Department of Commerce - Census.gov · qualifying core of a UA or UC: a. The Census Bureau will include additional noncontiguous area in a UA or UC using a ‘‘jump’’ connection

Wednesday,

March 28, 2001

Part IV

Department ofCommerceBureau of the Census

Urban Area Criteria for Census 2000—Proposed Criteria; Notice

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17018 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 28, 2001 / Notices

1 A census block group (BG) is a group of censusblocks within a census tract whose numbers beginwith the same digit; for example, BG 3 within acensus tract includes all census blocks numberedfrom 3000 to 3999.

2 A census block is an area normally bounded byvisible features, such as streets, streams, andrailroads, and by nonvisible features, such as theboundary of an incorporated place, minor civildivision, county, or other Census 2000 tabulationentity.

3 Contiguity requires at least one point ofintersection.

4 Population density is calculated by dividing thetotal population of the census BG or census blockby the land area of that BG or block.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

[Docket Number 010209034–1034–01]

RIN Number 0607–XX63

Urban Area Criteria for Census 2000—Proposed Criteria

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census,Department of Commerce.ACTION: Notice of Proposed Criteria andRequest for Public Comment.

SUMMARY: This Notice provides theBureau of the Census’ (Census Bureau’s)proposed criteria for defining urban andrural territory based on the results ofCensus 2000. It also provides adescription of the changes from thecriteria used for the 1990 census. TheCensus Bureau identifies and classifiesurban and rural population anddelineates urbanized areas (UAs) aftereach decennial census using criteria thatoriginated with the 1950 census. Sincethe 1950 census, the Census Bureau hasreviewed and revised these criteria foreach decennial census. These criteriarevisions over the years reflect theCensus Bureau’s desire to improve theclassification of urban and ruralpopulation by refining the criteria totake advantage of improvements in datacollection and reporting methodologiesas well as advancements in technology.

Since the 1990 census, significanttechnological advancements, togetherwith already existing nationwide blocknumbering (which was initiated withthe 1990 census), has made it possibleto classify urban and rural territory ona uniform basis. The Census Bureauproposes a number of significantchanges to the criteria for classificationof urban and rural population to makeuse of this opportunity to meet itsobjective of a uniform resultnationwide.

The Census Bureau identifies andtabulates data for the urban and ruralpopulation and territory solely for thepurpose of statistical presentation andcomparison. It does not take intoaccount or attempt to anticipate anynonstatistical uses that may be made ofthese areas or their associated data, nordoes it attempt to meet the requirementsof such nonstatistical program uses.Nonetheless, the Census Bureaurecognizes that some federal and stateagencies are legally required to use theCensus Bureau-defined urban and ruralclassifications for allocating programfunds, setting program standards, andimplementing aspects of their programs.The agencies that make suchnonstatistical uses of the areas and data

should be aware that the changes to theurban and rural criteria also might affectthe implementation of their programs.

If a federal, state, local, or tribalagency voluntarily uses these urban andrural criteria in a nonstatistical program,it is that agency’s responsibility toensure that the results are appropriatefor such use. In considering theappropriateness of such nonstatisticalprogram uses, the Census Bureau urgeseach agency to consider permittingappropriate modifications of the resultsof implementing the urban and ruralcriteria specifically for the purposes ofits program. When a program permitssuch modifications, the Census Bureauurges each agency to use descriptiveterminology that clearly identifies thedifferent criteria being applied so as toavoid confusion with the CensusBureau’s official urban and ruralclassifications.

DATES: Any comments, suggestions, orrecommendations concerning thisCensus 2000 proposed program in thisnotice should be submitted in writingApril 27, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Address all writtencomments to the Director, U.S. CensusBureau, Room 2049, Federal Building 3,Washington, DC 20233–0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Robert Marx, Chief, Geography Division,Census Bureau, Room 651, WP–1,Washington, DC 20233–7400, telephone(301) 457–1099–2131, or e-mail([email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

This notice does not meet the criteriafor a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ asspecified in Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

Because a notice of program criteria isnot required by Title 5, United StatesCode (U.S.C.), section 553 or any otherlaw, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis isnot required and has not been prepared(5 U.S.C. 603 (a)).

Paperwork Reduction Act

This program notice does notrepresent a collection of informationsubject to the requirements of thePaperwork Reduction Act, Title 44,U.S.C., Chapter 35.

Criteria

The following criteria will apply tothe 50 states, the District of Columbia,and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.The Census Bureau may apply thesecriteria to other areas as well.

I. Census 2000 Urbanized Area andUrban Cluster Definitions

For Census 2000, an urbanized area(UA) will consist of a densely settledcore of census block groups (BGs) 1 andcensus blocks 2 that meet minimumpopulation density requirements, alongwith adjacent densely settledsurrounding census blocks that togetherencompass a population of at least50,000 people, at least 35,000 of whomlive in an area that is not part of amilitary installation. For Census 2000,an urban cluster (UC) will consist of adensely settled core of census BGs andcensus blocks that meet minimumpopulation density requirements, alongwith adjacent densely settledsurrounding census blocks that togetherencompass a population of at least 2,500people, but fewer than 50,000 people, orgreater than 50,000 people if fewer than35,000 of them live in an area that is notpart of a military installation. Allcriteria based on land area, population,and population density will reflect theinformation contained in the CensusBureau’s Topologically IntegratedGeographic Encoding and Referencing(TIGER) data base and the populationcounts from the official Census 2000redistricting data file.

A. The ‘‘densely settled core’’ of a UAor UC shall include the following:

1. One or more contiguous 3 censusBGs that have a total land area less thanor equal to 2 square miles and apopulation density of at least 1,000people per square mile (ppsm) 4 (Figures1 and 6.). (Please note that allillustrative figures are attachmentslocated at the end of the document.)

2. One or more contiguous censusblocks that have a population density ofat least 1,000 ppsm, if no qualifying BGexists.

3. One or more census BGs that havea land area less than or equal to 2 squaremiles, a population density of at least500 ppsm, and that are contiguous withthe census BGs and census blocksidentified by criterion I.A.1. (Figures 1and 6).


17019Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 28, 2001 / Notices

5 Census BGs and/or census blocks are defined as‘‘surrounded’’ if the boundary of the BG or blockcompletely borders the core. Additionally, bodies ofwater wider than one mile across are excluded fromthe equation, so that a census BG and/or censusblock completely surrounded by the core andexcluded water bodies are included in the core.

6 Uninhabitable territory is defined as territory inwhich residential development is not possible; thatis, it consists of bodies of water, national parks andmonuments, and military installations. Water is anexample of a topographic situation in whichhabitation is not possible due to a physicallimitation. National parks, such as Yellowstone andYosemite, and military installations are examples ofterritory in which habitation is restricted due togovernmental regulations. Because the CensusBureau does not maintain an extensive land usedata base for the entire country, only theaforementioned land use types, which are includedwithin the Census Bureau’s TIGER data base, willbe used when distinguishing between habitable anduninhabitable territory.

7 An incorporated place is a governmental unitdesignated as a city, town (except in New Englandand Wisconsin), village, or borough (except in NewYork and Alaska), and includes all consolidatedcities.

8 A census designated place (CDP) is a statisticalequivalent of an incorporated place and representsa locally defined named area. CDPs includecomunidades and zonas urbana in Puerto Rico.

4. One or more contiguous censusblocks that have a population density ofat least 500 ppsm and that arecontiguous with the qualifying censusBGs and census blocks identified bycriterion I.A.1., I.A.2., or I.A.3. (Figures2 and 7).

5. The Census Bureau will include inthe core any noncontiguous censusBG(s) and/or census block(s) thatotherwise qualifies based on populationdensity and land area if it can bereached using a ‘‘hop’’ connection. Thatis, if the distance to the core is nogreater than 0.5 miles, and it isconnected to the core by one or morenonqualifying census blocks that:

a. When combined, have the highestpopulation density along the shortestroad connection, and

b. Has a combined population densityof at least 500 ppsm, or

c. The least populated area (core ornoncontiguous census BG(s) or censusblock(s) has a population greater than orequal to 1,000 (Figures 3 and 9).

6. Census BGs and/or census blockssurrounded by the core, as definedabove, provided the BGs or blockscontain fewer than 5 square miles 5

(Figure 8).7. Census BGs and/or blocks that are

indentations into the core, as long as theindentation is no longer than 1 mileacross the open end, and has a length atleast three times greater than thedistance across the open end (Figure 8).

B. Census BGs and/or census blocksadjacent to a UA or UC core consists ofthe following:

1. Territory made up of one or morecontiguous census blocks, with apopulation density of at least 500 ppsm,that are not contiguous to the core,provided that the core of the UA or UChas a population of at least 1,000, andthat the contiguous blocks are withinthe distance of either a jump, a jumpplus one or more hops, or anuninhabitable territory connection.

2. The following connection criteriadetermine the method used forconnecting densely settlednoncontiguous territory to thequalifying core of a UA or UC:

a. The Census Bureau will includeadditional noncontiguous area in a UAor UC using a ‘‘jump’’ connection if thenoncontiguous area is within 2.5 milesof the main body of a core that has atotal population of at least 1,500 people,

and is connected to it by one or morenonqualifying census blocks that:

(1) Are adjacent to a road connection;(2) When combined, have the highest

population density along theconnection; and

(3) Together with the qualifyingoutlying blocks/BGs, have a combinedpopulation density of at least 500 ppsm(Figures 3 and 10), or the noncontiguousqualifying blocks/BGs has a totalpopulation greater than or equal to1,000.

The Census Bureau will not includeadditional noncontiguous area in a UAor UC if the connection required toinclude it is greater than 0.5 miles andthe link required to connect theadditional area starts from territoryalready qualifying under criterionI.B.1.b.

b. For territory added using a jump,the Census Bureau will includeadditional noncontiguous area in a UAor UC that is connected to territoryadded using a jump by using a ‘‘hop’’connection if the distance between theUA or UC is within 0.5 miles ofqualifying territory, and connected to itby one or more nonqualifying censusblocks that:

(1) When combined, have the highestpopulation density along the shortestroad connection; and

(2) Together with the outlyingqualifying territory, have a combinedpopulation density of at least 500 ppsm(Figures 3 and 9), or the noncontiguousqualifying territory has a totalpopulation greater than or equal to1,000. Hop connections are allowedafter jump connections as long as theconditions in criterion I.B.1.b. stillapply.

c. The Census Bureau will includeuninhabitable territory 6 to the mainbody of the core or adjacent qualifyingterritory if the area to connect it iswithin 5 road miles, and as long as the5 miles include no more than 2.5 milesof otherwise habitable territory. Inaddition, one of the followingconditions must be met:

(1) The noncontiguous qualifyingterritory has a total population greaterthan or equal to 1,000; or

(2) The overall population density ofthe linking and noncontiguousqualifying territory (excluding water)has a total population density of at least500 ppsm (Figure 4).

Hops are allowed after uninhabitableterritory connections as long as theconditions in criterion I.B.1.a. stillapply.

3. Other territory with a populationdensity of less than 500 ppsm, providedthat it:

a. Eliminates an enclave of no morethan 5 square miles in the territoryotherwise qualifying for a UA or UCwhen the surrounding territory qualifieson the basis of population density, or

b. Closes an indentation in theboundary of the territory otherwisequalifying for inclusion in a UA or UCif the contiguous territory qualifies onthe basis of population density,provided that the indentation:

(1) Is no more than 1 mile across theopen end;

(2) Has a length at least 3 times greaterthan the distance across the open end;

(3) Is closeable by means of a censusblock boundary located across or closeto its open end; and

(4) Encompasses no more than 5square miles.

4. As a result of the UA and UCdelineation, an incorporated place 7 orcensus designated place (CDP) 8, may bepartially within and partially outside ofa UA or UC. Any place that is split bya UA or UC boundary is referred to asan extended place (Figures 5 and 11).

II. UA and UC Central Places

The Census Bureau will identify oneor more central places for each UA andUC (if an incorporated place or CDPexists within the UC) using thefollowing criteria:

A. The UA or UC central place is anincorporated place or CDP with themost population within the UA or UC.Additional places may become UA orUC central places provided that:

1. The place’s population within a UAor UC exceeds 50,000 people; or

2. The place’s population is at least 2⁄3of the most populous UA or UC centralplace.



9 A minor civil division is a legal subdivision ofa county or statistically equivalent entity.Governmental MCDs exist in Connecticut, Illinois,Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan,Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire,New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio,Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota,Vermont, and Wisconsin.

10 The Census Bureau considers two UAs to becontiguous if they share a common boundary line(not simply a point), and the area on each side ofthis shared boundary qualifies for inclusion in itsrespective UA based on the minimum populationdensity criterion of 500 ppsm.

11 The Census Bureau did not include previouslyexisting territory within a UA for the 1990 censusif the population of the pre-existing UA fell belowa total population of 50,000.

III. UA and UC Titles and Codes

The title of a UA or UC identifies theplace(s) that is (are) most populatedwithin the UA or UC. All populationrequirements for places and minor civildivisions 9 (MCDs) apply to thepopulation of the place or MCD that iswithin the specific UA or UC beingnamed.

A. UA and UC Titles

The following criteria are used todetermine UA and UC titles:

1. The UA or UC title includes thename of the incorporated place with themost population within the UA or UC(minimum population of 2,500). Asmany as two additional incorporatedplace names can be part of the UA or UCtitle. Additional incorporated placenames are added to the title, providedthat either the incorporated place’s UAor UC population exceeds 250,000people or the incorporated place hasboth (1) a UA or UC population of atleast 2,500 and (2) a UA or UCpopulation that is at least 2⁄3 of the totalin the most populous place in the UAor UC.

If the UA or UC does not contain anincorporated place having at least 2,500people, the UA or UC title will includethe single name that occurs first fromthe following list:

a. The nonmilitary CDP with thelargest population within the UA or UC,if its population is at least 2,500;

b. The incorporated place with thelargest population within the UA or UC;

c. The nonmilitary CDP with thelargest population within the UA or UC;

d. The military CDP with the largestpopulation within the UA or UC;

e. The governmental MCD with thelargest population within the UA or UC;or

f. A local name recognized for the areaby the United States Geological Survey’sGeographic Names Information System,with preference given to post officenames recognized by the United StatesPostal Service (USPS).

2. The criterion for the sequence ofplace or MCD names in the UA or UCtitle consists of the qualifying names indescending order of their Census 2000population within the UA or UC.

3. The UA or UC title will include theUSPS abbreviation of the name of eachstate into which the UA or UC extends.The order of the state names is the same

as the order of the related place or MCDnames in the UA or UC title. For UAsor UCs that extend into states in whichthere are no place names as part of theUA or UC title, the names of these statesare included in descending order of thestate’s Census 2000 population withinthe UA or UC.

4. If a single place or MCD qualifiesas the title of more than one UA or UC,the largest UA or UC will use the nameof the place or MCD. The smaller UA orUC will have a title consisting of theplace or MCD name and a compassdirectional. The compass directionalwill generally describe the location ofthe lesser populated UA or UC; forexample, a UA titled Allenville and aUC titled Allenville South.

5. If any name in a UA or UC nameduplicates a name in another UA or UCwithin the same state, the name of thecounty that has most of the populationof the largest place or MCD will beappended after the duplicate place orMCD name in parentheses for each UAor UC. If there is no central place orMCD, then the name of the county withthe greatest population residing in theUA or UC will be appended. Forexample, Springfield (Ames County),OH, and Springfield (Jefferson County),OH.

B. UA and UC codesThe Census Bureau will assign a 5-

digit numeric code to each UA and UC.The code will be based on an alphabeticsequence of all UA and UC names, andsequenced by state code where namesrepeat.

IV. Splitting UAsThe Census Bureau uses the

geographic structure of metropolitanareas (MAs), which includesmetropolitan statistical areas (MSAs),consolidated metropolitan statisticalareas (CMSAs), and primarymetropolitan statistical areas (PMSAs)to determine when to define separatecontiguous UAs.10 After delineating theboundary of each UA, the CensusBureau will examine the relationshipbetween the UAs and any MSA, CMSA,or PMSA using the following criteria todetermine if the UAs should be splitand, if so, where the boundary shouldbe located between these UAs:

A. UA Split CriteriaThe Census Bureau will split UAs

when the following conditions exist:

1. Two or more qualifying UAs are indifferent MSAs or PMSAs, and thedistance along which their areas arecontiguous is less than 3 miles.

The split will occur at the locationnearest the MSA or PMSA boundaryalong which their area of contiguity isless than 3 miles.

2. Two or more qualifying UAs are indifferent CMSAs, and the distance alongwhich their areas are contiguous is lessthan 3 miles. The split will occur at theCMSA boundary.

V. Urban and Rural ClassificationThe Census Bureau will classify as

urban all population residing within theboundaries of UAs and UCs. Conversely,the Census Bureau will classify as ruralall population and territory that are notwithin any UA or UC.

VI. Differences Between the ProposedCensus 2000 UA Criteria and the 1990Census UA Criteria

The following summary describes themost important differences between the1990 census UA criteria and the UAcriteria proposed for Census 2000:

A. The Census Bureau will notautomatically recognize previouslyexisting UA territory for Census 2000UA delineation. There will be no‘‘grandfathering’’ of areas that qualifiedfor earlier censuses. In past censuses,the Census Bureau generally includedall territory from previous UA 11

delineations. Grandfathering was usedextensively in past censuses.

Grandfathering creates a significantimpediment when trying to implementUA criteria changes. When areas thatwould not qualify under new criteria areretained within UAs due to the use of‘‘grandfathering,’’ this diminishes theeffect of the new criteria by retainingareas that the new criteria otherwisewould exclude. Therefore,‘‘grandfathering’’ creates an unevenapplication of the criteria where similarnonqualifying areas are either retainedor excluded from different UAs basedsolely on ‘‘grandfathering.’’

B. The Census Bureau will use UCsrather than places to determine the totalurban population outside of UAs.Previously, place boundaries were usedto determine the urban and ruralclassification of territory outside of UAs;all incorporated places that had at least2,500 people had all or part (based onthe extended city criteria) of theirpopulation classified as urban. Theentire land area and population of allCDPs with a population of at least 2,500



people were classified as urban becausethe extended city criteria did not applyto CDPs. With the creation of UCs, placeboundaries are ‘‘invisible’’ whencreating and classifying the cores ofdensely settled populationagglomerations.

Urban classification, based solely onthe boundaries of incorporated placesand CDPs, is very uneven and limited.Urban classification of a place outside ofa UA stopped at the place’s boundary.Densely settled areas that were adjacentto a qualifying place were not classifiedas urban. Areas that were denselysettled and included more than 2,500inhabitants, but did not include a placewith a population of at least 2,500, wereclassified as rural. CDPs that wereoverbounded, containing little denselysettled area, but with a population of atleast 2,500, always were classified asentirely urban.

The UC concept, based only oncensus BG and census block density,does not recognize incorporated place orCDP boundaries (except where theboundaries serve as qualifying BG orblock boundaries). Densely settledqualifying agglomerations of 2,500 ormore people qualify regardless of thetotal population, or even the existence,of incorporated places or CDPs. Thiseliminates bias by removing the effect ofstate laws governing incorporation andannexation or of local participation inthe CDP program.

C. The extended city criteria areextensively modified for 2000. Anyplace that is split by a UA or UCboundary is referred to as an extendedplace. Previously, sparsely settled areaswere examined using density and areameasurements to determine whether ornot they were excluded from the UA.

The 1990 extended city criteriacomplemented the previous UA criteriawhose focus was to include wholeplaces wherever possible, except forthose incorporated places that were veryoverbounded and very large. The use ofdifferent density thresholds withinincorporated place territory (100 ppsmrather than 1,000 ppsm outside ofplaces) again was biased based on statelaws of incorporation and annexation.The new urban criteria, based solely onthe population density of census BGsand census blocks, will provide acontinuum of urban areas.

D. The proposed criteria increase thepermitted jump distance from 1.5 to 2.5miles. Jumps between qualifying areasthat are less than or equal to 0.5 milesare hops, not jumps. In addition,noncontiguous areas with a populationof 1,000 or more qualify for inclusionregardless of the overall combined

density of the qualifying and connectingareas.

The increase in the permitted jumpdistance is proposed as a means torecognize improvements in thetransportation network, and theassociated changes in developmentpatterns that reflect theseimprovements, coupled withgovernmental influence to provideadditional ‘‘green space’’ betweendevelopments.

The Census Bureau developed the useof hops to extend the urban definitionacross small nonqualifying censusblocks, thereby avoiding the need todesignate the break in qualifying blocksas a jump. Most of these hop blocks aredeveloped for nonresidential uses, suchas schools, shopping centers, officecomplexes, industrial parks, and parksor other green space.

E. An indentation in qualifyingterritory has to be three times longerthan the distance across its mouth for itsinclusion in a UA or UC. Previously, anindentation only had to be two timeslonger. Increasing the distance it takesfor inclusion of indentations reduces thechances of sparsely settled area alongthe fringe of a core being classified asurban.

F. The revised uninhabitable jumpcriteria are more restrictive regardingthe types of terrain over which anuninhabitable jump can be made thanwas permitted under the 1990 censusUA criteria.

The new restriction on the types ofterritory that can be treated asuninhabitable is an attempt to removeambiguity from the designation ofundevelopable or uninhabitableterritory. The 1990 census criteriapermitted jumps across various types ofsupposedly undevelopable terrain basedon information that normally is notcontained within the TIGER data base.For example, floodplains, mud flats,steep slopes, and marshes weredesignated as undevelopable, but onlywhere a census or local officialspecifically requested the designation.Because this type of terrain informationusually does not exist within the TIGERdata base, attempting to use suchinformation under the current criteria isinappropriate. Therefore, thedesignation of uninhabitable territory islimited to those types of terrain andland use for which the TIGER data basehas a complete inventory, such asbodies of water, national parks andmonuments, and military installations.

G. The UA central place and titlecriteria will no longer follow standardspredefined by other federal agencies.Previously, many UA central places andtitles were based on MA central city

definitions set forth by the Office ofManagement and Budget.

The new MA criteria will be, andalways have been, applied later than theUA criteria. To avoid creating asituation in which the 2000 UA or UCcentral places and titles would need tofollow MA central city definitions thatwere established in the early 1990s,these criteria create an objective zero-based approach.

VII. Effects of the Census 2000 UACriteria on the 1990 UrbanClassification

A. The aforementioned changes inurban criteria may classify as much asthree percent (five million) more peopleas urban than the previous criteria did.

The majority of this increase willcome from how urban population isdefined outside of UAs. Under theformer criteria, urban populationoutside of UAs was limited to peopleliving in incorporated places and CDPsthat had a total population of 2,500 ormore. With the change to UCdelineation, many densely settledunincorporated areas will be classifiedas urban for the first time, as well asplaces having a population fewer than2,500 that adjoin densely settledterritory that brings the total populationof the area to 2,500 or more.

The overwhelming majority ofdensely settled unincorporated areas arelocated adjacent to incorporated places.Incorporated places in states with strictannexation laws are less likely to annexthe densely settled areas that areadjacent to them. Connecticut,Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey,New York, and Pennsylvania are stateswith strict annexation laws. These stateswill have a higher proportional increasein urban population than those stateswith liberal annexation laws, such asAlabama, Arizona, Mississippi,Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas, whereincorporated places are more likely toannex adjacent densely settled areas.

Another element of the criteria thatwill cause an increase in total urbanpopulation is the inclusion into UAs ofnearby areas that did not qualify underthe former jump criteria. Some areasthat were excluded from a 1990 UAbecause it took two jumps to get to themmay be included in a Census 2000 UAbecause one of the jumps is nowclassified as a hop. Others may beincluded because of the increase in thejump distance from 1.5 to 2.5 miles.

B. The total urban area may decreaseby as much as 7 percent (6,600 squaremiles).

The decrease in urban area is due tothe removal of the whole place andextended city qualification criteria and



the requirement to retain areas that werepreviously within UAs(‘‘grandfathering’’). The decrease resultsfrom using a higher density requirementin places (500 ppsm rather than the 100ppsm used for the 1990 census in

extended cities) and the ability toclassify CDPs as part urban and rural.States that have liberal annexation lawsor overbounded places will notice themost significant decreases in total urbanland area.

C. When the Census 2000 UA criteriaare applied using 1990 census data, thefollowing four 1990 census UAs fail toqualify using the proposed criteria:

1990 UA 1990 UApopulation

Proposed criteriapopulation

Bristol, VA .................................................................................................................................................... 52,563 49,687Brunswick, GA ............................................................................................................................................. 50,066 47,282Dover, DE .................................................................................................................................................... 50,787 49,355Ithaca, NY .................................................................................................................................................... 50,132 49,416

The removal of the whole placequalification criteria is the primaryreason why these four areas may fail toqualify as UAs following Census 2000.The 1990 census whole placequalification criteria required thatwhole CDPs were either included orexcluded from a 1990 UA, but there isno requirement under the Census 2000criteria to include whole CDPs. The1990 UA qualification of Brunswick,Dover, and Ithaca relied on theinclusion of whole CDPs, but large areasof these CDPs did not meet thepopulation density requirement underthe 2000 criteria. Bristol was a 1980 UA,which by virtue of ‘‘grandfathering,’’qualified all 1980 UA territory as 1990qualifying territory. In addition, theentire area of Bristol City was includedin the UA because it failed to meet theextended city criteria. However,portions of Bristol City do not qualify

under the Census 2000 criteria becauseof low population density.

Even though the 1990 UAs listedabove fail to qualify using Census 2000criteria and 1990 data, they do notnecessarily indicate that they will notqualify as Census 2000 UAs. There mayhave been positive population growthsince 1990 in those four areas such thatthe total qualifying population will riseabove 50,000. As stated previously,1990 census population data were usedto determine the qualifying area forthese four 1990 UAs. No other 1990 UAsfailed to qualify as a result of the criteriachanges.

A. Former urban places may beclassified as rural under the Census2000 UC criteria.

The UC criteria do not qualifyincorporated places and CDPs that havea population of 2,500 or more as urban

based solely on their total populations.Urban classification is based solely onthe delineation of a qualifying UC of atleast 2,500 people at a density of at least500. Those places that do not have aqualifying UC of at least 2,500population based primarily on densitywill be classified as rural. Places with apopulation just above 2,500 and thosewith low densities or dispersed coresmay not qualify as urban. Conversely,incorporated places and CDPs that havea population less than 2,500 may beclassified wholly or partially as urbanwhen the population outside the placeis inside part of a qualifying UC thatreaches the 2,500 population threshold.

Dated: February 12, 2001.

William G. Barron,

Acting Director, Bureau of the Census.

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Department of Commerce - Census.gov · qualifying core of a UA or UC: a. The Census Bureau will include additional noncontiguous area in a UA or UC using a ‘‘jump’’ connection