Have the secular trends of population distribution been reversed?: An investigation of the growth of the metropolitan fringe in the United States 1970 to 1980

Frequent claims have been made in recent years regarding a reversal of the long-standing population trends of concentration in major metropolitan regions and decentralization within those regions. Arguments are presented for a return to the central city from the suburbs and a shift to rural areas and small towns, and away from the metropolis. This brief paper explores the growth of the fringe surrounding the larger metropolitan areas of the U.S. (areas similar to Friedmann's "urban field"), using data from the 1980 U.S. Census. It concludes that, with the exception of the largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan share of national population has remained stable or grown slightly. Within those regions decentralization to outer fringe areas has continued at a high rate, particularly in the largest centres. Ultimately, the division of settlement into urban and rural is being replaced by an urban-rural continuum, with consequent implications for policy and planning