Metropolitan Areas

Major U.S. Metro Areas in a Transition Period, According to Census Analysis
The nation's growth slowed from 2010 and 2020, according to 2020 Census data, and demographers are still trying to figure out what population trends mean for the future of country's major metropolitan areas.

Census: Big Cities Lost Population During the Pandemic
For the first time in at least three decades, major metropolitan areas in the U.S. showed negative population growth during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID and the Urban-Rural Divide
Researchers at the University of Iowa analyzed COVID-19 death data in rural and metropolitan counties and found that rural Americans have died at twice the rate as those living in more urbanized counties. The health divide will only widen.

What Is a Suburb?
Another term lacking a consensus definition in the field of planning, "suburb" is usually deployed to describe residential communities outside central urban areas.

Misunderstanding Metros
The vernacular notion of "metro area" or "urban region" may not match up with standard political designations, like municipality, county, state, or city-state. Too bad. Ambiguity and complexity are hallmarks of today's mega-cities.

El Paso Update: 'On the Brink of Disaster'
Among the nation's more populous counties, El Paso continues to suffer the most severe coronavirus outbreak. One out of nearly every 30 residents currently has COVID-19. Four additional mobile morgues, on top of the existing six, have been ordered.

Corona Crisis in America: The Metropolitan Area to Watch
The battle to control the coronavirus in the U.S is being led by 50 governors and the D.C. mayor, but ultimately it is at the local level where decisions are often the most consequential. Among large counties, the crisis is most severe in El Paso.

In U.S., Income Growth Dispersing to More Places
The country’s economic pie is sliced up differently now as growth in metropolitan areas involves either income or population increases—but not both.

Metro Monitor 2020 Report Identifies Uneven Growth Around the United States
A record period of U.S. economic prosperity has reshaped the economy of the U.S., in particularly obvious patterns at the metropolitan level. A new Brookings report details the way metro areas have changed.

What Are America's Fastest-Growing Cities?
Views about urban growth and decline often rely on statistics for metropolitan regions rather than cities proper. Here, Richard Florida looks at the fastest- and slowest-growing cities in America, separate from their metro areas.

What's Driving the Fastest Growing Land Values in the Upper Midwest?
Fargo-Moorhead, the metropolitan statistical area straddling North Dakota and Minnesota, has seen the quickest growth in land value in the Upper Midwest for the span of years between 2012 and 2017.

Predictions That Phoenix and Tucson Will Merge Revisited
Before the recession, bumper Arizona home sales led to predictions that the state's two largest cities might merge by 2040. The downturn stalled those forecasts, but now they're being revisited.

Study: Housing Crisis Stems from Inequality (Not Zoning)
A new paper examines the impacts of broad economic trends—like inequality, job markets, and migration—on housing markets in the nation's major metropolitan areas.

A Case for Giving Midsized Metro Areas More Attention
As major cities draw in wealth and population, midsized metros may be getting less attention than they deserve. After all, many of their economic, demographic, and political challenges resemble those of the nation as a whole.

Study: Housing Vouchers Fuel Racial Segregation
The trend should serve as a "wake-up call" for housing policy, researchers say.

The Boundaries of Houston Don't Match the Perception of Houston
A more-than-6oo-square-mile city can get hard to map in our minds, especially when it blends so seamlessly into surrounding cities.

Asia Dominates Metropolitan Growth; California Cities Also in the Top Ten
The Brookings Institution released the Global Metro Monitor 2018 report this week.

Examining the Income Inequality of Cities and Metro Areas
A rising tide doesn't necessarily lift all boats—even in a time of (mostly) decreasing income inequality at the city level.
Mapping the Latest GDP Data for the Nation's Metropolitan Areas
Continuing Planetizen's survey of data dumps by the federal government is a post devoted to the gross domestic product (economic clout, in other words) of the country's metropolitan areas.

New ULI Report Classifies Differences Among Suburbs
The U.S. remains largely a suburban nation, though central cities are experiencing a great comeback after years of population loss. But what exactly is a suburb? A new report from the Urban Land Institute provides answers by providing subcategories.
Pagination
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research