scholarly journals Why Pandemics, Such as COVID-19, Require a Metropolitan Response

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Shlomo Angel ◽  
Alejandro Blei
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Small City ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
Rural Counties ◽  
Scaling Hypothesis ◽  
Statistical Support ◽  
Statistical Results ◽  
The U.S

We introduce evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States that lends support to future political efforts to include multi-county metropolitan areas as an additional and critical institutional layer—over and above municipalities, countries, states, or the federal government—for the effective management of present and future pandemics. Multi-county metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) accommodated 73% of the U.S. population and, as of 27 September 2020, they were home to 78% of reported cases of COVID-19 and 82% of reported deaths. The rationale for a renewed focus on these spatial units is that they are found to be densely interconnected yet easily identifiable locales for the spread of pandemics and, therefore, for their proper management as well. The paper uses available data on cases and deaths in U.S. counties as of 27 September 2020 to lend statistical support to four hypotheses: (1) The Onset Hypothesis: The onset of COVID-19 cases and deaths commenced earlier in multi-county metropolitan areas than in small-city counties or rural counties; (2) The Peak Hypothesis: The current peak of COVID-19 cases and deaths occurred earlier in multi-county metropolitan areas; (3) The Scaling Hypothesis: Multi-county metropolitan areas had more than their shares of COVID-19 cases and deaths than their shares in the population; and (4) The Neighbor Hypothesis: Levels of COVID-19 cases and deaths in counties within multi-county metropolitan areas were more strongly related to respective levels in their neighboring counties than small-city counties or rural counties. The reported statistical results demonstrate the value of adopting a metropolitan perspective on pandemics and working to empower effective institutional arrangements at the metropolitan level for managing the present and future pandemics.

Uncle Sam’s Efforts

2018 ◽  
pp. 51-86
Author(s):  
Lisa Lindquist Dorr
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Local Law Enforcement ◽  
Eighteenth Amendment ◽  
Local Law ◽  
State And Local ◽  
American Cities ◽  
The U.S

With the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment, the federal government developed and enforcement strategy that charged the U.S. Coast Guard with preventing the illegal importation of liquor on the high seas surrounding the United States. The U.S. Customs Bureau guarded the nation's ports and borders, and the Prohibition Bureau working with state and local law enforcement patrolled the nation's interior. Congress, however, failed to appropriate the resources needed to enforce the law. The Coast Guard lacked enough ships to patrol U.S. waters, and faced uncertainty over the extent to which American authority extended out from shore. The Coast Guard picketed, tracked and trailed suspected rum runners, and disrupted the Rum Rows that developed off the coasts of American cities, but could not fully stop liquor smuggling.

Electronic Government at the American Grassroots

2011 ◽  
pp. 643-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. F. Norris
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
The United States ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Electronic Government ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Current State ◽  
Electronic Delivery ◽  
The U.S

During the past 10 years or so, governments in the United States have rushed to adopt and implement electronic government or e-government (defined as the electronic delivery of governmental information and services 24 hours per day, seven days per week, see Norris, Fletcher, & Holden, 2001). Today, the federal government, all 50 state governments (and probably all departments within them), and the great majority of general purpose local governments of any size have official presences on the World Wide Web through which they deliver information and services and, increasingly, offer transactions. In this article, I examine the current state of the practice of e-government at the grassroots in the U.S.—that is, e-government among American local governments. In particular, I address the extent of local adoption of e-government, including the reasons for adoption, the relative sophistication of local e-government, and barriers to and initial impacts of e-government.

The U.S. Federal Market as an Early Adopter of SMRs

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Barattino ◽  
Scott Foster ◽  
James Spaulding
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Department Of Defense ◽  
Prime Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
Federal Agencies ◽  
Military Bases ◽  
Private Ownership ◽  
Early Adopter ◽  
Energy Usage ◽  
The U.S

The Federal Government accounts for about 2% of energy usage within the United States, with electricity accounting for approximately one-fifth of this usage. The Department of Defense (DOD) is the largest energy consumer across all Federal Agencies, accounting for nearly half of total use and has implemented programs to assure sustainable energy supplies for meeting mission critical operations. As prototype systems of Small Modular Reactors mature during the remainder of this decade, there is growing interest at senior levels of government to use the secure confines of military bases for electricity generated with SMRs to service power requirements of the DOD base and possibly the surrounding communities. This paper explores the potential for using DOD as an early adopter of SMRs from perspectives of the size of the market and adaptability of the current procurement process for private ownership of SMRs on military bases. Such an approach is shown to be consistent with DOD Sustainability objectives, as well as ensuring a continuation of the projected erosion of diversity mix for prime power generation within the U.S. A review of contract types for energy services are evaluated from the perspective of including SMRs. Required modifications for SMRs to be a part of this energy mix for Federal Agencies are presented.

scholarly journals The Function of Luxury: Visual and Material Abundance in Minoru Yamasaki’s U.S. Consulate in Kobe and Federal Science Pavilion in Seattle (1954–62)

Arts ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Joss Kiely
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Interwar Period ◽  
The United States ◽  
World's Fair ◽  
World War ◽  
Architectural Form ◽  
World Power ◽  
Global Exchange ◽  
The U.S

This article explores the visual abundance found in a number of early projects by Leinweber, Yamasaki and Hellmuth (LYH) and Minoru Yamasaki and Associates (MYA), which stands in stark contrast to the austere character of architectural form during the interwar period. Although Yamasaki received his architectural training in the 1930s, he was neither a true modernist, nor a fully postmodern architect. His aesthetic, and his firm’s work, lies in the interstices between these two distinct architectural moments, in company with contemporaries Edward Durell Stone and Paul Rudolph, among others. The work of these architects embraced a kind of visual and formal excess but stopped short of approaching the playful linguistic games of postmodern architecture. With themes of visual and material excess in mind, I examine two early commissions from the U.S. federal government that put into play ideas of global exchange, power, and extravagance in architecture as the United States emerged as a major world power in the aftermath of World War II, including the U.S. Consulate in Kobe, Japan (1954–1955) and the Federal Science Pavilion at the Seattle World’s Fair (1962).

Commuter Rail, Freight Railroads, and the Open Access Debate

2000 ◽  
Vol 1704 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
John G. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fundamental Change ◽  
Rail Freight ◽  
Commuter Rail ◽  
Rail Industry ◽  
The U.S

The future of the U.S. commuter rail industry is inextricably linked to that of the freight railroads. Because of recent mergers and associated operating issues, some shipper interests are seeking fundamental change in the organization of freight railroading. Under proposals for open access, railroads judged to be abusing a monopolistic position or providing inadequate service would be required to accommodate competing operators. As in the telecommunications and natural gas industries, infrastructure and service provision would be disaggregated and rail freight shippers could choose among different railroads. Open access is expected to lead to greater volatility in freight scheduling, as bulk shippers change service providers to maximize their commercial advantage. With freight railroads already at capacity in several metropolitan areas, open access would probably exacerbate capacity problems. The possible effects on commuter operations in Washington, D.C., and Chicago are analyzed. If the United States moves toward some form of open access, commuter railroads must ensure that their operating rights are fully preserved, especially during rush hours.

Infant Health, Women's Fertility, and Rural Electrification in the United States, 1930–1960

2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Lewis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Infant Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rural Electrification ◽  
Rural Counties ◽  
Electricity Access ◽  
The U.S

From 1930 to 1960 rural communities, mainly in the U.S. South and Southwest, gained access to electricity. In addition to lights, the benefits included easier clothes washing, refrigeration, and pumped water. This article uses differences in the timing of electricity access across rural counties to study the effects on infant mortality and fertility. Rural electrification led to substantial reductions in infant mortality but had little effect on women's fertility. The increase in electricity access between 1930 and 1960 can account for 15 to 19 percent of the decline in rural infant mortality during this period.

Ushering in the Millennium, Or How an American City Reversed the Past and Single-Handedly Inaugurated the End-Time

Prospects ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 35-67
Author(s):  
Paul E. Chevedden
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
The United States ◽  
American City ◽  
Turn Of The Millennium ◽  
The Past ◽  
Major Significance ◽  
The World ◽  
To Come ◽  
The U.S

The story of millennialism extends down the ages from the ancient Near East to the present. In his seminal study on the origins of millennialism,Cosmos, Chaos and the World to Come: The Ancient Roots of Apocalyptic Faith, Norman Cohn exclaims, “What a story it has become!”Much theological speculation; innumerable millenarian movements, including those now flourishing so vigorously in the United States; even the appeal once exercised by Marxist-Leninist ideology – all this belongs to it. Nor is there any reason to think that the story is nearing its end. The tradition whose origins are studied in this book is still alive and potent. Who can tell what fantasies, religious or secular, it may generate in the unforseeable future?What fantasies, indeed!All scholars who have studied millennialism have investigated unsuccessful movements, or movements that have yet to succeed, that is, achieve the millennium. This essay explores a successful millennial movement, one that has already ushered in the messianic age. Although this achievement is restricted geographically — to a city — it is nonetheless of major significance. Not only did this millennial movement receive support from the U.S. federal government, but it also accomplished its goal prior to the turn of the millennium.

scholarly journals Spatial Clustering of County-Level COVID-19 Rates in the U.S

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 12170
Author(s):  
Marcus R. Andrews ◽  
Kosuke Tamura ◽  
Janae N. Best ◽  
Joniqua N. Ceasar ◽  
Kaylin G. Battey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Spatial Clustering ◽  
The United States ◽  
County Level ◽  
Communities Of Color ◽  
States Data ◽  
The U.S

Despite the widespread prevalence of cases associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, little is known about the spatial clustering of COVID-19 in the United States. Data on COVID-19 cases were used to identify U.S. counties that have both high and low COVID-19 incident proportions and clusters. Our results suggest that there are a variety of sociodemographic variables that are associated with the severity of COVID-19 county-level incident proportions. As the pandemic evolved, communities of color were disproportionately impacted. Subsequently, it shifted from communities of color and metropolitan areas to rural areas in the U.S. Our final period showed limited differences in county characteristics, suggesting that COVID-19 infections were more widespread. The findings might address the systemic barriers and health disparities that may result in high incident proportions of COVID-19 clusters.

The Movement and Settlement of Puerto Rican Migrants within the United States, 1950–1960

1968 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 40-52
Author(s):  
J. Hernández-Alvarez
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
York City ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Puerto Ricans ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Trend ◽  
The U.S

This article presents a concise summary of the geographic movement and settlement of Puerto Ricans within the United States from 1950 to 1960, based on data drawn from the Census taken on the latter date. The Author observes that a shift away from New York City occurred both in terms of migration from Puerto Rico and internal movements between states. This resulted in the development of major Puerto Rican communities in eight other metropolitan areas of the U.S. The Puerto Rican population was found highly mobile within the U.S., especially from neighborhood to neighborhood within the same city and usually in the direction of neighborhoods marked by out-migration of non-Puerto Ricans. The analysis is then extended to the different patterns of settlement outside New York City and the present evolution of the migrant colonias and to the diaspora of a small portion of the Puerto Rican population throughout the U.S. In the final remarks, the Author discusses the future trend of dispersion of the second generation population, especially, and the correlation between economically favored cities and the setlement of Puerto Ricans on the mainland.

The Importance of Good Data

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Spetz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Future Research ◽  
National Sample Survey ◽  
History Of ◽  
The U.S

In 1977, the federal government launched the nation's largest and most significant program to collect data on the registered nurse (RN) workforce of the United States—the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN). This survey is conducted by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, first in 1977 and then every 4 years since 1980. This article offers the history of the NSSRN and a review of the ways in which the NSSRN data have been used to examine education, demographics, employment, shortages, and other aspects of the RN workforce. The influence this body of research has had on policymaking is explored. Recommendations for future research are offered, in the hope that future waves of the NSSRN will continue to be used to their fullest potential.

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