1. Rural Trends and
Transportation Issues
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS
Shawn Seager
Mountainland Association of Governments
NADO’s National RPO Council of Peers
with support from the Federal Highway Administration 1

2. About NADO
 National association for 540 regional
development organizations
 Promote public policies that strengthen
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS
local governments, communities and
economies through the regional
strategies
 Office in Washington DC, Joe McKinney,
Executive Director
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3. Regional Development
Organizations
 Formed by state statute or executive order
 Often called: Council of Governments,
Regional Planning Commission, Economic
Development District, COG
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS
 Participate/administer many state and
federal programs
• Economic Development
• Regional Planning
• Human Services
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4. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS
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5. NADO’s Rural Planning Organization
RPO America Division
 Serves as the national professional association
for rural and small metro transportation
planners
 National Rural Transportation Peer Learning
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS
Conference April 24-26, 2013 in Greenville, SC
 www.RuralTransportation.org
Rural Transportation Newsletter
www.Facebook.com/RPOAmerica
Twitter @RPOAmerica
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6. 2010 U.S. Population 309M
Urban population: 249 Million (81%), Rural population: 59 Million (19%)
A CHANGING RURAL
AMERICA
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7. What’s Changing in Rural
America?
T R A N S P O R TAT I O N P O L I C Y
1. Less population as a % but more absolute pop.
2. Older and Diverse
3. Poverty and health care issues
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8. A CHANGING RURAL AMERICA
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Rural U.S. Population

9. Rural U.S. Population Change
A CHANGING RURAL
 Actual number of people living in rural areas has increased
although % has decreased:
 1970: 53 Million
 2010: 59.5 Million
 Overall, rural areas lose ground to urban areas over time
 Metro areas higher growth rate
 Some fast-growing non-metro areas have been reclassified as
metro
 Some fast-growing non-metro areas have been absorbed into
AMERICA
adjacent metro areas
 Lower immigration
 Less “natural increase” of births
 Rural growth occurred in recreation, retirement, amenity areas
– Source: USDA
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10. Rural U.S. Population: 1950-Now
A CHANGING RURAL
100
Rural
90
80
70 Urban
60
50
40 Rural
Urban
30
AMERICA
20
10
0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
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11. Population Change, 2000 – 2010
A CHANGING RURAL
AMERICA
Source: USDA 11

12. A CHANGING RURAL AMERICA
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13. Aging Population 2010
A CHANGING RURAL
AMERICA
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14. Future Growth of Older Adults
A CHANGING RURAL
AMERICA
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Source: Global Aging

15. A CHANGING RURAL AMERICA
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Source: Daily Yonder

16. A CHANGING RURAL AMERICA
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Source: Daily Yonder

17. A CHANGING RURAL
2040 Minority Majority
(Minority > 50% Whites)
AMERICA
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18. Rural Diversity
A CHANGING RURAL
• Diversity accelerated in rural America
– Racial and ethnic minorities account for 83% of rural
population growth between 2000 and 2010.
• Children are in the vanguard of the increasing
racial and ethnic diversity of rural America in the
twenty-first century.
AMERICA
• Source: Carsey Institute
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19. Outmigration
A CHANGING RURAL
AMERICA
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Source: USDA

20. Rural Poverty
A CHANGING RURAL
• Highest poverty rates are in the most rural places
• 2006 Receiving food assistance:
– 10.3% rural
– 7.3% urban
• 2006 Children receive free school lunch:
AMERICA
– 31% rural
– 25% urban
Source: Carsey Institute
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21. Rural Access to Health Care
A CHANGING RURAL
• Metros have four times as many physicians as do
rural areas (per 100,000 residents)
• Metro areas have sixth times as many specialists
as do rural counties (per 100,000 residents)
AMERICA
Carsey
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22. So now what do we do?
New Opportunities
T R A N S P O R TAT I O N P O L I C Y
1. Use existing Census data to know you region
2. Visualize these populations in you community
3. Strategize with your regional planners
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23. 2010 Census Data Partners
T R A N S P O R TAT I O N P O L I C Y
• For data and analysis specific to your
region, contact your:
– Regional planning entity
– Regional planning commission
– Council of governments
– Development district
– Universities
– Census Bureau State Office
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24. Minority and Disabled Visualization
T R A N S P O R TAT I O N P O L I C Y
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25. MAP-21 Planning
T R A N S P O R TAT I O N P O L I C Y
 No changes in designation of MPOs
 Statewide planning is now Statewide and
Non-metro
 Regional Transportation Planning
Organizations are defined
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26. MAP-21 Planning
T R A N S P O R TAT I O N P O L I C Y
 RTPOs’ existence is optional, but where they
exist, they:
 Must have a policy committee of majority local
officials
 Must have a “parent” organization that will
serve as administrative and fiscal agent and
provide planning staff
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27. T R A N S P O R TAT I O N P O L I C Y
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28. Typical RTPO Tasks
T R A N S P O R TAT I O N P O L I C Y
• Long-range multimodal plan
• Regional TIP (not fiscally constrained)
• Technical Assistance to Local Governments
• Public Participation
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29. Role in Statewide Planning
T R A N S P O R TAT I O N P O L I C Y
• Optional designation, but where RTPOs
exist, states must:
– “Cooperate” on long-range plan development
– “Consult” on Interstate, Bridge, NHS, 5310,
5311 projects in STIP
– “Cooperate” on other projects in STIP for areas
with a population under 50,000
– “Consult” on Strategic Highway Safety Plan
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30. Additional Resources
T R A N S P O R TAT I O N P O L I C Y
www.NADO.org
www.RuralTransportation.org
Carrie Kissel
ckissel@nado.org
202.624.8829
Shawn Seager
sseager@mountainland.org
801.229.3837
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