Case selection - why these 1300ish cities?

To tell the story of gun violence in urbanized communities of all sizes, my data is inclusive of all US cities with populations greater than 50,000, plus the principal cities of micropolitan statistical areas. Micropolitan statistical areas are defined by the Census Bureau of the US Office of Management and Budget as “urban clusters” comprised of adjacent communities with between 10,000-50,000 residents. These include small cities otherwise characterized as “outer suburbs” or “exurbs” that were formerly remote and rural but have become “booming retail, industrial, and entertainment centers.” By contrast, isolated communities with fewer than 50,000 residents are omitted from the analysis. With this data I provide analyses of gun violence in 1328 American communities, ranging in population size from around 4000 to over 1 million. Over 41% of Americans, or 137.7 million people reside in these communities. Among the estimated 21,045 total firearm homicides recorded in 2021, over 15,000 (71%) occurred in a subset (956) of these 1328 cities.