Description: Oregon communities are grouped using the following designations:
Coastal Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development Oregon coastal zone includes the state's coastal watersheds and extends seaward three nautical miles and inland to the crest of the coast rang. Census tracts with population centers inside the coastal zone boundary will be designated as coastal.
Remote USDA Frontier and Remote (FAR) areas are zip codes assigned levels that are determined by their population and distance from urban places. FAR Level III areas are:
· places up to 10,000 people,
· 30 minutes or more from an urban area of 10,000-24,999 people,
· 45 minutes or more from an urban area of 25,000-49,999 people,
· and 60 minutes or more from an urban area of 50,000 people or more.
FAR Level III areas do not include Micropolitan Core Areas with urban amenities like major hospital facilities and full-service supermarkets. Census tracts with population centers inside USDA FAR Level III areas will be designated as remote. Urban USDA rural-urban commuting area (RUCA) codes classify U.S. census tracts using measures of population density, urbanization, and daily commuting. Metropolitan Core Areas are urbanized areas (UAs) continuously built-up with a population of 50,000 or more and have a primary travel flow within the within the UA. Metropolitan Core Area tracts will be designated as urban.
Rural All tracts not designated as coastal, remote, or urban will be designated as rural. Micropolitan Areas (Urban or Rural?) The Methodology Workgroup was not able to reach consensus on a recommendation for whether Micropolitan Core Areas should be designated as urban or rural. Micropolitan Core Areas tend to have similar infrastructure as Metropolitan Core Areas including access to hospital trauma centers, government services, shopping centers, highspeed internet, and higher education opportunities. However, Micropolitan Core economies tend to align more closely with rural communities. Micropolitan Core Areas are Rural-Urban Commute Areas with primary travel flows inside an urban cluster of 10,000 – 49,999 people.
Service Item Id: 132fc21aef4442dcb91757f143f4043c
Copyright Text: Oregon Environmental Justice Council Methodology Working Group: Oregon Health Authority, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Administrative Services, Department of Transportation, Department of Land Conservation and Development, Department of Forestry, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Human Services, Public Utilities Commission., Portland Metro, Multnomah County Public Health, Portland State University – Population Research Center and Oregon State University – Institute for Natural Resources