Reports on the vulnerability of 20 urban U.S. watersheds to a range of plausible mid-21^st Century climate change and urban development scenarios.  From the Environmental Protection Agency

Describes the prevalence and trend of abuse of prescription drugs and the types of drugs being abused by characteristics of the counties, whether rural, urban, or urbanized but non-metropolitan.  From the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Explains that change of status for Williamsburg and James City County from central counties to urbanized area caused Surry County to be dropped from Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News metropolitan area based on commuting patterns.  For similar reasons, Gates County North Carolina was added.  From the Hampton Roads Plan District Commission

Press release with information about number and direction of major movers during the 2006-2010 time period.  Also provides links to County-to-County Migration Flow Tables.  From the Census Bureau.

Examines demographic characteristics and spending habits of urban and rural households in the U.S. in 2011 and highlights important differences.  From the Bureau of Labor Statistics

How to create a practical framework for sustainable urbanization in an era when cities are accelerating in size due to rural to urban migration in developing countries.  From the World Bank

Outlines transportation policy, program, infrastructure, and service recommendations for the Northern Virginia region.  Includes plans for heavy rail, streetcar, and rapid bus plus a network of transit hubs with links for last mile connections.  From the Virgina Department of Rail and Public Transportation

Proceedings from a 2011 forum in Baltimore on policies and assumptions for creating alternative future land-use scenarios for the Chesapeake Bay area out to 2025 by which the population is expected to increase by 2 million persons.  From the U.S. Geological Survey

Examines population shifting patterns from within metropolitan and micropolitan areas, especially rapidly changing areas, population concentration and density, and density by distance from historic cores of metro areas.  Identifies large metro areas where population increases have occurred in downtown areas.  From the Census Bureau

Provides information about the metro areas in the U.S. where the largest amount of research and development activity by large firms occurs.  From the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics of the National Science Foundation

Examines the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of some 6,500 areas previously identified as food deserts.  From the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Finds that minority residents of rural areas have the poorest access to preventive health care services.   From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Compares bus rapid transit to rail projects in terms of cost and advantages for economic development in urban corridors.  From the Government Accountability Office

Compares death rates from traffic accidents in the 50 most populous metro areas to rates in the nation as a whole.  Finds widely varying rates in metro areas and calls for study of urban development patterns and how they affect accidents.   From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Examines the impact on urban infrastructure of extreme weather events caused by climate change, especially cascading infrastructure failings.  From the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Press release with information on fastest growing large cities between Census Day 2010 and July 1, 2011.  Texas had 8 of the 15 fastest growing cities.  Provides links to detailed tables.  From the Census Bureau

Provides an overview of commercial sex markets and the role of demand as a driver of prostitution and sex trafficking.  Also describes programs in several communities to reduce or eliminate such commerce by combating demand.  Prepared for the National Institute of Justice

Cites details from National Traffic Scorecard report on trends in traffic congestion in the 100 largest metropolitan areas to document traffic problems in the Hampton Roads area.  Cites Friday afternoons at about 4:30 as the worst time period.  From the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization

Describes the importance of managing urban storm water runoff to protect water resources like the Chesapeake Bay.  From the U.S. Geological Survey

Describes the outcome of a federal project to fund nonmotorized transportation programs in four localities to determine the extent to which bicycling or walking could carry a significant part of the transportation load.  From the Federal Highway Administration

Presents the official United Nations estimates and projections of urban and rural populations for major areas, regions, and countries of the world and of all urban areas with 750,000 inhabitants or more in 2011.  Presents trends of urban and rural world populations for 2011 to 2050.  From the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations

Explores forecasting and monitoring technologies that could help predict weather events unique to urban environments.  From the National Research Council

Presents performance measures for reducing traffic congestion and improving transportation safety in the Hampton Roads region.  Includes historical trend data for traffic accidents, fatalities, air quality, HOV usage, job and housing access to transit, commuting, freight movement and more.  From the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization

Includes official United Nations’ estimates and projections of urban and rural populations for major areas, regions, and countries of the world.  Also covers all urban agglomerations with 750,000+ inhabitants.  From the United Nations

This paper examines differences in the skill content of work throughout the U.S., ranging from densely populated city centers to isolated and sparsely populated rural areas.  From the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Narrative and statistics on the world of urban poverty for many children in the contemporary world.  From the United Nations

Official notice of the qualifying urban areas including the new areas.  Williamsburg, Virginia, including parts of James City and York Counties,  is now classified as an urbanized area by the Census Bureau.  From the Office of the Federal Register

Press release on growth of urban population which increased by 12.1% from 2000 to 2010 compared to overall national growth rate of 9.7%.  Urban areas now account for 80% of the U.S. population.  The Los Angeles urbanized area is the most densely populated with 7,000 people per square mile. Also announces that Williamsburg, Virginia is now considered a separate urbanized area, no longer a part of the Virginia Beach-North Carolina urbanized area.  Provides link to spread sheet of urbanized areas with area, population, and population density.  From the Census Bureau

Focuses on the plight of poor children living in urban slums.  Includes extensive statistics on nutrition, health, education, and economic indicators related to children.  From UNICEF

One of five reviews of foreclosure practices of the five largest Federal Housing Administration mortgage servicers to investigate allegations of questionable practices including the use of foreclosure mills and robosigning of sworn documents.  From the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development