Problems of the Urban Government Statistician

With the tremendous growth in the population of metropolitan areas in the United States, and with the corresponding increase in joint federal-local programs, there is an ever-growing need for adequate data as an aid to local and regional decision making. Examining the scope and nature of recent changes in the modern city, the problems stemming from these changes, and the kinds of data needed to solve these problems, the author proposes a modern statistical program that avoids the pitfalls confronting most data gathering and suggests steps through which the Federal government can help municipal and regional bodies to develop a modern statistical intelligence system.