional stages often in- crease with exurban development. These relationships are sometimes nonlinear, with sharp thresholds in biodiversity response. These effects may be manifest for several decades following exurban development, so that biodiversity is likely still responding to the wave of exurban expansion that has occurred since 1950. The location of exurban development is often nonrandom relative to biodiversity because both are influenced by biophysical factors. Consequently, the effects on biodiversity may be disproportionately large relative to the area of exurban development. RRD is more likely than UFD to occur near public lands; hence it may have a larger influence on nature reserves and wilderness species. The ecological mechanisms that may underlie these responses involve alteration of habitat, ecological processes, biotic interactions, and increased human disturbance. Research on the patterns and mechanisms of biodiversity remains underdeveloped, and comparative and experimental studies are needed. Knowledge resulting from such studies will increase our ability to understand, manage, and mitigate negative impacts on biodiversity.

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Effects of exurban development on biodiversity: patterns, mechanisms, and research needs

This review focuses on dietary intake and dietary supplement use among the U.S. population age 1-74 based on four National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys conducted in 1971-74, 1976-80, 1988-94, and 1999-2000. Secular trends in intake of energy, macronutrients, cholesterol, sodium, calcium, iron, folate, zinc, vitamins A and C, fruits, vegetables, and grain products are summarized. During the 30-year period, mean energy intake increased among adults, and changed little among children age 1-19, except for an increase among adolescent females. Factors contributing to increases in energy intake include increases in the percentage of the population eating away from home (particularly at fast-food restaurants), larger portion sizes of foods and beverages, increased consumption of sweetened beverages, changes in snacking habits, and improved dietary methodology. Dietary supplement use increased among adult men and women, decreased among children age 1-5, and was stable for children age 6-11 and adolescents.

Secular trends in dietary intake in the united states

Discontent with the current definition of metropolitan areas and the lack of differentiation within nonmetropolitan territory provided the incentive for the research presented here. Census tracts rather than counties were used as the building blocks for assignment of tracts, not just to metropolitan areas, but also to larger towns (10,000 to 49,999) and to smaller urban places (2,500 to 9,999). The analysis used 1990 census-defined urbanized areas and tract-to-tract commuter flows. Results include a modest shift of population from metropolitan to nonmetropolitan, as well as a significant reduction in the areal size of metropolitan areas, disaggregation of many areas, and frequent reconfiguration to a more realistic settlement form. [Key words: metropolitan, urban-rural, commuting.]

Metropolitan, urban, and rural commuting areas: toward a better depiction of the united states settlement system

Since 1980, the nonmetro Hispanic population in the United States has doubled and is now the most rapidly growing demographic group in rural and small-town America. By 2000, half of all nonmetro Hispanics lived outside traditional settlement areas of the Southwest. Many Hispanics in counties that have experienced rapid Hispanic growth are recent U.S. arrivals with relatively low education levels, weak English proficiency, and undocumented status. This recent settlement has increased the visibility of Hispanics in many new regions of rural America whose population has long been dominated by non-Hispanic Whites. Yet within smaller geographic areas, the level of residential separation between them increased —i.e., the two groups became less evenly distributed—during the 1990s, especially in rapidly growing counties. Hispanic settlement patterns warrant attention by policymakers because they affect the well-being of both Hispanics and rural communities themselves.

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New patterns of hispanic settlement in rural America

Defining the "Rural" in Rural America

As broadband—or high-speed—Internet use has spread, Internet applications requiring high transmission speeds have become an integral part of the “Information Economy,” raising concerns about those who lack broadband access. This report analyzes (1) rural broadband use by consumers, the community-at-large, and businesses; (2) rural broadband availability; and (3) broadband’s social and economic effects on rural areas. It also summarizes results from an ERS-sponsored workshop on rural broadband use, and other ERS-commissioned studies. In general, rural communities have less broadband Internet use than metro communities, with differing degrees of broadband availability across rural communities. Rural communities that had greater broadband Internet access had greater economic growth, which conforms to supplemental research on the benefits that rural businesses, consumers, and communities ascribe to broadband Internet use.

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Broadband Internet's Value for Rural America

America's appetite, like its population, is always changing. Foods once favored are now rarely eaten. Foods once only dreamed about are a reality. Dining out, once thought to be a luxury, is now common. The Nation's population is wealthier, older, more educated, and more ethnically diverse than in the past. And these demographic changes are likely to become more pronounced in the next 20 years. Consumers will continue to demand new food products, new packaging, more convenience, new delivery systems, and safer and more nutritious foods. Consequently, USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) has undertaken an extensive effort to project how population growth, an aging population, ethnic diversity, other demographic trends, and income growth will affect future food choices and how the food system will respond to such changes. By 2020, the U.S. population will add between 50 and 80 million people-all becoming part of the food system. Based on an increase of 50 million food customers, U.S. food expenditures are projected to rise 26 percent between 2000 and 2020. With food spending already approaching $800 billion in 2001, the projected increase will boost food sales of supermarkets, restaurants, fast food outlets, and other retail food establishments by $208 billion. Increased food spending driven by population growth is just one way consumers will shape the future of the U.S. food system. Our research is also designed to understand how shifts in the demographic profile of the projected U.S. population in 2020 will affect what people will eat and how much they will spend, where people will eat, and what product characteristics will command the consumer's food dollar. These future food choices will have implications for the organizational structure of the food industry and for the economic wellbeing of farmers, food processors, retailers, and other participants in the food production and marketing system- our concept of "consumerdriven agriculture."

John Cromartie

Papers

Metropolitan, urban, and rural commuting areas: toward a better depiction of the united states settlement system

New patterns of hispanic settlement in rural America

Defining the "Rural" in Rural America

Broadband Internet's Value for Rural America

America's Changing Appetite: Food Consumption and Spending to 2020