Methodology for Designation of Frontier and Remote Areas, 66471-66476 [2012-26938]
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measures for viewing by improvement
teams, the NCC, and HRSA.
The annual estimate of burden is as
follows:
Responses
per
respondent*
Number of
respondents
Instrument
Total
responses
Hours per
response
Total burden
hours
Participant Profile Form .......................................................
Acute Care Visit Form .........................................................
Ambulatory Care Visit Form ................................................
9
9
9
12
12
12
108
108
108
5.0
10.0
10.0
540
1080
1080
Total ..............................................................................
27
........................
324
........................
2700
* This burden table has been revised from the one published in the 60-day notice to reflect the accurate count of responses per respondent.
The number 12 reflects the number of times a respondent will be approached for data collection annually, not the total number of data collection
forms completed as was previously reported.
Written comments and
recommendations concerning the
proposed information collection should
be sent within 30 days of this notice to
the desk officer for HRSA, either by
email to
OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov or by
fax to (202) 395–6974. Please direct all
correspondence to the ‘‘attention of the
desk officer for HRSA.’’
Dated: October 25, 2012.
Bahar Niakan,
Director, Division of Policy and Information
Coordination.
[FR Doc. 2012–26935 Filed 11–2–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services
Administration
Methodology for Designation of
Frontier and Remote Areas
Health Resources and Services
Administration, HHS.
AGENCY:
Request for public comment on
methodology for designation of frontier
and remote areas.
ACTION:
This notice announces a
request for public comment on a
methodology derived from the Frontier
and Remote (FAR) system for
designating U.S. frontier areas. This
methodology was developed in a
collaborative project between the Office
of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) in the
Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA); and the
Economic Research Service (ERS) in the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
While other agencies of the Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS)
and the ERS may in the future choose
to use the FAR methodology to
demarcate the frontier areas of the U.S.,
there is no requirement that they do so,
and they may choose other, alternate
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SUMMARY:
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www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ruralurban-commuting-area-codes.aspx).
Using data from the Census Bureau,
every census tract in the United States
is assigned a RUCA code. Codes range
from 1 through 10, with 23 sub codes,
with code 1 representing the most
densely populated urban areas and code
10 representing rural areas with primary
commuting to a tract outside an
Urbanized Area or Cluster. HRSA
ADDRESSES: Comments may be
believes that the use of RUCAs allows
submitted via email to
more accurate targeting of resources
shirsch@hrsa.gov; mail to Office of Rural intended for the rural population. Both
Health Policy, Health Resources and
ORHP and the Centers for Medicare &
Services Administration, 5600 Fishers
Medicaid Services have been using
Lane, Parklawn Building, 5A–05,
RUCAs for several years to determine
Rockville, MD 20857; or fax to (301)
programmatic eligibility for rural areas
443–2803.
inside of metropolitan counties.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
ORHP currently considers all census
Questions about this request for public
tracts with RUCA codes 4 through 10 to
comment can be directed to Steven
be rural. While use of the RUCA codes
Hirsch using the contact information
has allowed identification of rural
listed above.
census tracts in metropolitan counties,
among the more than 60,000 tracts in
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
the U.S., there are some that are
Background
extremely large and where use of RUCA
ORHP was authorized by Congress in
codes alone fails to account for distance
December of 1987 by Section 711 of the
to services and sparse population. In
Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 912], and response to these concerns, ORHP has
charged with informing and advising
designated 132 large area census tracts
HHS on matters affecting rural hospitals with RUCA codes 2 or 3 as rural. These
and health care and coordinating
tracts are at least 400 square miles in
activities within the Department that
area with a population density of no
relate to rural health care.
more than 35 people per square mile.
Definition of ‘‘rural.’’ ORHP considers There is also a ZIP code-based version
all nonmetropolitan (nonmetro)
of the RUCA codes that is often used for
counties to be ‘‘rural’’ for the purposes
policy analysis, research, and other
of eligibility for its grant programs. Over purposes (see: https://
the years, ORHP has funded
depts.washington.edu/uwruca/).
Need for definition of ‘‘frontier and
development of a rational, data-driven
method to designate rural areas inside of remote.’’ Rural experts, researchers, and
metropolitan counties. The Rural-Urban others have been calling for an
Commuting Area (RUCA) codes are used improved way to identify frontier and
remote areas. The most commonly used
for determining grant eligibility. The
standard to date has been to identify
RUCAs, which were developed by
frontier areas as those counties with six
Richard Morrill and Gary Hart of the
or fewer people per square mile.
University of Washington and John
Cromartie of the USDA’s ERS, are based Researchers and policy experts have
noted the shortcomings of this approach
on a sub-county unit, the census tract,
since it relies solely on population
permitting a delineation of what
density and uses counties as the unit of
constitutes rural areas inside
measure despite the great disparity in
metropolitan areas (see: https://
methodologies and definitions that best
suit their program requirements.
DATES: The public is encouraged to
submit written comments on the
proposed FAR methodology no later
than January 4, 2013. All public
comments received will be available for
public inspection at HRSA’s ORHP on
weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00
p.m.
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county size across the country (Ciarlo,
1996). This definition lacks precision.
Demand has been growing for a
statistically based, nationally consistent
definition of ‘‘frontier territory;’’ one
that is adjustable within a reasonable
range, and applicable in different
research and policy contexts. The U.S.
Congress passed legislation directing the
Secretary of HHS to issue regulations
that would define the concept of
‘‘Frontier Area’’ to be used in the
Telehealth programs (Section 330I(r) of
the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C.
254c–14(r)). The definition proposed
below differs in several respects from
the statutory provision governing the
Telehealth programs, and thus it will
not be applicable to them. As used in
this notice, the term ‘‘frontier’’ denotes
territory characterized by some
combination of relatively low
population density and high geographic
remoteness.
In performing analysis for this project,
HRSA intended to create a definition of
‘‘frontier’’ based on easily explained
concepts of remoteness and population
sparseness. HRSA’s goal was to create a
statistical delineation that will be useful
in a wide variety of research and policy
contexts and adjustable to the
circumstances in which it is applied.
We believe that the new geographic
taxonomy should prove useful in
various research and policy
environments, such as rural health care,
regional science, demography, rural
sociology, and agricultural economics.
Two features distinguish the
methodology described here from earlier
classifications. First, the approach
strives for the most accurate measures of
distance possible for the smallest units
of geography containing population
data. Travel time by car to nearby urban
areas is calculated for coterminous U.S.
territory at the 1x1 kilometer grid level
(11.9 million grid cells). Once frontier
territory is delimited at the grid level,
frontier populations may be aggregated
to ZIP code areas, as demonstrated here,
or to census tracts, counties, or other
useful geographic units. Second, travel
time thresholds around urban areas
were allowed to vary by urban-area
population size. This is desirable
because the effect of urban population
size on adjacent rural population
density is not uniform across all urban
sizes. In general, the higher the
population of an urbanized area, the
greater the population density of any
given area nearby.
However, any statistical delineation of
this nature is approximate at best, and
not suited to all applications. Given the
remarkable diversity of settlement
patterns and conditions across the
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contemporary U.S., no definition can
account for every variation; and there
will be areas included or excluded that
would seem to many to be erroneously
classified. Therefore, it is necessary to
build some degree of flexibility into any
definition that will allow users to
choose the sub-definition that best suits
their purpose. The FAR codes described
here allow a range of choices rather than
a dichotomy. It will be up to
researchers, policymakers, program
managers, and policy advocates to
ensure that the codes are applied
appropriately within specific contexts.
Why is it important to delineate frontier
areas?
This project seeks to delineate U.S.
territory characterized by very low
population density and a high degree of
remoteness. Such territory lies at one
end of the rural-urban continuum and
can be generally viewed as a subset of
rural. Job creation, population retention,
provision of services such as health
care, and access to food, clothing, and
other consumer items may require
increased efforts in very rural, remote
communities. Recent research indicates
that the demographic and economic
penalties associated with small size and
remoteness may be increasing
(Partridge, 2008).
Perhaps the fundamental and defining
challenges facing frontier communities
are the increased per capita costs of
providing services. Access to health care
is a primary concern motivating this
research, but distance and low
population densities increase costs of
providing all types of social and public
services, including schools, police and
fire protection, public utilities, and
transportation.
Placing Frontier Definitions in a
Broader Rural Context
For purposes of this project, ‘‘frontier/
remote’’ is generally considered a subset
of ‘‘rural.’’ Of course, there are many
definitions of ‘‘rural’’ and as much
disagreement about them as there is
about frontier. Many of the rural
taxonomies have multiple categories,
some of which can be used and
evaluated for their utility in designating
frontier/remote areas. Only by defining
‘‘rural’’ appropriately can policymakers
better understand the implications of
certain policy options. The definition of
rurality used for one purpose may be
inappropriate or inadequate for another
(Larson and Hart, 2003).
Most of the rural definitions are based
on counties (or their equivalents) as the
geographic unit. The most important
reasons for using counties include that
they: (1) Have much available data; (2)
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are significant political entities; (3)
seldom change boundaries; (4) are
traditionally used in many reporting
systems and data sets; and (5) are well
known to the general public, program
managers, researchers, and politicians.
However, there are significant problems
with county use for many purposes.
Counties were created by means of
political processes and often are
extremely heterogeneous units where
aggregate averages of data items end up
being unrepresentative of particular
places within the county. The rural/
urban character within many counties
varies dramatically. For instance, Pima
County, Arizona, ranges from an urban
city of over half a million population
near its northeast corner to large remote
areas that are extremely sparsely
populated along its southwest Mexico/
U.S. border. Some large states like
Arizona (114,006 square miles—
significantly larger than the United
Kingdom) have few counties (17
counties), while smaller states like
Virginia (42,769 square miles) have
many smaller counties (134 counties).
Counties vary in size from state to state,
with the counties in the west generally
much larger than those of the east.
Some definitions go beyond a simple
division of counties into rural/urban or
metro/nonmetro categories. For
instance, the ERS’ county-based Urban
Influence Codes (UICs) consist of a
dozen codes and uses the Office of
Management and Budget’s definition of
metropolitan to divide the nation’s
urban-like and rural-like counties into
two groups. The taxonomy divides the
nonmetro counties into 10 categories.
The most frontier-like of these
categories (i.e., category number 12)
could be considered as possible frontier/
remote areas, but because it uses a
county level analysis, the use of UIC
still mischaracterizes some areas within
counties that have a high degree of
heterogeneity in terms of their degree of
being frontier/rural.
‘‘The choice of definition for ‘rural’
that is used to present demographic and
health data can make a substantive
difference. For example, whether a
disproportionate number of rural
residents are elderly depends on how
rural is defined. Furthermore, wide
variations in health status indicators
within non-metro areas will not be
apparent unless non-metro data are
disaggregated by region, urbanization,
proximity to urban areas, or other
relevant factors,’’ (Hewitt, 1989).
Depending on which categorization is
chosen, estimates of the rural
population of the U.S. can vary widely.
Such differences make reported
information vastly different depending
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on which definition is employed.
Although having ‘‘rural’’ definitions that
differ in geographic units and criteria is
not inherently bad because they may be
used for different purposes, this
example does demonstrate that they can
lead to considerably different
populations being designated.
There are some taxonomies that are
based on sub-county units. The oldest
and most used such geographic
taxonomy is that of the U.S. Census
Bureau. This utilizes census tract and
block group data to define Urbanized
Areas and Urban Clusters (described
below). The other taxonomy that has
gained significant use, especially related
to health care, is the RUCAs, which
were described above.
There are many different types of
‘‘rural’’ and ‘‘frontier’’ definitions. Many
of these definitions were developed in
response to specific needs, but this is
not always considered when they are
applied to other tasks and different
purposes. Deciding which ‘‘rural’’
definition to apply to a research or
policy analysis topic depends on the
purpose at hand, the availability of data,
and the appropriate and available
taxonomy. All currently available
definitions of ‘‘rural’’ have their
limitations, however the approach
described in this notice is intended to
provide an empiric approach to the
definition of ‘‘frontier’’ and ‘‘remote.’’
Although it is unlikely that all
researchers, analysts, and advocates will
ever agree that a single definition of
‘‘rural’’ is appropriate in all
circumstances, we believe that the
approach below may provide interested
parties with an additional instrument to
gauge the relative rurality of an area.
General Review of the Frontier Concept
The ‘‘frontier’’ definition discussed
here is a geographical concept meant to
delineate areas characterized primarily
by remoteness. Applying this particular
meaning to the term has increased in
recent years, especially in the rural
health policy arena, and represents a
natural evolution of the term with
parallels in other disciplines (as
described below). Though a more
neutral label, such as ‘‘remote areas’’
could easily be substituted, there are
benefits to use of the term ‘‘frontier’’ for
several reasons, one being the use of a
shorter, more intuitively appealing
descriptive label in research
publications and other outlets.
For geographers and others, the term
‘‘frontier’’ came to mean not just the line
dividing more densely settled and less
densely settled territory, but all of the
less densely settled territory beyond the
line. For example, after the 1980
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Census, Frank Popper published a series
of academic and news articles in which
he applied the term frontier to all
sparsely settled territory, as many others
were doing, and his research showed
that more than half the land area of the
U.S. was still frontier. He also claimed
that the number of frontier communities
was growing because of persistent
population loss throughout the nation’s
heartland (Popper, F.J., 1986). Social
scientists and others are increasingly
using the term ‘‘frontier’’ to describe
sparsely settled and geographically
remote territory, especially in the U.S.
(Duncan, 1993; McGranahan and Beale,
2002). On the federal and state health
care front, frontier came to have a
general meaning similar to that
advocated by Popper (i.e., sparsely
settled) with remoteness often
emphasized. ‘‘In the mid-1980s, the
federal Community Health Center
program decided to consider as frontier
those counties with a population less
than or equal to six persons per square
mile located at considerable distance
(greater than 60 minutes travel time) to
a medical facility able to perform a
caesarian section delivery or handle a
patient having a cardiac arrest. These
latter criteria were forgotten through the
years, and programs began to define
frontier counties with only a single
criteria—population density of six
persons per square mile or less,’’
(Definition of Frontier section of
following web page accessed 4/21/2011:
https://frontierus.org/defining.php). For a
bibliography, demographics, federal
programs, and other materials related to
frontier, see the National Center for
Frontier Communities Web site (https://
frontierus.org/).
It is clear from an overview of the
literature that a fairly small group of
factors have a tendency to be included
in most of the rural and frontier
taxonomies. The Census Bureau used
population density (areas of less than
two people per square mile) exclusively
in its 19th century definition. In
contemporary applications, geographic
remoteness has been equally
emphasized. For instance, McGranahan
and Beale (2002) identified a set of
frontier counties based on two measures
applied to nonmetro counties:
Population density (less than 10.1
persons per square mile) and nonadjacency to a metro area as a proxy for
remoteness. Many other measures
attempt to capture these overlapping but
distinct concepts of sparseness and
remoteness: population size, distance to
urban areas (measured in linear miles,
travel miles, or travel time), and degree
of urbanization.
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Many of the listed factors have a face
validity that is quite obvious. For
instance, society’s perception of rural
areas is that they are those places where
the population settlement pattern
demonstrates low density (i.e., sparsely
settled areas).
Geographic Taxonomy Development
Concerns
The ORHP/ERS-funded frontier
taxonomy project to develop a needed
national definition of ‘‘frontier’’ and
‘‘remote’’ was started in 2008, and
included the following components:
(1) Creation of a comprehensive
review and inventory of rural and
frontier definitions;
(2) Establishment and use of a
Technical Advisory Group (five
academic experts), conference calls, and
other communication and feedback;
(3) Formation and use of a
Stakeholder Advisory Group (seven
relevant stakeholders), conference calls,
and other communications and
feedback;
(4) Planning and implementing five
regional stakeholder meetings in
Washington (District of Columbia),
Albuquerque (New Mexico), Omaha
(Nebraska), and two in Seattle
(Washington)—one of which was more
specifically about islands. Meetings
were limited to approximately 30
stakeholders. In addition, many other
presentations with time for feedback
were made (e.g., presentations to the
Frontier Partners Group);
(5) Analytical testing of the alternate
approaches and results;
(6) Solicitation of feedback regarding
approaches and results;
(7) Selection of final methodological
approach; and
(8) Analyses using final methodology
on 2000 data.
All the components have been
completed.
Frontier and Remote (FAR)
Methodology
To assist in providing policy-relevant
information about conditions in remote
areas to policymakers, public officials,
researchers, and the general public,
ORHP has helped fund the development
of a set of ZIP code-level frontier codes
by ERS.
The term ‘‘frontier’’ is used here to
describe territory characterized by some
combination of low population size and
high geographic remoteness. This pilot
FAR version, based on 2000 Census
data, provides four separate frontier
definitions (Levels), ranging from one
that is relatively inclusive (18.0 million
people classified as living in frontier
areas) to a relatively restrictive version
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(4.8 million frontier residents). Different
definitions are necessary because rural
areas experience degrees of remoteness
at differing population levels that affect
access to different types of goods and
services. A relatively large share of the
population live far from cities providing
‘‘high-order’’ goods and services, such
as advanced medical procedures, major
household appliances, regional airport
hubs, or professional sports franchises.
A much smaller, but still significant,
share of U.S. residents finds it hard to
access ‘‘low-order’’ goods and services,
such as grocery stores, gas stations, and
basic health care needs. Other types of
goods and services—clothing stores, car
dealerships, movie theaters—fall
somewhere in between.
Calculation of travel times from urban
areas was performed for 1x1 kilometer
grid cells that also included an
estimated 2000 Census population. The
use of these small, 1 square kilometer
cells, allows more accuracy of
measurement than use of larger units,
such as census tracts or county
boundaries. Once the frontier status for
all grid cells was determined, the gridcell population was aggregated to ZIP
code areas. For each of the four frontier
Levels, the percentage of a ZIP code
area’s population classified as frontier
was determined. If the majority of the
ZIP code areas’ population was
classified as frontier, that ZIP code area
was considered to be a frontier area.
Use of the FAR Methodology and
associated data can be used to generate
alternative ‘‘frontier’’ definitions that
might better fit potential user purposes.
The FAR codes can also be used in
conjunction with other data, such as
socioeconomic characteristics of
populations, to allow further research
analysis or better policy use.
A synopsis of the methods for the new
FAR definition is as follows:
(1) The developmental analyses were
based on the 2000 Bureau of the Census
data;
(2) the conterminous U.S. was divided
into 11.9 million 1x1 kilometer squares
for analysis;
(3) settlement population aggregations
were based on the Census Bureau’s
designated Urbanized Areas and Urban
Clusters based on the 2000 Census data;
(4) travel times were calculated to the
nearest edges of Urbanized Areas of
2500 or greater population (travel times
were estimated using speed limits and
the fastest routes were determined and
employed in the analyses);
(5) travel times were calculated to the
nearest Urbanized Areas regarding each
of the following categories: 50,000 or
greater population, 25,000–49,999
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population, 10,000–24,999 population,
and 2,500–9,999 population;
(6) for each of the 11.9 million grid
cells, the information in #4 and #5
above were used to determine frontier
status for each of the four levels
(described below);
(7) the grid-cell populations (now
classified as frontier or non-frontier)
were then aggregated to ZIP code areas
(ZIP code areas used here come from an
ESRI map boundary file reflecting the
U.S. Postal Service December 2010
inventory); and
(8) ZIP code areas were assigned as
being FAR or not based on whether 50
percent or more of the populations in
their cells were designated as FAR (this
was performed for each of the four Level
criteria—described below).
Not only can the cell data be
aggregated and calculated for ZIP code
areas, but also the same is being done
for census tracts and could be done for
other types of geographic units. Note
that aggregating the information to
larger geographic units (such as counties
and states) creates many more units that
combine both frontier and non-frontier
populations.
The four FAR Levels are defined as
follows (travel times are calculated oneway by the fastest paved road route):
(1) Frontier Level 1 areas are 60
minutes or greater from Census Bureaudefined Urban Areas of 50,000 or more
population;
(2) Frontier Level 2 areas are 60
minutes or greater from Urban Areas of
50,000 or more people and 45 minutes
or greater from Urban Areas of 25,000–
49,999;
(3) Frontier Level 3 areas are 60
minutes or greater from Urban Areas of
50,000 or more people; 45 minutes or
greater from Urban Areas of 25,000–
49,999; and 30 minutes or greater from
Urban Areas of 10,000–24,999; and
(4) Frontier Level 4 areas are 60
minutes or greater from Urban Areas of
50,000 or more people; 45 minutes or
greater from Urban Areas of 25,000–
49,999; 30 minutes or greater from
Urban Areas of 10,000–24,999; and 15
minutes or greater from Urban Areas of
2,500–9,999.
FAR Level 1 includes a larger
proportion of the population and land
area of the U.S than Level 2, which
includes more area and population than
Level 3, etc. Thus, a ZIP code area that
is designated as FAR per the Level 2
definition would need to be located an
hour or more travel time from the
nearest edge of the closest Urbanized
Area (50,000 or more population), and
also be located 45 minutes travel time
from the nearest edge of an Urban Area
of 25,000–49,999 population. For
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instance, if a ZIP code area was 70
minutes from an Urban Area of 105,000
population and 55 minutes from an
Urban Area of 37,000, it would qualify
as FAR, but if it was 70 minutes from
an Urbanized Area of the same
population and 29 minutes from an
Urban Area of the same size it would
not be designated as FAR. Because the
base cell information used for the
conterminous states was not available
for Alaska and Hawaii, the designation
process has to be modified and
performed in a more tailored and
analyst-intensive fashion. A trial of this
method indicates that the final
designations for these two states will be
for all intents and purposes parallel
with those of the other 48 states. The
final version of the designations for
Alaska and Hawaii will be performed
when the 48 states are redone with the
Census designation of Urban Areas with
2010 data.
Not all cells and populations are
connected to larger places by roads. In
many cases, other means of
transportation must be utilized (e.g.,
airplanes, trains, ferries, ships, and
boats). This is not only true for the
many islands of Hawaii and Alaska, but
for many of the other states (e.g.,
Washington’s San Juan Islands in the
Puget Sound and Massachusetts’
Nantucket Island). There are also towns
such as Alaska’s Bethel that are not
connected to larger towns/cities by
roads (i.e., in this case only by air). In
these cases (e.g., where air flights are
necessary), one hour is added to the
road travel time for the area, which is
more than enough for an area to be
designated as FAR if it can qualify by
specific definition level criteria (e.g., to
qualify for Level 3, the town would
need to have fewer than 10,000
population). For example, Kauai’s
largest city is Kappa with a 2010
population of 10,699. The entire island
clearly qualifies as frontier per FAR
Level 1 and Level 2 definitions. Large
portions of the island (but not all of it)
also qualify per the FAR Level 3 (i.e., a
portion of Kauai’s population reside
greater than 30 minutes travel from a
city of over 10,000) and Level 4
definitions. Bethel, Alaska, which is not
connected to other cities and towns via
road with a 2010 population of 17,013,
also qualifies as frontier per the FAR
Level 1 and Level 2 definitions but not
by the FAR Level 3 and Level 4
definitions (i.e., the city has greater than
10,000 population), though surrounding
areas would qualify because of the
severe travel barriers (i.e., no roads into
town).
Given that different geographical
units (e.g., residential ZIP code areas,
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 214 / Monday, November 5, 2012 / Notices
census tracts etc.) would aggregate areas
differently, a small Gulf island 100
yards off Florida with no connecting
bridge might qualify differently using
different geographic units. As indicated
above, the FAR designations for ZIP
code areas were based on a criterion of
50 percent or greater being designated.
Data will be made available so that users
can modify this criterion for their own
specific purposes (for any or all of the
level definitions). For example, if
federal or state policymakers need to
target a program to ZIP code areas where
the large preponderance of population
was living in frontier/remote locals, a
FAR criterion of 80 percent could be
applied. The results for the trial
application of the FAR Methodology for
ZIP codes with 2000 Census data and
Urban Area definitions for the lower 48
states and supporting material are
available on the web. The available
tables are by state, the four definition
Levels, and in aggregate for both
population and land area. The following
FAR development project data and
materials are available to users at the
two cited web locations:
Web location #1 (Economic Research
Service): https://www.ers.usda.gov/dataproducts/frontier-and-remote-areacodes.aspx.
(1) General description of the FAR
taxonomy; and
(2) Downloadable files by state and for
the whole nation for residential ZIP
code areas, and census tracks will be
available (the files will include:
Identification code; population count;
Level 1, 2, 3, and 4 designation status,
frontier or not based on majority of
population); percentage of population
that meet and do not meet frontier
criteria for each of the levels; land area
designated as frontier/remote by each of
the Levels, land area not designated as
frontier/remote by each of the Levels,
and state where the majority of the
population resides; and
(3) Maps.
Web location #2 (Center for Rural
Health, University of North
Dakota):https://ruralhealth.und.edu/
frontier/.
(1) Current version of the rural,
frontier, and island definition literature
review (this review will continue to be
updated as new material is obtained and
as new definitions are created);
(2) Detailed description of the
developmental project (e.g., summary of
regional stakeholder meetings and
composition of advisory groups);
(3) Description of the purposes and
principles upon which the taxonomy
was developed;
(4) Detailed description of the
analytical methods; and
(5) Sensitivity analyses, comparisons
with other designation methods, maps
and the like.
The aggregate results are summarized
below in Table 1.
TABLE 1—AGGREGATE FAR US 2000 CENSUS RESULTS FOR 48 CONTERMINOUS STATES BY DEFINITION LEVEL
CATEGORIES
Level
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Level
Level
Level
Level
1
2
3
4
Population
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
The state-level results are available at
the FAR section of the ERS Web site
(see: https://www.ers.usda.gov/dataproducts/frontier-and-remote-areacodes.aspx). For instance, for the Level
1 FAR sub definition, the states in order
from highest to lower for percentages
(top 10) of frontier population are:
Wyoming (61.2%), Montana (57.7%),
North Dakota (48.6%), South Dakota
(45.4%), Mississippi (39.6%), Nebraska
(35.9%), New Mexico (32.4%), Kansas
(25.4%), Vermont (24.9%), and Iowa
(23.5%). The similar top 10 for
percentage of land area are: Nevada
(90.1%), Montana (87.5%), Nebraska
(87.2%), South Dakota (86.8%),
Wyoming (86.7%), North Dakota
(86.5%), New Mexico (82.2%), Utah
(81.8%), Kansas (76.9%), and Colorado
(74.1%). The similar top 10 by total
frontier population are: Texas,
Mississippi, Missouri, Minnesota,
Kentucky, Michigan, Iowa, Kansas,
Nebraska, and Illinois. The lists for the
other Levels vary. For example, the top
five regarding percentage of the
population designated as frontier per
the Level 4 sub definition are: North
Dakota (26.2%), South Dakota (24.5%),
Montana (15.5%), Wyoming (12.9%),
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17,960,713
12,391,300
8,032,822
4,782,328
and Nebraska (10.3%). Note that Alaska
and Hawaii are not included here but
will be included in the 2010 version of
the FAR codes and will undoubtedly
appear on the lists.
HRSA is now seeking public
comments on:
(1) The use of a population threshold
of 50,000 as the central place from
which to measure in defining FAR
areas;
(2) The use of 60 minutes travel time
from the central place;
(3) Whether the 50 percent population
threshold for assigning frontier status to
a ZIP code/census tract is the
appropriate level for the four standard
provided levels;
(4) Other ways of representing urban
and rural areas;
(5) Alternatives to using grid cells for
measuring remoteness;
(6) Applicability of the FAR
methodology to island populations; and
(7) Need for a Census tract and county
version of the FAR.
Comments on other aspects of the
methodology are welcomed.
Commenters are reminded that this is
only a proposed methodology, and it is
not currently tied to any current federal
program or allocation of resources. It is
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Sfmt 4703
Percent of
population
Percent land area
6.5
4.5
2.9
1.7
54.8
48.8
43.0
35.2
only a tool to better delineate those
isolated and remote areas in the country
to help researchers and policy makers
better understand the unique
circumstances of this geographic subset.
Dated: October 26, 2012.
Mary K. Wakefield,
Administrator.
Bibliography
Ciarlo, J.A., J.H. Wackwitz, et al. ‘Focusing on
‘‘Frontier’: Isolated Rural America.’’ Letter
to the Field No. 2. Frontier Mental Health
Services Resource Network. (1996). https://
www.wiche.edu/MentalHealth/Frontier/
letter2.asp
Duncan, D. Miles From Nowhere: Tales From
America’s Contemporary Frontier. (New
York: Penguin Books. 1993)
Hewitt, M. Defining ‘‘Rural’’ Areas: Impact
on Health Care Policy and Research.
(Health Program Office of Technology
Assessment, Congress of the United States.
1989).
Larson, Eric H. and Hart, L. Gary. ‘‘Rural
Health Workforce Methods and Analysis.’’
In Larson, Eric H.; Johnson, Karin E.;
Norris, Thomas E.; Lishner, Denise M.;
Rosenblatt, Roger A.; and Hart, L. Gary,
State of the Health Workforce in Rural
America: State Profiles and Comparisons.
Seattle, WA: WWAMI Rural Health
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 214 / Monday, November 5, 2012 / Notices
Research Center, University of Washington,
pp. 15–22 (August 2003)
McGranahan, D. A. & C. L. Beale.
Understanding Rural Population Loss.
Rural America, 17: 2–11. (2002)
Partridge, M.D., D.S. Rickman, et al. ‘‘Lost in
Space: Population Growth in the American
Hinterlands and Small Cities.’’ Journal of
Economic Geography 8(6):727–757. (2008)
Popper, Frank J. The Strange Case of the
Contemporary American Frontier, The
Yale Review 76: 101–121. (1986)
Prescott, John RV. Boundaries and Frontiers.
(New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 1978)
Turner, F.J. The Frontier in American
History. (New York: Henry Holt and
Company, 1921)
[FR Doc. 2012–26938 Filed 11–2–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management
Agency
[Docket ID FEMA–2007–0008]
National Advisory Council
Federal Emergency
Management Agency, DHS.
ACTION: Committee Management; Notice
of Federal Advisory Committee Meeting.
AGENCY:
The National Advisory
Council will meet by teleconference on
Monday, November 19, 2012. The
meeting will be open to the public.
DATES: The National Advisory Council
will meet Monday, November 19, 2012,
from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST. Please
note that the teleconference may close
early if the committee has completed its
business.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held by
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who wish to obtain the listen-only callin number, access code, and other
information for the public
teleconference, please contact the Office
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For information on services for
individuals with disabilities or to
request special assistance on the call,
contact the Office of the National
Advisory Council as soon as possible.
See contact information under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section
below.
To facilitate public participation,
members of the public are invited to
comment on the issues to be considered
by the committee which are available on
the FEMA Web site at https://
www.fema.gov/national-exerciseprogram. See the additional information
provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section. Written comments
must be submitted in writing no later
WREIER-AVILES on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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than November 14, 2012 and must be
identified by Docket ID FEMA–2007–
0008 and may be submitted by one of
the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail/Hand Deliver/Courier:
Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of
Chief Counsel, FEMA, 500 C Street SW.,
Room 840, Washington, DC 20472–
3100.
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the words ‘‘Federal
Emergency Management Agency’’ and
the Docket ID FEMA–2007–0008 for this
action. Comments received will be
posted without alteration at https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received by the National
Advisory Council, go to https://
www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alexandra Woodruff, Alternate
Designated Federal Officer, Office of the
National Advisory Council, Federal
Emergency Management Agency (Room
825), 500 C Street SW., Washington, DC
20472–3100, telephone (202) 212–4349,
fax (540) 504–2331, and email FEMA–
NAC@fema.dhs.gov. The National
Advisory Council Web site is located at:
https://www.fema.gov/national-advisorycouncil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of
this meeting is given under the Federal
Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App.
(Pub. L. 92–463). The National Advisory
Council (NAC) advises the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) on all
aspects of emergency management. The
NAC incorporates State, local, and
Tribal governments, and private sector
partners’ input in the development and
revision of FEMA policies and
strategies. FEMA’s Office of the NAC
serves as the focal point for all NAC
coordination.
Agenda: The FEMA National
Advisory Council will be meeting by
teleconference to discuss the National
Exercise Program (NEP) two-year cycle
2013–1014. The Council will discuss
potential recommendations on the
General Objectives for inclusion in the
NEP two-year cycle. The Council will
use the specific priorities from the
Principal Objectives as guidelines to
develop their recommendations for
General Objectives. FEMA’s National
Exercise Division (NED) is responsible
for providing exercise guidance and
planning support to the Nation’s
emergency preparedness community.
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NED works through well-established
and expanding partnerships within all
levels of government, the private sector,
and international communities. Exercise
support is administered through the
NEP. Information regarding the NEP, the
Principal Objectives, and General
Objectives can be found in the relative
sections at: https://www.fema.gov/
national-exercise-program.
The Federal Advisory Committee Act
requires that notices of meetings of
advisory committees be announced in
the Federal Register 15 days prior to the
meeting date. This notice of a
teleconference of the NAC is published
less than 15 days prior to the
teleconference due to closure of Federal
government offices during Hurricane
Sandy. Since the NAC is meeting via
teleconference, there will not be an
undue burden on the public to arrange
travel to attend this meeting. Notice of
this meeting is also provided on the
NAC’s Web site at https://www.fema.gov/
national-advisory-council.
W. Craig Fugate,
Administrator, Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2012–26964 Filed 11–2–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111–48–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–HQ–IA–2012–N258;
FXIA16710900000P5–123–FF09A30000]
Endangered Species; Marine
Mammals; Receipt of Applications for
Permit
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of applications
for permit.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, invite the public to
comment on the following applications
to conduct certain activities with
endangered species, marine mammals,
or both. With some exceptions, the
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(MMPA) prohibit activities with listed
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DATES: We must receive comments or
requests for documents on or before
December 5, 2012. We must receive
requests for marine mammal permit
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by December 5, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Brenda Tapia, Division of
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SUMMARY:
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 214 (Monday, November 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66471-66476]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-26938]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration
Methodology for Designation of Frontier and Remote Areas
AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Request for public comment on methodology for designation of
frontier and remote areas.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces a request for public comment on a
methodology derived from the Frontier and Remote (FAR) system for
designating U.S. frontier areas. This methodology was developed in a
collaborative project between the Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA); and the
Economic Research Service (ERS) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA). While other agencies of the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) and the ERS may in the future choose to use the FAR
methodology to demarcate the frontier areas of the U.S., there is no
requirement that they do so, and they may choose other, alternate
methodologies and definitions that best suit their program
requirements.
DATES: The public is encouraged to submit written comments on the
proposed FAR methodology no later than January 4, 2013. All public
comments received will be available for public inspection at HRSA's
ORHP on weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted via email to shirsch@hrsa.gov;
mail to Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services
Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Parklawn Building, 5A-05, Rockville,
MD 20857; or fax to (301) 443-2803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about this request for
public comment can be directed to Steven Hirsch using the contact
information listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
ORHP was authorized by Congress in December of 1987 by Section 711
of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 912], and charged with informing
and advising HHS on matters affecting rural hospitals and health care
and coordinating activities within the Department that relate to rural
health care.
Definition of ``rural.'' ORHP considers all nonmetropolitan
(nonmetro) counties to be ``rural'' for the purposes of eligibility for
its grant programs. Over the years, ORHP has funded development of a
rational, data-driven method to designate rural areas inside of
metropolitan counties. The Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes are
used for determining grant eligibility. The RUCAs, which were developed
by Richard Morrill and Gary Hart of the University of Washington and
John Cromartie of the USDA's ERS, are based on a sub-county unit, the
census tract, permitting a delineation of what constitutes rural areas
inside metropolitan areas (see: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/rural-urban-commuting-area-codes.aspx). Using data from the Census
Bureau, every census tract in the United States is assigned a RUCA
code. Codes range from 1 through 10, with 23 sub codes, with code 1
representing the most densely populated urban areas and code 10
representing rural areas with primary commuting to a tract outside an
Urbanized Area or Cluster. HRSA believes that the use of RUCAs allows
more accurate targeting of resources intended for the rural population.
Both ORHP and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have been
using RUCAs for several years to determine programmatic eligibility for
rural areas inside of metropolitan counties.
ORHP currently considers all census tracts with RUCA codes 4
through 10 to be rural. While use of the RUCA codes has allowed
identification of rural census tracts in metropolitan counties, among
the more than 60,000 tracts in the U.S., there are some that are
extremely large and where use of RUCA codes alone fails to account for
distance to services and sparse population. In response to these
concerns, ORHP has designated 132 large area census tracts with RUCA
codes 2 or 3 as rural. These tracts are at least 400 square miles in
area with a population density of no more than 35 people per square
mile. There is also a ZIP code-based version of the RUCA codes that is
often used for policy analysis, research, and other purposes (see:
https://depts.washington.edu/uwruca/).
Need for definition of ``frontier and remote.'' Rural experts,
researchers, and others have been calling for an improved way to
identify frontier and remote areas. The most commonly used standard to
date has been to identify frontier areas as those counties with six or
fewer people per square mile. Researchers and policy experts have noted
the shortcomings of this approach since it relies solely on population
density and uses counties as the unit of measure despite the great
disparity in
[[Page 66472]]
county size across the country (Ciarlo, 1996). This definition lacks
precision. Demand has been growing for a statistically based,
nationally consistent definition of ``frontier territory;'' one that is
adjustable within a reasonable range, and applicable in different
research and policy contexts. The U.S. Congress passed legislation
directing the Secretary of HHS to issue regulations that would define
the concept of ``Frontier Area'' to be used in the Telehealth programs
(Section 330I(r) of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 254c-
14(r)). The definition proposed below differs in several respects from
the statutory provision governing the Telehealth programs, and thus it
will not be applicable to them. As used in this notice, the term
``frontier'' denotes territory characterized by some combination of
relatively low population density and high geographic remoteness.
In performing analysis for this project, HRSA intended to create a
definition of ``frontier'' based on easily explained concepts of
remoteness and population sparseness. HRSA's goal was to create a
statistical delineation that will be useful in a wide variety of
research and policy contexts and adjustable to the circumstances in
which it is applied. We believe that the new geographic taxonomy should
prove useful in various research and policy environments, such as rural
health care, regional science, demography, rural sociology, and
agricultural economics. Two features distinguish the methodology
described here from earlier classifications. First, the approach
strives for the most accurate measures of distance possible for the
smallest units of geography containing population data. Travel time by
car to nearby urban areas is calculated for coterminous U.S. territory
at the 1x1 kilometer grid level (11.9 million grid cells). Once
frontier territory is delimited at the grid level, frontier populations
may be aggregated to ZIP code areas, as demonstrated here, or to census
tracts, counties, or other useful geographic units. Second, travel time
thresholds around urban areas were allowed to vary by urban-area
population size. This is desirable because the effect of urban
population size on adjacent rural population density is not uniform
across all urban sizes. In general, the higher the population of an
urbanized area, the greater the population density of any given area
nearby.
However, any statistical delineation of this nature is approximate
at best, and not suited to all applications. Given the remarkable
diversity of settlement patterns and conditions across the contemporary
U.S., no definition can account for every variation; and there will be
areas included or excluded that would seem to many to be erroneously
classified. Therefore, it is necessary to build some degree of
flexibility into any definition that will allow users to choose the
sub-definition that best suits their purpose. The FAR codes described
here allow a range of choices rather than a dichotomy. It will be up to
researchers, policymakers, program managers, and policy advocates to
ensure that the codes are applied appropriately within specific
contexts.
Why is it important to delineate frontier areas?
This project seeks to delineate U.S. territory characterized by
very low population density and a high degree of remoteness. Such
territory lies at one end of the rural-urban continuum and can be
generally viewed as a subset of rural. Job creation, population
retention, provision of services such as health care, and access to
food, clothing, and other consumer items may require increased efforts
in very rural, remote communities. Recent research indicates that the
demographic and economic penalties associated with small size and
remoteness may be increasing (Partridge, 2008).
Perhaps the fundamental and defining challenges facing frontier
communities are the increased per capita costs of providing services.
Access to health care is a primary concern motivating this research,
but distance and low population densities increase costs of providing
all types of social and public services, including schools, police and
fire protection, public utilities, and transportation.
Placing Frontier Definitions in a Broader Rural Context
For purposes of this project, ``frontier/remote'' is generally
considered a subset of ``rural.'' Of course, there are many definitions
of ``rural'' and as much disagreement about them as there is about
frontier. Many of the rural taxonomies have multiple categories, some
of which can be used and evaluated for their utility in designating
frontier/remote areas. Only by defining ``rural'' appropriately can
policymakers better understand the implications of certain policy
options. The definition of rurality used for one purpose may be
inappropriate or inadequate for another (Larson and Hart, 2003).
Most of the rural definitions are based on counties (or their
equivalents) as the geographic unit. The most important reasons for
using counties include that they: (1) Have much available data; (2) are
significant political entities; (3) seldom change boundaries; (4) are
traditionally used in many reporting systems and data sets; and (5) are
well known to the general public, program managers, researchers, and
politicians. However, there are significant problems with county use
for many purposes. Counties were created by means of political
processes and often are extremely heterogeneous units where aggregate
averages of data items end up being unrepresentative of particular
places within the county. The rural/urban character within many
counties varies dramatically. For instance, Pima County, Arizona,
ranges from an urban city of over half a million population near its
northeast corner to large remote areas that are extremely sparsely
populated along its southwest Mexico/U.S. border. Some large states
like Arizona (114,006 square miles--significantly larger than the
United Kingdom) have few counties (17 counties), while smaller states
like Virginia (42,769 square miles) have many smaller counties (134
counties). Counties vary in size from state to state, with the counties
in the west generally much larger than those of the east.
Some definitions go beyond a simple division of counties into
rural/urban or metro/nonmetro categories. For instance, the ERS'
county-based Urban Influence Codes (UICs) consist of a dozen codes and
uses the Office of Management and Budget's definition of metropolitan
to divide the nation's urban-like and rural-like counties into two
groups. The taxonomy divides the nonmetro counties into 10 categories.
The most frontier-like of these categories (i.e., category number 12)
could be considered as possible frontier/remote areas, but because it
uses a county level analysis, the use of UIC still mischaracterizes
some areas within counties that have a high degree of heterogeneity in
terms of their degree of being frontier/rural.
``The choice of definition for `rural' that is used to present
demographic and health data can make a substantive difference. For
example, whether a disproportionate number of rural residents are
elderly depends on how rural is defined. Furthermore, wide variations
in health status indicators within non-metro areas will not be apparent
unless non-metro data are disaggregated by region, urbanization,
proximity to urban areas, or other relevant factors,'' (Hewitt, 1989).
Depending on which categorization is chosen, estimates of the rural
population of the U.S. can vary widely. Such differences make reported
information vastly different depending
[[Page 66473]]
on which definition is employed. Although having ``rural'' definitions
that differ in geographic units and criteria is not inherently bad
because they may be used for different purposes, this example does
demonstrate that they can lead to considerably different populations
being designated.
There are some taxonomies that are based on sub-county units. The
oldest and most used such geographic taxonomy is that of the U.S.
Census Bureau. This utilizes census tract and block group data to
define Urbanized Areas and Urban Clusters (described below). The other
taxonomy that has gained significant use, especially related to health
care, is the RUCAs, which were described above.
There are many different types of ``rural'' and ``frontier''
definitions. Many of these definitions were developed in response to
specific needs, but this is not always considered when they are applied
to other tasks and different purposes. Deciding which ``rural''
definition to apply to a research or policy analysis topic depends on
the purpose at hand, the availability of data, and the appropriate and
available taxonomy. All currently available definitions of ``rural''
have their limitations, however the approach described in this notice
is intended to provide an empiric approach to the definition of
``frontier'' and ``remote.'' Although it is unlikely that all
researchers, analysts, and advocates will ever agree that a single
definition of ``rural'' is appropriate in all circumstances, we believe
that the approach below may provide interested parties with an
additional instrument to gauge the relative rurality of an area.
General Review of the Frontier Concept
The ``frontier'' definition discussed here is a geographical
concept meant to delineate areas characterized primarily by remoteness.
Applying this particular meaning to the term has increased in recent
years, especially in the rural health policy arena, and represents a
natural evolution of the term with parallels in other disciplines (as
described below). Though a more neutral label, such as ``remote areas''
could easily be substituted, there are benefits to use of the term
``frontier'' for several reasons, one being the use of a shorter, more
intuitively appealing descriptive label in research publications and
other outlets.
For geographers and others, the term ``frontier'' came to mean not
just the line dividing more densely settled and less densely settled
territory, but all of the less densely settled territory beyond the
line. For example, after the 1980 Census, Frank Popper published a
series of academic and news articles in which he applied the term
frontier to all sparsely settled territory, as many others were doing,
and his research showed that more than half the land area of the U.S.
was still frontier. He also claimed that the number of frontier
communities was growing because of persistent population loss
throughout the nation's heartland (Popper, F.J., 1986). Social
scientists and others are increasingly using the term ``frontier'' to
describe sparsely settled and geographically remote territory,
especially in the U.S. (Duncan, 1993; McGranahan and Beale, 2002). On
the federal and state health care front, frontier came to have a
general meaning similar to that advocated by Popper (i.e., sparsely
settled) with remoteness often emphasized. ``In the mid-1980s, the
federal Community Health Center program decided to consider as frontier
those counties with a population less than or equal to six persons per
square mile located at considerable distance (greater than 60 minutes
travel time) to a medical facility able to perform a caesarian section
delivery or handle a patient having a cardiac arrest. These latter
criteria were forgotten through the years, and programs began to define
frontier counties with only a single criteria--population density of
six persons per square mile or less,'' (Definition of Frontier section
of following web page accessed 4/21/2011: https://frontierus.org/defining.php). For a bibliography, demographics, federal programs, and
other materials related to frontier, see the National Center for
Frontier Communities Web site (https://frontierus.org/).
It is clear from an overview of the literature that a fairly small
group of factors have a tendency to be included in most of the rural
and frontier taxonomies. The Census Bureau used population density
(areas of less than two people per square mile) exclusively in its 19th
century definition. In contemporary applications, geographic remoteness
has been equally emphasized. For instance, McGranahan and Beale (2002)
identified a set of frontier counties based on two measures applied to
nonmetro counties: Population density (less than 10.1 persons per
square mile) and non-adjacency to a metro area as a proxy for
remoteness. Many other measures attempt to capture these overlapping
but distinct concepts of sparseness and remoteness: population size,
distance to urban areas (measured in linear miles, travel miles, or
travel time), and degree of urbanization.
Many of the listed factors have a face validity that is quite
obvious. For instance, society's perception of rural areas is that they
are those places where the population settlement pattern demonstrates
low density (i.e., sparsely settled areas).
Geographic Taxonomy Development Concerns
The ORHP/ERS-funded frontier taxonomy project to develop a needed
national definition of ``frontier'' and ``remote'' was started in 2008,
and included the following components:
(1) Creation of a comprehensive review and inventory of rural and
frontier definitions;
(2) Establishment and use of a Technical Advisory Group (five
academic experts), conference calls, and other communication and
feedback;
(3) Formation and use of a Stakeholder Advisory Group (seven
relevant stakeholders), conference calls, and other communications and
feedback;
(4) Planning and implementing five regional stakeholder meetings in
Washington (District of Columbia), Albuquerque (New Mexico), Omaha
(Nebraska), and two in Seattle (Washington)--one of which was more
specifically about islands. Meetings were limited to approximately 30
stakeholders. In addition, many other presentations with time for
feedback were made (e.g., presentations to the Frontier Partners
Group);
(5) Analytical testing of the alternate approaches and results;
(6) Solicitation of feedback regarding approaches and results;
(7) Selection of final methodological approach; and
(8) Analyses using final methodology on 2000 data.
All the components have been completed.
Frontier and Remote (FAR) Methodology
To assist in providing policy-relevant information about conditions
in remote areas to policymakers, public officials, researchers, and the
general public, ORHP has helped fund the development of a set of ZIP
code-level frontier codes by ERS.
The term ``frontier'' is used here to describe territory
characterized by some combination of low population size and high
geographic remoteness. This pilot FAR version, based on 2000 Census
data, provides four separate frontier definitions (Levels), ranging
from one that is relatively inclusive (18.0 million people classified
as living in frontier areas) to a relatively restrictive version
[[Page 66474]]
(4.8 million frontier residents). Different definitions are necessary
because rural areas experience degrees of remoteness at differing
population levels that affect access to different types of goods and
services. A relatively large share of the population live far from
cities providing ``high-order'' goods and services, such as advanced
medical procedures, major household appliances, regional airport hubs,
or professional sports franchises. A much smaller, but still
significant, share of U.S. residents finds it hard to access ``low-
order'' goods and services, such as grocery stores, gas stations, and
basic health care needs. Other types of goods and services--clothing
stores, car dealerships, movie theaters--fall somewhere in between.
Calculation of travel times from urban areas was performed for 1x1
kilometer grid cells that also included an estimated 2000 Census
population. The use of these small, 1 square kilometer cells, allows
more accuracy of measurement than use of larger units, such as census
tracts or county boundaries. Once the frontier status for all grid
cells was determined, the grid-cell population was aggregated to ZIP
code areas. For each of the four frontier Levels, the percentage of a
ZIP code area's population classified as frontier was determined. If
the majority of the ZIP code areas' population was classified as
frontier, that ZIP code area was considered to be a frontier area.
Use of the FAR Methodology and associated data can be used to
generate alternative ``frontier'' definitions that might better fit
potential user purposes. The FAR codes can also be used in conjunction
with other data, such as socioeconomic characteristics of populations,
to allow further research analysis or better policy use.
A synopsis of the methods for the new FAR definition is as follows:
(1) The developmental analyses were based on the 2000 Bureau of the
Census data;
(2) the conterminous U.S. was divided into 11.9 million 1x1
kilometer squares for analysis;
(3) settlement population aggregations were based on the Census
Bureau's designated Urbanized Areas and Urban Clusters based on the
2000 Census data;
(4) travel times were calculated to the nearest edges of Urbanized
Areas of 2500 or greater population (travel times were estimated using
speed limits and the fastest routes were determined and employed in the
analyses);
(5) travel times were calculated to the nearest Urbanized Areas
regarding each of the following categories: 50,000 or greater
population, 25,000-49,999 population, 10,000-24,999 population, and
2,500-9,999 population;
(6) for each of the 11.9 million grid cells, the information in
4 and 5 above were used to determine frontier status
for each of the four levels (described below);
(7) the grid-cell populations (now classified as frontier or non-
frontier) were then aggregated to ZIP code areas (ZIP code areas used
here come from an ESRI map boundary file reflecting the U.S. Postal
Service December 2010 inventory); and
(8) ZIP code areas were assigned as being FAR or not based on
whether 50 percent or more of the populations in their cells were
designated as FAR (this was performed for each of the four Level
criteria--described below).
Not only can the cell data be aggregated and calculated for ZIP
code areas, but also the same is being done for census tracts and could
be done for other types of geographic units. Note that aggregating the
information to larger geographic units (such as counties and states)
creates many more units that combine both frontier and non-frontier
populations.
The four FAR Levels are defined as follows (travel times are
calculated one-way by the fastest paved road route):
(1) Frontier Level 1 areas are 60 minutes or greater from Census
Bureau-defined Urban Areas of 50,000 or more population;
(2) Frontier Level 2 areas are 60 minutes or greater from Urban
Areas of 50,000 or more people and 45 minutes or greater from Urban
Areas of 25,000-49,999;
(3) Frontier Level 3 areas are 60 minutes or greater from Urban
Areas of 50,000 or more people; 45 minutes or greater from Urban Areas
of 25,000-49,999; and 30 minutes or greater from Urban Areas of 10,000-
24,999; and
(4) Frontier Level 4 areas are 60 minutes or greater from Urban
Areas of 50,000 or more people; 45 minutes or greater from Urban Areas
of 25,000-49,999; 30 minutes or greater from Urban Areas of 10,000-
24,999; and 15 minutes or greater from Urban Areas of 2,500-9,999.
FAR Level 1 includes a larger proportion of the population and land
area of the U.S than Level 2, which includes more area and population
than Level 3, etc. Thus, a ZIP code area that is designated as FAR per
the Level 2 definition would need to be located an hour or more travel
time from the nearest edge of the closest Urbanized Area (50,000 or
more population), and also be located 45 minutes travel time from the
nearest edge of an Urban Area of 25,000-49,999 population. For
instance, if a ZIP code area was 70 minutes from an Urban Area of
105,000 population and 55 minutes from an Urban Area of 37,000, it
would qualify as FAR, but if it was 70 minutes from an Urbanized Area
of the same population and 29 minutes from an Urban Area of the same
size it would not be designated as FAR. Because the base cell
information used for the conterminous states was not available for
Alaska and Hawaii, the designation process has to be modified and
performed in a more tailored and analyst-intensive fashion. A trial of
this method indicates that the final designations for these two states
will be for all intents and purposes parallel with those of the other
48 states. The final version of the designations for Alaska and Hawaii
will be performed when the 48 states are redone with the Census
designation of Urban Areas with 2010 data.
Not all cells and populations are connected to larger places by
roads. In many cases, other means of transportation must be utilized
(e.g., airplanes, trains, ferries, ships, and boats). This is not only
true for the many islands of Hawaii and Alaska, but for many of the
other states (e.g., Washington's San Juan Islands in the Puget Sound
and Massachusetts' Nantucket Island). There are also towns such as
Alaska's Bethel that are not connected to larger towns/cities by roads
(i.e., in this case only by air). In these cases (e.g., where air
flights are necessary), one hour is added to the road travel time for
the area, which is more than enough for an area to be designated as FAR
if it can qualify by specific definition level criteria (e.g., to
qualify for Level 3, the town would need to have fewer than 10,000
population). For example, Kauai's largest city is Kappa with a 2010
population of 10,699. The entire island clearly qualifies as frontier
per FAR Level 1 and Level 2 definitions. Large portions of the island
(but not all of it) also qualify per the FAR Level 3 (i.e., a portion
of Kauai's population reside greater than 30 minutes travel from a city
of over 10,000) and Level 4 definitions. Bethel, Alaska, which is not
connected to other cities and towns via road with a 2010 population of
17,013, also qualifies as frontier per the FAR Level 1 and Level 2
definitions but not by the FAR Level 3 and Level 4 definitions (i.e.,
the city has greater than 10,000 population), though surrounding areas
would qualify because of the severe travel barriers (i.e., no roads
into town).
Given that different geographical units (e.g., residential ZIP code
areas,
[[Page 66475]]
census tracts etc.) would aggregate areas differently, a small Gulf
island 100 yards off Florida with no connecting bridge might qualify
differently using different geographic units. As indicated above, the
FAR designations for ZIP code areas were based on a criterion of 50
percent or greater being designated. Data will be made available so
that users can modify this criterion for their own specific purposes
(for any or all of the level definitions). For example, if federal or
state policymakers need to target a program to ZIP code areas where the
large preponderance of population was living in frontier/remote locals,
a FAR criterion of 80 percent could be applied. The results for the
trial application of the FAR Methodology for ZIP codes with 2000 Census
data and Urban Area definitions for the lower 48 states and supporting
material are available on the web. The available tables are by state,
the four definition Levels, and in aggregate for both population and
land area. The following FAR development project data and materials are
available to users at the two cited web locations:
Web location 1 (Economic Research Service): https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/frontier-and-remote-area-codes.aspx.
(1) General description of the FAR taxonomy; and
(2) Downloadable files by state and for the whole nation for
residential ZIP code areas, and census tracks will be available (the
files will include: Identification code; population count; Level 1, 2,
3, and 4 designation status, frontier or not based on majority of
population); percentage of population that meet and do not meet
frontier criteria for each of the levels; land area designated as
frontier/remote by each of the Levels, land area not designated as
frontier/remote by each of the Levels, and state where the majority of
the population resides; and
(3) Maps.
Web location 2 (Center for Rural Health, University of
North Dakota):https://ruralhealth.und.edu/frontier/.
(1) Current version of the rural, frontier, and island definition
literature review (this review will continue to be updated as new
material is obtained and as new definitions are created);
(2) Detailed description of the developmental project (e.g.,
summary of regional stakeholder meetings and composition of advisory
groups);
(3) Description of the purposes and principles upon which the
taxonomy was developed;
(4) Detailed description of the analytical methods; and
(5) Sensitivity analyses, comparisons with other designation
methods, maps and the like.
The aggregate results are summarized below in Table 1.
Table 1--Aggregate FAR US 2000 Census Results for 48 Conterminous States by Definition Level Categories
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent of
Level Population population Percent land area
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Level 1................................................ 17,960,713 6.5 54.8
Level 2................................................ 12,391,300 4.5 48.8
Level 3................................................ 8,032,822 2.9 43.0
Level 4................................................ 4,782,328 1.7 35.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The state-level results are available at the FAR section of the ERS
Web site (see: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/frontier-and-remote-area-codes.aspx). For instance, for the Level 1 FAR sub
definition, the states in order from highest to lower for percentages
(top 10) of frontier population are: Wyoming (61.2%), Montana (57.7%),
North Dakota (48.6%), South Dakota (45.4%), Mississippi (39.6%),
Nebraska (35.9%), New Mexico (32.4%), Kansas (25.4%), Vermont (24.9%),
and Iowa (23.5%). The similar top 10 for percentage of land area are:
Nevada (90.1%), Montana (87.5%), Nebraska (87.2%), South Dakota
(86.8%), Wyoming (86.7%), North Dakota (86.5%), New Mexico (82.2%),
Utah (81.8%), Kansas (76.9%), and Colorado (74.1%). The similar top 10
by total frontier population are: Texas, Mississippi, Missouri,
Minnesota, Kentucky, Michigan, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Illinois.
The lists for the other Levels vary. For example, the top five
regarding percentage of the population designated as frontier per the
Level 4 sub definition are: North Dakota (26.2%), South Dakota (24.5%),
Montana (15.5%), Wyoming (12.9%), and Nebraska (10.3%). Note that
Alaska and Hawaii are not included here but will be included in the
2010 version of the FAR codes and will undoubtedly appear on the lists.
HRSA is now seeking public comments on:
(1) The use of a population threshold of 50,000 as the central
place from which to measure in defining FAR areas;
(2) The use of 60 minutes travel time from the central place;
(3) Whether the 50 percent population threshold for assigning
frontier status to a ZIP code/census tract is the appropriate level for
the four standard provided levels;
(4) Other ways of representing urban and rural areas;
(5) Alternatives to using grid cells for measuring remoteness;
(6) Applicability of the FAR methodology to island populations; and
(7) Need for a Census tract and county version of the FAR.
Comments on other aspects of the methodology are welcomed.
Commenters are reminded that this is only a proposed methodology, and
it is not currently tied to any current federal program or allocation
of resources. It is only a tool to better delineate those isolated and
remote areas in the country to help researchers and policy makers
better understand the unique circumstances of this geographic subset.
Dated: October 26, 2012.
Mary K. Wakefield,
Administrator.
Bibliography
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Isolated Rural America.'' Letter to the Field No. 2. Frontier Mental
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Duncan, D. Miles From Nowhere: Tales From America's Contemporary
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Hewitt, M. Defining ``Rural'' Areas: Impact on Health Care Policy
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Thomas E.; Lishner, Denise M.; Rosenblatt, Roger A.; and Hart, L.
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McGranahan, D. A. & C. L. Beale. Understanding Rural Population
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Partridge, M.D., D.S. Rickman, et al. ``Lost in Space: Population
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Turner, F.J. The Frontier in American History. (New York: Henry Holt
and Company, 1921)
[FR Doc. 2012-26938 Filed 11-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P