This historical publication was part of an annual series in which HUD reported the most recent data on indicators of the social and economic vitality of America’s cities. This report focuses on four “megaforces”: the new economy, new demography, new housing challenges, and new forces of decentralization. Findings were primarily based on HUD’s State of the Cities Data System which provided historical data on key demographic, housing, and economic indicators for 542 central cities, their suburbs, and their associated metropolitan areas. The authors split the report into two parts: the impact of major trends on metropolitan communities and a policy agenda for America’s cities and suburbs.

This report is part of the collection of scanned historical documents available to the public.