[RocketDawg]

A proposal would change the definition of Metropolitan Statistical Area from needing a core city of 50,000 to one of 100,000. This would mean 144 metro areas nationwide would become micropolitan areas, joining many other smaller areas. Several of those would be in Alabama including Decatur, the Shoals, and Auburn/Opelika. A map is included in the linked article: https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/...as-metro-areas

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

A proposal would change the definition of Metropolitan Statistical Area from needing a core city of 50,000 to one of 100,000. This would mean 144 metro areas nationwide would become micropolitan areas, joining many other smaller areas. Several of those would be in Alabama including Decatur, the Shoals, and Auburn/Opelika. A map is included in the linked article: https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/...as-metro-areas

That's interesting. Looks like Anniston/Gadsden and Daphne/Fairhope, too. I wonder what happens to them. Do they simply get designated micropolitan areas or get absorbed into nearby areas? For example, I could easily see Anniston/Gadsden getting sucked into Birmingham's orbit while Daphne/Fairhope gets pulled into Mobile's and Decatur into Huntsville's. Auburn and Florence are too far away from another metro area.

[harry chickpea]

Has no one thought of calling the larger centers Macropolitan, rather than changing the rule book?

[TimCity2000]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

That's interesting. Looks like Anniston/Gadsden and Daphne/Fairhope, too. I wonder what happens to them. Do they simply get designated micropolitan areas or get absorbed into nearby areas? For example, I could easily see Anniston/Gadsden getting sucked into Birmingham's orbit while Daphne/Fairhope gets pulled into Mobile's and Decatur into Huntsville's. Auburn and Florence are too far away from another metro area.

Auburn probably has a better case for Columbus, GA than Anniston or Gadsden do for Birmingham. Tuscaloosa feels much more in Birmingham's orbit than either of those, to me at least.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

Auburn probably has a better case for Columbus, GA than Anniston or Gadsden do for Birmingham. Tuscaloosa feels much more in Birmingham's orbit than either of those, to me at least.

If the census estimates are correct, Tuscaloosa surpassed 100,000 in 2019. So it will remain an MSA. Looks like Alabama would drop from 12 to 5 metros, and that really makes more sense. It's still just a proposal at the moment.

I don't think it necessarily means that MSAs will be redfined, it's just that they're tightening the restrictions on what is called "metro". 70 years ago when the 50,000 criterion was established, the country only had about half the population it does now. There were just too many metros. Those marginal ones will fall back into the micro category.

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

Auburn probably has a better case for Columbus, GA than Anniston or Gadsden do for Birmingham. Tuscaloosa feels much more in Birmingham's orbit than either of those, to me at least.

Maybe not Anniston, but I could see Gadsden. Lots of people commute from Gadsden into Birmingham. Meanwhile, I think the Jasper micropolitan area could get pulled into Birmingham as well with I-22.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

Maybe not Anniston, but I could see Gadsden. Lots of people commute from Gadsden into Birmingham. Meanwhile, I think the Jasper micropolitan area could get pulled into Birmingham as well with I-22.

Are you familiar with this map that shows commuting patterns in Alabama? Not that many from Etowah to Jefferson - 1450 or so, so I can't see them moving into the B'ham/Hoover MSA. They're not even in the CSA at the moment. The map is pretty interesting to play around with, but I've never quite figured out how to navigate this type of map all that well. Principal Commuting Patterns in Alabama

Jasper/Walker County were in the B'ham MSA until a year or two ago. Not sure why they were removed - had to be commuting numbers. They're in the CSA though.

It'll be interesting to see what effect the proposal has on Alabama MSA definitions, if any, other than calling the smaller ones micropolitan instead of metropolitan.

[k7baixo]

Auburn has a population of over 50,000 but Opelika doesn’t. Seems like splitting hairs since the total is greater than 150,000.

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

Are you familiar with this map that shows commuting patterns in Alabama? Not that many from Etowah to Jefferson - 1450 or so, so I can't see them moving into the B'ham/Hoover MSA. They're not even in the CSA at the moment. The map is pretty interesting to play around with, but I've never quite figured out how to navigate this type of map all that well. Principal Commuting Patterns in Alabama

Jasper/Walker County were in the B'ham MSA until a year or two ago. Not sure why they were removed - had to be commuting numbers. They're in the CSA though.

It'll be interesting to see what effect the proposal has on Alabama MSA definitions, if any, other than calling the smaller ones micropolitan instead of metropolitan.

That's a terrific resource. Thanks for showing me this. I wonder how commuting patterns will change for Walker County over the next several years?

[TimCity2000]

Yeah it was odd (and a bit concerning) that Walker County was removed from the MSA after I-22 opened. While not a very big loss, I hope that reverses the next time they recalculate MSAs. Of course, in a post-COVID world you have to wonder if commuting patterns will remain the method for calculating these, as these will likely shrink across the board in most places as telecommuting / WFH becomes commonplace.