Workshop on Rationalizing Rural Area Classifications
Committee on National Statistics
April 16-17, 2015
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Keck Center, Room 201
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC
| Thursday, April 16 | |
| 8:30–9:10 a.m. |
Session 1: Welcome Moderator: David Brown, Cornell University, Chair, Steering Committee |
| 8:35–8:50 |
Welcome to the National Academies Constance Citro, Director, Committee on National Statistics |
| 8:50–9:10 |
Welcome to workshop and description of workshop goals Mary Bohman, Administrator, Economic Research Service, USDA |
| 9:10–10:40 |
Session 2: Historical development of current rural area classification systems Moderator: Stephan Goetz, Pennsylvania State University |
| 9:10–9:40 |
Census and OMB classifications James Fitzsimmons, Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau |
| 9:40–10:20 |
Classifications used by ERS (with background paper) John Cromartie, Economic Research Service, USDA |
| 10:20–10:40 |
Open floor discussion |
| 10:40–11:00 |
Break |
| 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. |
Session 3: How rural area classification is done elsewhere in the U.S. and internationally Moderator: Mark Partridge, Ohio State University |
| 11:00–11:20 |
Non-ERS classifications in the U.S. Speaker: Brigitte Waldorf, Purdue University (Commissioned paper with Ayoung Kim, Purdue University) |
| 11:20–11:40 |
Labor market area delineations in the U.S. Speaker: Leif Jensen, Penn State University |
| 11:40 a.m.–12 p.m. |
How rural area classification is done in Europe and other highly developed nations Speaker: Paolo Veneri, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
| 12:00–12:15 |
A social constructionist critique of rural area classification Speaker: Keith Halfacree, University of Swansea |
| 12:15–12:30 |
Open floor discussion |
| 12:30–1:30 |
Working lunch |
| 1:30–3:00 |
Session 4: Panel discussion followed by open floor discussion: “The Big Picture”: Changes in society and economy that have contributed to the need for reconsidering rural classification systems Moderator: James Fitzsimmons, U.S. Census Bureau Discussion to include changing context: transformation of U.S. economy, information technology revolution, transformation of global-local relationships, population size and composition, etc. and changing organization of the intergovernmental system increasing the need for |
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sociodemographic and economic information at state and local levels. Panelists: Bruce Weber, Oregon State University |
|
| 3:00–3:15 |
Break |
| 3:15–5:00 |
Session 5: Different ways to conceptualize rural areas in metropolitan society Moderator: David Plane, University of Arizona |
| 3:15–3:35 |
A rural view (with commissioned paper) Speaker: Michael Woods, University of Aberystwyth |
| 3:35–3:45 |
Discussion from an urban demography/sociology point of view Speaker: John Logan, Brown University |
| 3:45–3:55 |
Discussion from a regional inequality point of view Speaker: Gregory Hooks, McMaster University |
| 3:55–4:05 |
Discussion among speakers |
| 4:05–4:15 |
Open floor discussion |
| 4:15–4:30 |
The urban-rural interface as a space of integration rather than of separation, first view Speaker: Daniel Lichter, Cornell University |
| 4:30–4:45 |
The urban-rural interface as a space of integration rather than of separation, second view Speaker: Mark Partridge, Ohio State University |
| 4:45–5:00 |
Open floor discussion |
| 5:00 |
Adjourn for the day—David Brown |
|
Friday, April 17 |
|
| 8:30–10:00 |
Session 6: Panel discussion followed by open floor discussion: How the current rural area classification systems are used in research and in program design and administration Moderator: Brigitte Waldorf, Purdue University Panelists: Douglas O’Brien, White House Domestic Policy Council Timothy Parker, Economic Research Service, USDA Thomas G. Johnson, University of Missouri, and a member of the RuPRI leadership team Kenneth Johnson, University of New Hampshire Rose Olfert, University of Saskatchewan |
| 10:00–10:15 |
Break |
| 10:15–11:45 |
Session 7: Changes in social science data and methods and their impact on rural classification Moderator: James Fitzsimmons, U.S. Census Bureau |
| 10:15–10:35 |
Changing analytical possibilities including GIS and spatial statistics, increasingly powerful computing, etc. (Commissioned paper) Speaker: Alan Murray, Drexel University |
| 10:35–10:50 |
Changing analytical possibilities Speaker: Sarah Low, Economic Research Service, USDA |
| 10:50–11:05 |
Availability and quality of data from the American Community Survey Speaker: Richelle Winkler, Michigan Technological University and member of ACS Data Users Group National Steering Committee |
| 11:05–11:25 |
More frequent availability of local level data at lower levels of geographic scale Speaker: Michael Ratcliffe, Geography Division, U.S. Census Bureau, with |
| 11:25–11:45 |
Open floor discussion |
| 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m. |
Working lunch |
| 12:45–2:00 |
Session 8: Evaluating the reliability and validity of rural area classifications Moderator: Mark Partridge, Ohio State University |
| 12:45–1:05 |
Evaluation using statistical modeling Speaker: Stephan Goetz, Penn State University (Commissioned paper, with Yicheol Han, Penn State University) |
| 1:05–1:20 |
Ground truthing Speaker: Mark Shucksmith, Newcastle University, UK |
| 1:20–1:35 |
Discussant Speaker: Carlianne Patrick, Georgia State University |
| 1:35–2:00 |
Open floor discussion |
| 2:00–3:00 |
Session 9: Panel discussion among members of the workshop’s steering committee and ERS sponsors followed by open floor discussion: Alternate futures for rural area classification Moderator: David Brown, Cornell University Panelists: John Cromartie, Economic Research Service, USDA James Fitzsimmons, U.S. Census Bureau Stephan Goetz, Pennsylvania State University David McGranahan, Economic Research Service, USDA Timothy Parker, Economic Research Service, USDA Mark Partridge, Ohio State University David Plane, University of Arizona Brigitte Waldorf, Purdue University |
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Closing remarks David McGranahan, Economic Research Service, USDA |
|
| 3:00 |
Adjourn the workshop—David Brown |
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
Mary Bohman, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Vince Breneman, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
David L. Brown, Cornell University
Constance F. Citro, Committee on National Statistics, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
John Cromartie, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Giang Do, CDFI Fund, U.S. Department of the Treasury
James Fitzsimmons, U.S. Census Bureau
Robert Gibbs, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Stephan Goetz, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences
Keith Halfacree, Swansea University
Yicheol Han, Penn State University
Jeff Hardcastle, Nevada Department of Taxation
Steven Hirsch, National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
Gregory Hooks, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
Leif Jensen, Penn State University
Kenneth Johnson, University of New Hampshire
Tom Johnson, University of Missouri
Ayoung Kim, Purdue University
Nancy Kirkendall, Committee on National Statistics, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Daniel Lichter, Cornell University
Linda Lobao, Ohio State University
John Logan, Brown University
Sarah Low, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Peter Mateyka, U.S. Census Bureau
David McGranahan, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Brian McKenzie, U.S. Census Bureau
Alan Murray, Drexel University
David Nulph, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Douglas O’Brien, White House Domestic Policy Council
Jennifer Park, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President
Tim Parker, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Mark Partridge, Ohio State University
Carlianne Patrick, Georgia State University
John Pender, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Marc Perry, U.S. Census Bureau
David A. Plane, University of Arizona
Rose Olfert, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Michael Ratcliffe, U.S. Census Bureau
Danielle Rhubart, Penn State University
Michael Sellner (via Webex), U.S. Census Bureau
Shoshana Shapiro, Health Resources and Services Administration
Mark Shucksmith, Newcastle University
Steve Turner, Southern Rural Development Center
Paolo Veneri, OECD
Brigitte Waldorf, Purdue University
Bruce Weber, Oregon State University
Marca Weinberg, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Richelle Winkler, Michigan Technological University
Michael Woods, Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK
Gooloo Wunderlich, Committee on National Statistics, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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