Santiago Pinto discusses his research on commuting patterns in the Fifth District and how these patterns may help us better understand the economic connections between rural and urban communities. Pinto is a senior economist and policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Examining commuting behavior helps show how connected counties are in the Fifth Federal Reserve District.

We're building our data products to help data users and local and state leaders gain quick insight into geographic differences across a range of indicators.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, have people moved away from urban cores in favor of more rural areas?

Harvard University economist on urbanization, the future of small towns, and "Yes In My Back Yard."

Crime is a complex, multidimensional problem. Different factors explain the large observed variability in crime rates across geographic areas and demographic groups.

According to the latest census data, the share of Americans living in rural areas continued to decline over the past decade, while urban areas have grown.

How do local government borrowing, default, and migration interact? We find in-migration results in excessive debt accumulation due to a key externality: Immigrants help repay previously issued debt.

Some policymakers, researchers, and commentators have expressed their belief that a concerted federal investment in technology, or in research and development, can help level the playing field nationwide and spur economic growth. But is it optimal for all localities to specialize in the same sorts of industries?

Green infrastructure can help reduce polluting runoff during severe storms, but questions about costs give some localities pause

COVID-19 transformed how we work and socialize, which could put the future of cities on a new path

How did rural and urban counties compare on measures of health outcomes and drivers prior to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Reston, Va., and Columbia, Md., were founded in the 1960s with similar visions for inclusive, connected communities.

Although the Fifth District’s black population tends to have higher employment and educational attainment compared to the nation’s, there are still significant disparities relative to whites.

This paper studies the urban structure of Detroit — one that is clearly not optimal for its size — which features a business district immediately surrounded by largely vacant neighborhoods.

The Richmond Fed is working to understand how economic outcomes vary across different regions and different groups of people.

To study the allocation of workers across cities, we propose and quantify a spatial equilibrium model with multiple industries that employ CNR and alternative (non-CNR) occupations.

A new financing model for distressed communities offers both promise and pitfalls.

We document that seasonal temperatures have significant and systematic effects on the U.S. economy, both at the aggregate level and across a wide cross section of economic sectors.

The Fifth District includes both urban and rural communities. How do we define urban and rural, and what do data tell us about the disparities?

Petersburg, Virginia, prospered over two centuries as a center of production and trade. However, the city experienced economic difficulties beginning in the 1980s as a large number of layoffs at production plants in the area coincided with an erosion of retail trade in the city.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin discussed geographic differences between rural and urban areas, workforce development, and mobility at the Reinventing Our Communities conference.

Ride-sharing services have been competing with the taxi industry and encountering regulatory spats, yet they have grown markedly, particularly around the District of Columbia.

Charlotte, N.C., has the most diverse industrial mix of any Fifth District city. What causes industry diversity in cities?

The Fifth District economy has been increasingly driven by urban areas. How do we understand the existence, growth and decline of cities?

The absence of "boomerang buyers" in the housing market could have implications for near-term economic growth in the United States.

Urban revitalization efforts have a mixed record. A combination of “place-based” and “people-based” policies may be most successful.