[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 57 (Thursday, March 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16706-16715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06180]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau

[Docket Number 220228-0062]


Urban Area Criteria for the 2020 Census--Final Criteria

AGENCY: Census Bureau, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final program criteria.

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SUMMARY: This notice provides the Census Bureau's final criteria for 
defining urban areas based on the results of the 2020 Decennial Census. 
This notice also provides a summary of comments received in response to 
the proposed criteria published in the Federal Register on February 19, 
2021, as well as the Census Bureau's responses to those comments. The 
Census Bureau delineates urban areas after each decennial census by 
applying specified criteria to decennial census and other data. Since 
the 1950 Census, the Census Bureau has reviewed and revised these 
criteria, as necessary, for each decennial census in order to improve 
the classification of urban areas by taking advantage of newly 
available data and advancements in geographic information processing 
technology.

DATES: The Census Bureau will begin implementing the criteria as of 
March 24, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Vincent Osier, Geography Division, U.S. Census 
Bureau, via email at [email protected]. Phone: 301-763-1128.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Census Bureau's urban-rural 
classification is fundamentally a delineation of geographical areas, 
identifying individual urban areas as well as the rural portion of the 
nation. The Census Bureau's urban areas represent densely developed 
territory, and encompass residential, commercial, and other non-
residential urban land uses. The boundaries of this urban footprint 
have been defined using measures based primarily on population counts 
and residential population density, and also on criteria that account 
for non-residential urban land uses, such as commercial, industrial, 
transportation, and open space that are part of the urban landscape. 
Since the 1950 Census, when the Census Bureau first defined densely 
settled urbanized areas of 50,000 or more people, the urban area 
delineation process has addressed non-residential urban land uses 
through criteria designed to account for commercial enclaves, special 
land uses such as airports, and densely developed noncontiguous 
territory.
    In developing criteria for delineating urban areas, the Census 
Bureau uses an objective approach that is designed to meet the needs of 
a broad range of analysts and users interested in the definition of and 
data for urban and rural communities for statistical purposes. The 
Census Bureau recognizes that some federal and state agencies use the 
Census Bureau's urban-rural classification for allocating program 
funds, setting program standards, and implementing aspects of their 
programs. The agencies that use the classification and data for such 
nonstatistical uses should be aware that the changes to the urban area 
criteria also might affect the implementation of their programs.
    While the Census Bureau is not responsible for the use of its 
urban-rural classification in nonstatistical programs, we will work 
with tribal, federal, state, or local agencies as well as stakeholders, 
as appropriate, to ensure understanding of our classification. Agencies 
using the classification for their programs must ensure that the 
classification is appropriate for their use.

I. Summary of Changes Made to the 2020 Census Urban Area Criteria

    The following table compares the final 2020 Census urban area 
criteria with those that were proposed in the Federal Register on 
February 19, 2021 (86 FR 10237).

[[Page 16707]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Proposed 2020
          Criteria                  criteria         Final 2020 criteria
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Identification of Initial     Census block housing  Aggregation of
 Urban Area Cores.             unit density of       census blocks with
                               385. Use of land      a housing unit
                               cover data to         density of 425. Use
                               identify territory    of land cover data
                               with a high degree    to identify
                               of imperviousness.    territory with a
                                                     high degree of
                                                     imperviousness.
Minimum Qualifying Threshold  An area will qualify  An area will qualify
                               as urban if it        as urban if it
                               contains at least     contains at least
                               4,000 housing units   2,000 housing units
                               or has a population   or has a population
                               of at least 10,000.   of at least 5,000.
Types of Urban Areas........  Urban areas will no   Urban areas will no
                               longer be             longer be
                               distinguished as      distinguished as
                               either an             either an
                               ``urbanized area''    ``urbanized area''
                               or an ``urban         or an ``urban
                               cluster.'' All        cluster.'' All
                               qualifying areas      qualifying areas
                               will be designated    will be designated
                               ``urban areas.''.     ``urban areas.''
Inclusion of Group Quarters.  Census blocks         Census blocks
                               containing group      containing group
                               quarters adjacent     quarters and a
                               to already            population density
                               qualified blocks      of at least 500
                               will be included.     adjacent to already
                                                     qualified blocks
                                                     will be included.
Inclusion of Noncontiguous    Maximum hop distance  Maximum hop distance
 Territory via Hops and        0.5 miles, maximum    0.5 miles, maximum
 Jumps.                        jump distance 1.5     jump distance 1.5
                               miles, and no hops    miles, and no hops
                               after jumps.          after jumps.
                               Intervening, low      Intervening, low
                               density blocks are    density blocks are
                               not included in the   not included in the
                               urban area.           urban area.
Inclusion of Noncontiguous    Bodies of water and   Bodies of water and
 Territory Separated by        wetlands as           wetlands as
 Exempted Territory.           identified in land    identified in the
                               cover data. The       land cover data.
                               intervening, low      The intervening,
                               density blocks of     low density blocks
                               water or wetlands     of water or
                               are not included in   wetlands are not
                               the urban area.       included in the
                                                     urban area.
Low-Density Fill............  N/A.................  Contiguous census
                                                     blocks added to
                                                     already qualifying
                                                     territory with a
                                                     housing unit
                                                     density of 200.
Inclusion of Airports.......  Currently             Currently
                               functioning airport   functioning airport
                               within a distance     within a distance
                               of 0.5 miles to the   of 0.5 miles to the
                               urban area that is    urban area that is
                               a qualified cargo     a qualified cargo
                               airport or has an     airport or has an
                               annual enplanement    annual enplanement
                               of at least 2,500     of at least 2,500
                               passengers.           passengers.
Additional Nonresidential     Inclusion of groups   Inclusion of groups
 Urban Territory.              of census blocks      of census blocks
                               with a high degree    with a high degree
                               of imperviousness     of imperviousness
                               and that are within   and that are within
                               0.25 miles of an      0.5 miles of an
                               urban area.           urban area, and
                                                     have a total area
                                                     of at least 0.15
                                                     square miles.
                                                    Inclusion of groups
                                                     of census blocks
                                                     with at least 1,000
                                                     jobs (per
                                                     Longitudinal
                                                     Employer-Household
                                                     Dynamics Origin-
                                                     Destination
                                                     Employment
                                                     Statistics (LODES)
                                                     data) and that are
                                                     within 0.5 miles of
                                                     an urban area.
Inclusion of Enclaves.......  Additional census     Additional census
                               blocks added when     blocks added when
                               surrounded solely     surrounded solely
                               by qualifying land    by qualifying land
                               territory or by       territory or by
                               both land that        both land that
                               qualified for         qualified for
                               inclusion in the      inclusion in the
                               urban area and        urban area and
                               water.                water.
Inclusion of Indentations...  N/A.................  3.5 square mile
                                                     maximum area of the
                                                     territory within
                                                     the indentation to
                                                     be added to the
                                                     urban area.
Merging Block Aggregations..  N/A.................  Merge qualifying
                                                     territory from
                                                     separately defined
                                                     2020 Census urban
                                                     areas that do not
                                                     contain a high-
                                                     density nucleus and
                                                     are within 0.25
                                                     miles of a
                                                     qualifying urban
                                                     area.
Identification of             N/A.................  Identify qualifying
 Agglomerations.                                     areas that contain
                                                     a high-density
                                                     nucleus with a
                                                     housing unit
                                                     density of 1,275
                                                     and at least 2,000
                                                     housing units or
                                                     5,000 persons.
Splitting Large               Potential splits and  Potential splits and
 Agglomerations.               merges are            merges are
                               identified using      identified using
                               Longitudinal          Longitudinal
                               Employer-Household    Employer-Household
                               Dynamics worker       Dynamics worker
                               flow data between     flow data between
                               2010 Census urban     2010 Census urban
                               area pairs. If        area pairs. If
                               necessary, split      necessary, split
                               location is guided    location is guided
                               by commuter-based     by commuter-based
                               communities.          communities.
Assigning Urban Area Titles.  Clear, unambiguous    Clear, unambiguous
                               title based on        title based on
                               commonly recognized   commonly recognized
                               place names derived   names of places
                               from incorporated     within the high-
                               places, census        density nuclei,
                               designated places,    derived from
                               minor civil           incorporated
                               divisions, and the    places, census
                               Geographic Names      designated places,
                               Information System.   minor civil
                                                     divisions, and the
                                                     Geographic Names
                                                     Information System.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

II. History

    Over the course of a century defining urban areas, the Census 
Bureau has introduced conceptual and methodological changes to ensure 
that the urban-rural classification keeps pace with changes in 
settlement patterns and with changes in theoretical and practical 
approaches to interpreting and

[[Page 16708]]

understanding the definition of urban areas. Prior to the 1950 Census, 
the Census Bureau primarily defined ``urban'' as any population, 
housing, and territory located within incorporated places with a 
population of 2,500 or more. That definition was easy and 
straightforward to implement, requiring no need to calculate population 
density; to understand and account for actual settlement patterns on 
the ground in relation to boundaries of legal/administrative units; or 
to consider densely settled populations existing outside incorporated 
municipalities. For much of the first half of the twentieth century, 
that definition was adequate for defining ``urban'' and ``rural'' in 
the United States, but by 1950 it became clear that it was incomplete.
    Increasing suburbanization, particularly outside the boundaries of 
large incorporated places led the Census Bureau to adopt the urbanized 
area concept for the 1950 Census. At that time, the Census Bureau 
formally recognized that densely settled communities outside the 
boundaries of incorporated municipalities were just as ``urban'' as the 
densely settled population inside those boundaries. Outside urbanized 
areas of 50,000 or more people, the Census Bureau continued to 
recognize urban places with at least 2,500 and less than 50,000 
persons. This basic conceptual approach to identifying urban areas 
remained in effect through the 1990 Census, although with some changes 
to criteria and delineation methods.
    The Census Bureau adopted six substantial changes to its urban area 
criteria for the 2000 Census:
     Defining urban clusters using the same criteria as 
urbanized areas.
     Disregarding incorporated place and census designated 
place (CDP) boundaries when defining urbanized areas and urban 
clusters.
     Adopting 500 persons per square mile (PPSM) as the minimum 
density criterion for recognizing some types of urban territory.
     Increasing the maximum jump distance for linking densely 
developed territory separated from the main body of the urban area by 
intervening low density territory from 1.5 to 2.5 miles. This 
recognized the prospect that larger clusters of non-residential urban 
uses might offset contiguity of densely settled territory.
     Introducing the hop concept to provide an objective basis 
for recognizing that nonresidential urban uses, such as small 
commercial areas or parks, create small gaps between densely settled 
residential territory, but are part of the pattern of urbanization.
     Adopting a zero-based approach to defining urban areas.
    For the 2010 Census, the Census Bureau adopted moderate changes and 
enhancements to the criteria to improve upon the classification of 
urban and rural areas while continuing to meet the objective of a 
uniform application of criteria nationwide. These changes were:
     Use of census tracts as analysis units in the initial 
phase of delineation.
     Use of land use/land cover data from the National Land 
Cover Database (NLCD) to identify qualifying areas of non-residential 
urban land uses.
     Qualification of airports for inclusion in urban areas.
     Elimination of the designation of central places within 
urban areas.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The central place concept was not necessary for urban area 
delineation and the resulting list of qualified central places 
largely duplicated the list of principal cities identified by the 
Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area standards. There was 
no conceptual reason to continue identifying two slightly different 
lists of cities and other places that were central to their 
respective regions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Requirement for minimum population residing outside 
institutional group quarters.
     Splitting large urban agglomerations.
    The conceptual and criteria changes adopted for both the 2000 and 
2010 Censuses, as well as the history of the Census Bureau's urban and 
rural classification, are discussed in more detail in the document ``A 
Century of Delineating a Changing Landscape: The Census Bureau's Urban 
and Rural Classification, 1910 to 2010,'' available at https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/ua/Century_of_Defining_Urban.pdf.

III. Summary of Comments Received in Response to Proposed Criteria

    The notice published in the Federal Register on February 19, 2021 
(86 FR 10237) requested comments on proposed criteria for delineating 
the 2020 Census urban areas. The Census Bureau received 106 responses 
directly related to the proposed Urban Area Criteria. Responses were 
received from regional planning and nongovernmental organizations, 
municipal and county officials, Members of Congress, state governments, 
federal agencies, and individuals. The criteria in Section V of this 
document reflect changes made in response to the comments and 
suggestions received on the proposed criteria for delineating the 2020 
Census urban areas.

Comments Expressing General Support or Opposition

    The Census Bureau received ten comments that expressed general 
support or general opposition to the proposed criteria without 
specifying any particular aspect of the criteria. Five commenters 
expressed general opposition; five commenters offered general support.

Comments Pertaining To Increasing the Minimum Threshold To Qualify

    The Census Bureau received twenty-nine comments regarding the 
proposal to increase the minimum threshold to qualify as urban to 
10,000 persons or 4,000 housing units. Twenty-seven commenters 
expressed concern about the increase, citing loss of statistical 
continuity for small communities. Two commenters supported increasing 
the minimum threshold.

Comments Pertaining to Proposed Exclusion of Hop/Jump Corridors From 
Urban Areas

    The Census Bureau received nineteen comments regarding the proposal 
to exclude hop/jump corridors from an urban area. Seventeen commenters 
expressed concern, citing issues related to the complex, multipiece 
urban areas that would result. Two commenters supported excluding the 
hop/jump corridors.

Comments Pertaining to Proposed Criteria To Cease Distinguishing Types 
of Urban Areas

    The Census Bureau received sixteen comments regarding the proposal 
to cease distinguishing types of urban areas. Thirteen commenters 
expressed concern about the loss of distinction between Urban Clusters 
and Urbanized Areas (though this is only a change in terminology--it 
still will be possible to distinguish between different sizes of urban 
areas based on population). Three commenters supported the proposal to 
cease distinguishing types of urban areas.

Comments Pertaining to Housing Unit Density

    The Census Bureau received fifty-five comments regarding the 
proposed criteria to utilize housing unit density.
    Twenty-six commenters expressed concern about using housing unit 
density instead of population density. Eight commenters supported using 
housing unit density.
    Twenty commenters expressed concern that the minimum housing unit 
density threshold of 385 housing units per square mile (HPSM) was too 
high. One commenter supported the

[[Page 16709]]

minimum housing unit density of 385 HPSM.

Comments Pertaining to Proposed Criteria for Splitting Large Urban 
Agglomerations

    The Census Bureau received five comments regarding the proposed 
criteria for splitting large urban area agglomerations or the use of 
the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) data. Three 
commenters supported the proposed criteria; two commenters expressed 
concern.

Comments Pertaining to Proposed Jump Criteria

    The Census Bureau received forty-seven comments regarding the 
proposed jump criteria designed to include noncontiguous, but 
qualifying territory within an urban area. Of these, six commenters 
supported lowering the maximum jump distance threshold from 2.5 to 1.5 
miles. Forty-one commenters favored no change to the 2.5-mile maximum 
jump distance threshold. Reasons for retention of the 2.5-mile maximum 
jump distance provided by these commenters included retaining 
consistency with the 2010 Census urban area delineation, the ability to 
account for future urbanization and extended suburbanization, and 
mitigation of the presence of undevelopable land not identified by the 
Census Bureau.

Comments Pertaining to Proposed Use of Census Blocks as Building Blocks

    The Census Bureau received seven comments regarding the proposed 
use of the census block as the analysis unit (or geographic building 
block) during the delineation of the initial urban area core. These 
commenters expressed concern that the use of census blocks instead of 
census tracts would lead to the shrinking of the population and 
geographic area of urban areas.

Comments Pertaining to Proposed Criteria for Indentations

    The Census Bureau received ten comments regarding proposed criteria 
to no longer include low-density territory located within indentations 
formed during the Urban Area Delineation Process. These commenters 
opposed the proposed criteria, citing the jagged nature of the urban 
area boundaries without the smoothing that occurs by including 
indentations.

Comments Pertaining to Proposed Criteria To Qualify Territory 
Containing a High Degree of Impervious Surface

    The Census Bureau received nine comments regarding the proposed use 
of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) to assist in identifying and 
qualifying as urban, sparsely populated urban-related territory 
associated with a high degree of impervious surface. These commenters 
expressed concern about the vintage of the data.

Comments Pertaining to Nonstatistical Uses of Urban Areas

    Additional comments expressed concern that the Census Bureau does 
not acknowledge or consider any nonstatistical uses of urban areas when 
developing delineation criteria. These commenters also suggested 
delaying the delineation of urban areas until provisions are adopted 
that would prevent adverse impacts on programs and funding formulas 
relating to urban areas as currently defined.
    In response to the comments received regarding the nonstatistical 
uses of Census urban areas, the Census Bureau recognizes that some 
federal and state agencies use the Census Bureau's urban-rural 
classification for allocating program funds, setting program standards, 
and implementing aspects of their programs. The Census Bureau remains 
committed to an objective, equitable, and consistent nationwide urban 
area delineation, and thus identifies these areas for the purpose of 
tabulating and presenting statistical data. This provides data users, 
analysts, and agencies with a baseline set of areas from which to work, 
as appropriate. Given the many programmatic and often conflicting or 
competing uses for Census Bureau-defined urban areas, the Census Bureau 
cannot attempt to take each such use into account or assess the 
relative value of any particular use. The Census Bureau is committed to 
working with stakeholders, as appropriate, to promote understanding of 
our classification.

Comments Pertaining to Retention of the 2010 Urban Area Criteria

    Three commenters specifically requested that territory defined as 
urban in the 2010 Census continue to be defined as urban for the 2020 
Census. Six commenters requested that the 2010 criteria be used to 
define urban areas for the 2020 Census.

Comments Pertaining to Local Input of Urban Area Boundaries

    Eight commenters expressed concern that there are no provisions in 
the delineation criteria for local input and requested the opportunity 
to review and comment on the definition of individual urban areas 
before boundaries become final.

Comments Pertaining to Census Block Boundaries

    The Census Bureau received ten comments regarding the block 
boundaries on the edges of urban development. Commenters expressed 
concern that these blocks are often a mix of urban and rural 
characteristics and are often large in scale, potentially leading to 
their exclusion from an urban area.

Comments Pertaining to the Delineation Process

    Commenters also expressed concern about the automated and 
inflexible nature of the delineation process and suggested that the 
extent of each urban area should be evaluated individually. The Census 
Bureau also received comments expressing concern that the proposed 
delineation criteria do not consider local zoning laws, topography, and 
municipal boundaries.
    The Census Bureau's urban area criteria for the 2020 Census 
consists of a single set of rules that allow for application of 
automated processes based on the input of standardized nationwide 
datasets that yield consistent results. Rather than defining areas 
through a process of accretion over time, the criteria also provide a 
better reflection of the distribution of population, housing, and other 
uses and how they reflect the current state of urbanization.

Comments Pertaining to the Urban Area Program Timeline

    The Census Bureau received twenty-six requests for the extension of 
the public comment period on the proposed urban area delineation 
criteria to further assess its potential impacts. Additional comments 
expressed difficulty in predicting results of changes to criteria as 
published in the Federal Register on February 19, 2021 (86 FR 10237) 
and requested clarification of the proposed urban area delineation 
criteria.
    The delineation and production of urban areas and their associated 
data are scheduled to begin after the release of the Decennial Census 
block-level population and housing counts to ensure sufficient time to 
delineate and review the urban area definitions and prepare geographic 
information files in time for tabulation and inclusion in statistical 
data products from both the 2020 Census and the American Community 
Survey (ACS). Adherence to this schedule prevented any attempts toward 
a test delineation using all the proposed 2020 urban area criteria for 
the entire United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas, thus 
prohibiting

[[Page 16710]]

the availability of nation-wide, real-world examples without showing 
preference to any particular location. Further, this schedule also 
dictated that the development of the delineation software coincided 
with the development of the proposed and the final criteria.

IV. Changes to the Proposed Urban Area Criteria for the 2020 Census

    This section of the notice provides information about the Census 
Bureau's decisions on changes that were incorporated into the Urban 
Area Criteria for the 2020 Census in response to the many comments 
received. These decisions benefited greatly from public participation 
as the Census Bureau took into account the comments received in 
response to the proposed criteria published in the Federal Register on 
February 19, 2021 (86 FR 10237), as well as comments received during 
webinars, conference presentations, consultations with professional 
geographers and other social scientists who work with and define urban 
and rural concepts and classifications, meetings with federal, state, 
and local officials and other users of data for urban areas, and 
additional research and investigation conducted by Census Bureau staff.
    The changes made to the proposed criteria in Section III of the 
published in the Federal Register on February 19, 2021, ``Urban Areas 
for the 2020 Census-Proposed Criteria'' (86 FR 10237), are as follows:
    1. In Section III, subsection A, the Census Bureau modifies the 
minimum criteria for an area to qualify as an urban area. The territory 
must encompass at least 2,000 housing units or at least 5,000 persons, 
decreased from 4,000 housing units or 10,000 persons as proposed.
    2. In Section III, subsection B, the Census Bureau modifies the 
criteria to utilize multiple housing unit densities: 1,275 housing 
units per square mile (HPSM), 425 HPSM, and 200 HPSM. In response to 
comments stating that 385 HPSM was too high for a minimum threshold, 
and further testing of the impacts of complex multipiece urban areas, 
the Census Bureau adjusts the delineation criteria to include multiple 
housing unit density thresholds at different stages of the process. The 
addition of a high-density threshold of 1,275 HPSM ensures each urban 
area contains a core. Including a low density fill of 200 HPSM will 
reduce the number of individual pieces of an urban area while 
accommodating for the irregular nature of census block size that 
affects the density calculations.
    3. In Section III, subsection B.1, the Census Bureau modifies the 
criteria to utilize a housing unit density of 425 instead of 385 HPSM.
    4. In Section III, subsection B.1, the Census Bureau clarifies the 
criteria regarding which areas are considered ``Initial Urban Core.'' 
An Initial Urban Core must contain at least 500 housing units.
    5. In Section III, subsection B.2, the Census Bureau removes the 
section related to the ``Inclusion of Group Quarters.'' Blocks 
containing group quarters can qualify in multiple steps of the 
criteria.
    6. In Section III, subsection B.3, the Census Bureau removes all 
references to ``385 housing units or more.''
    7. In Section III, subsection B.3, the Census Bureau removes the 
reference to ``all urban area cores that have a housing unit count of 
577 or more.''
    8. In Section III, subsection B.4, the Census Bureau clarifies 
references to the land cover data used in determining exempted 
territory. The Census Bureau will use the most current land cover data 
from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) or Coastal Change Analysis 
Program (C-CAP) High Resolution Land Cover for any given area to better 
represent land use/land cover conditions at the time of the 
delineation.
    9. In Section III, subsection B.5, the Census Bureau clarifies when 
the enclave criteria are applied. Enclaves will be added after 
development of the Initial Urban Cores and again after the addition of 
nonresidential territory. This process recognizes that some census 
blocks that are internal and integral to an urban area may have few or 
no housing units and little impervious surface, such as census blocks 
containing urban parkland.
    10. In Section III, subsection B.6, the Census Bureau removes the 
criteria for the ``Inclusion of Airports'' and includes it within 
subsection B.7, ``Additional Nonresidential Urban Territory.''
    11. In Section III, subsection B.7, the Census Bureau adds criteria 
to include additional nonresidential census blocks that contain at 
least 1,000 commuter destinations (in a three-year average) and are 
within 0.5 miles of already qualifying territory.
    12. In Section III, subsection B.8, the Census Bureau clarifies and 
simplified the criteria for splitting large agglomerations.
    13. In Section III, subsection B.9, the Census Bureau modifies the 
criteria to include the most populous place name of the high-density 
nucleus.
    14. In Section III, subsection B.9, the Census Bureau modifies the 
criteria for secondary names to utilize housing unit counts rather than 
population counts.
    The sections of the proposed criteria referenced above do not 
appear in the same order in Section V of this final notice due to the 
reorganization of existing criteria sections and the addition of new 
criteria sections. The following table provides a crosswalk of the 
criteria sections that were proposed in the Federal Register on 
February 19, 2021 (86 FR 10237) to the criteria sections of the final 
criteria in this notice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Proposed 2020
        Section name                criteria        Final 2020  criteria
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Identification of Initial     Section III, B.1....  Section V, B.1
 Urban Area Cores.
Inclusion of Group Quarters.  Section III, B.2....  Section V, B.1
Inclusion of Noncontiguous    Section III, B.3....  Section V, B.2
 Territory via Hops and
 Jumps.
Inclusion of Noncontiguous    Section III, B.4....  Section V, B.3
 Territory Separated by
 Exempted Territory.
Low-Density Fill............  N/A.................  Section V, B.4
Inclusion of Airports.......  Section III, B.6....  Section V, B.5
Additional Nonresidential     Section III, B.7....  Section V, B.5
 Urban Territory.
Inclusion of Enclaves.......  Section III, B.5....  Section V, B.6
Inclusion of Indentations...  N/A.................  Section V, B.7
Merging of Eligible Block     N/A.................  Section V, B.8
 Aggregations.
Identification of Urban Area  N/A.................  Section V, B.9
 Agglomerations.
Splitting Large               Section III, B.8....  Section V, B.10
 Agglomerations.
Assigning Urban Area Titles.  Section III, B.9....  Section V, B.11
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 16711]]

V. Urban Area Criteria for the 2020 Census

    The criteria outlined herein apply to the United States,\2\ Puerto 
Rico, and the Island Areas of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Census 
Bureau will utilize the following criteria and characteristics to 
identify the areas that will qualify for designation as urban areas for 
use in tabulating data from the 2020 Census, the American Community 
Survey (ACS), the Puerto Rico Community Survey, and potentially other 
Census Bureau censuses and surveys.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ For Census Bureau purposes, the United States includes the 
50 States and the District of Columbia.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A. 2020 Census Urban Area Definitions

    For the 2020 Census, an urban area will comprise a densely 
developed core of census blocks \3\ that meet minimum housing unit 
density requirements, along with adjacent territory containing non-
residential urban land uses as well as other lower density territory 
included to link outlying densely settled territory with the densely 
settled core. To qualify as an urban area, the territory identified 
according to the criteria must encompass at least 2,000 housing units 
or at least 5,000 persons. The term ``rural'' encompasses all 
population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ A census block is the smallest geographic area for which the 
Census Bureau tabulates data and is an area normally bounded by 
visible features, such as streets, rivers or streams, shorelines, 
and railroads, and by nonvisible features, such as the boundary of 
an incorporated place, minor civil division, county, or other 2020 
Census tabulation entity.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    1. As a result of the urban area delineation process, an 
incorporated place or census designated place (CDP) may be partly 
inside and partly outside an urban area. Further, any census geographic 
areas, with the exception of census blocks, may be partly within and 
partly outside an urban area.
    2. All criteria based on land area, housing unit density, and 
population, reflect the information contained in the Census Bureau's 
Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and 
Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB) at the time of the delineation. 
All density calculations include only land; the areas of water 
contained within census blocks are not used in density calculations. 
Housing unit, population, and worker flow data used in the urban area 
delineation process will be those published by the Census Bureau for 
all public and official uses.
    3. The Census Bureau will utilize multiple data sources in the 2020 
Urban Area delineation. Worker-flows are calculated from the 
Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Origin-Destination Employment 
Statistics (LODES) data. Level of imperviousness is calculated from 
either the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) or Coastal Change 
Analysis Program (C-CAP) High Resolution Land Cover. The Census Bureau 
will utilize the most recent data available from either data source for 
any given area.

B. Urban Area Delineation Criteria

    The Census Bureau defines urban areas primarily based on housing 
unit density measured at the census block-level of geography. Three 
housing unit densities are used in the delineation--425 housing units 
per square mile (HPSM) to identify the initial core of urban block 
agglomerations and the cores of noncontiguous peripheral urban 
territory; 200 HPSM to expand the urban block agglomerations into less 
dense, but structurally connected portions of urban areas; and 1,275 
HPSM to identify the presence of higher-density territory representing 
the urban nucleus.
1. Identification of Initial Urban Core
    The Census Bureau will begin the delineation process by identifying 
and aggregating contiguous census blocks to form Eligible Block 
Aggregations (EBAs) based on the following criteria:
    (a) The census block has a density of at least 425 HPSM; or
    (b) At least one-third of the census block consists of territory 
with an impervious level of at least 20 percent,\4\ and the census 
block is compact in nature as defined by a shape index. A census block 
is considered compact when the shape index is at least 0.185 using the 
following formula: I = 4[pi]A/P\2\ where I is the shape index, A is the 
area of the entity, and P is the perimeter of the entity; or
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ The Census Bureau has found in testing that territory with 
an impervious surface level less than 20 percent results in the 
inclusion of road and structure edges, and not the actual roads or 
buildings themselves.
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    (c) At least one-third of the census block consists of territory 
with an impervious level of at least 20 percent and at least 40 percent 
of its boundary is contiguous with qualifying territory; or
    (d) The census block contains a group quarter and has a block-level 
density of at least 500 persons per square mile (PPSM).
    The Census Bureau will apply criteria Steps B.1.a, B.1.b, B.1.c, 
and B.1.d above until there are no additional blocks to add to the EBA. 
If an EBA contains at least 500 housing units, it will be considered an 
Initial Urban Core, to which other qualifying areas may be added in 
subsequent steps of the criteria. Any ``holes'' (remaining 
nonqualifying territory surrounded by an Initial Urban Core) that are 
less than five square miles in area will qualify as urban via the 
criteria for inclusion of enclaves, as set forth below in Step B.6.a.
2. Inclusion of Noncontiguous Territory via Hops and Jumps
    Any EBA created in Step B.1 that contains at least ten housing 
units or a group quarter in a block with at least 500 PPSM may be added 
to an Initial Urban Core via a hop or a jump.
    Hops connect EBAs separated by no more than 0.5 miles of road 
connections. Multiple hops can occur along road connections between 
EBAs leading to an Initial Urban Core. After all hop connections are 
made, EBAs that contain one or more Initial Cores will be considered 
Core EBAs.
    The Census Bureau will then add additional EBAs via jump 
connections. Jumps are used to connect densely settled noncontiguous 
territory separated from the Core EBA by territory with low housing 
unit density. A jump can occur along a road connection that is greater 
than 0.5 miles but no more than 1.5 miles. Because it is possible that 
any given densely developed area could qualify for inclusion in 
multiple Core EBAs via a jump connection, the identification of jumps 
in an automated process starts with the Core EBA that has the highest 
number of housing units and continues in descending order based on the 
total housing units of each Core EBA. Once a Core EBA is added to 
another Core EBA via a jump, it becomes ineligible for any other jumps.
    The non-qualifying blocks along the road connection are not 
included in the delineation; therefore, Core EBAs that contain hop or 
jump connections will be noncontiguous aggregations.
    Those remaining EBAs that did not have an Initial Urban Core but 
contain the following will remain as candidates for inclusion in 
subsequent steps:
     At least ten housing units, or
     A group quarter and a block-level density of at least 500 
PPSM.
3. Inclusion of Noncontiguous Territory Separated by Exempted Territory
    The Census Bureau will identify and exempt territory in which 
residential development is substantially constrained or not possible 
due to either

[[Page 16712]]

topographical or land use conditions. Such exempted territory offsets 
urban development due to particular land use, land cover, or 
topographic conditions. For the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau 
considers the following to be exempted territory:
    (a) Bodies of water (as defined by the Census Bureau, or classified 
as water in the land cover data); and
    (b) Wetlands (belonging to any wetlands classifications in the land 
cover data).
    When the hop and jump criteria in Step B.2 are applied, the 
qualifying hop or jump connections may be extended when the intervening 
non-qualifying blocks contain exempted territory, provided that:
    (c) The road connection across the exempted territory (located on 
both sides of the road) is no greater than five miles in length; and
    (d) The total length of the road connection between the Core EBA 
and the noncontiguous territory, including the exempt distance and non-
exempt hop or jump distances, is also no greater than five miles.
    The intervening low housing unit density block or blocks and the 
block or blocks of water or wetlands are not included in the Core EBA.
4. Low-Density Fill
    The Census Bureau will add contiguous territory to the Core EBAs 
where blocks have a density of at least 200 HPSM. After the low-density 
fill is added, any EBA with fewer than 50 total housing units will be 
removed from the Core EBA with which it is associated.
5. Additional Nonresidential Urban Territory (Including Airports)
    The Census Bureau will identify additional nonresidential urban 
territory that is noncontiguous, yet near the Core EBA. The Census 
Bureau will consider for inclusion all census blocks that:
    (a) Qualify as urban via the impervious surface criteria set forth 
in Steps B.1.b or B.1.c; and
    (b) Have a total area of at least 0.15 square miles; \5\ and
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    \5\ The Census Bureau found in testing that individual (or 
groups of) census blocks with a high degree of imperviousness with 
an area less than 0.15 square miles tend to be more associated with 
road infrastructure features such as cloverleaf overpasses and 
multilane highways.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (c) Are within 0.5 miles of a Core EBA.
    The Census Bureau will also include all census blocks that:
    (d) Contain a three-year average of at least 1,000 commuter 
destinations; \6\ and
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    \6\ The three most recent years of available LODES data for each 
state are averaged for each census block.
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    (e) Are within 0.5 miles of a Core EBA.
    A final review of these census blocks and surrounding territory \7\ 
will determine whether to include them in an EBA.
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    \7\ Additional census blocks within eighty feet of the initial 
groups also qualifying as impervious, but failing the shape index, 
are also identified for review.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Census Bureau will then add census blocks that approximate the 
territory of airports, provided at least one of the blocks that 
represent the airport is within 0.5 miles of the edge of a Core EBA. An 
airport qualifies for inclusion if it is currently functional and one 
of the following (per the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air 
Carrier Activity Information System.\8\):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ The annual passenger boarding data only includes primary, 
non-primary commercial service, and general aviation enplanements as 
defined and reported by the FAA Air Carrier Activity Information 
System.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (a) Is a qualified cargo airport; or
    (b) Has an annual passenger enplanement of at least 2,500 in any 
year between 2011 and 2019.
6. Inclusion of Enclaves
    The Census Bureau will add enclaves (nonqualifying area completely 
surrounded by area already qualified for inclusion) within an EBA or 
Core EBA, provided:
    (a) The area of the enclave is less than five square miles, or
    (b) All area of the enclave is more than a straight-line distance 
of 1.5 miles from a land block that is not part of the already 
qualified area.
    Additional enclaves will be identified and included within the EBA 
or Core EBA if:
    (c) The area of the enclave is less than 5 square miles; and
    (d) The enclave is surrounded by both water and land that qualified 
for inclusion in the EBA or Core EBA; and
    (e) The length of the line of adjacency with the water is less than 
the length of the line of adjacency with the land.
7. Inclusion of Indentations
    The Census Bureau will evaluate and include territory that forms an 
indentation within an urban area.
    To determine whether an indentation should be included in the urban 
area, the Census Bureau will identify a closure line, defined as a 
straight line no more than one mile in length, that extends from one 
point along the edge of the urban area across the mouth of the 
indentation to another point along the edge of the urban area.
    A census block located wholly or partially within an indentation 
will be considered for inclusion in the urban area, if the Census 
Bureau-defined internal point of the block is inside the closure line. 
The total aggregated area of these qualifying indentation blocks is 
compared to the area of a circle, the diameter of which is the length 
of the closure qualification line. The qualifying indentation block 
will be included in the urban area if it is at least four times the 
area of the circle and less than 3.5 square miles.
    If the aggregated area of the qualifying indentation blocks does 
not meet the criteria listed above, the Census Bureau will define 
successive closure lines within the indentation, starting at its mouth 
and working inward toward the base of the indentation, until the 
criteria for inclusion are met or it is determined that no portion of 
the indentation will qualify for inclusion.
8. Merging of Eligible Block Aggregations
    After all criteria have been exhausted and the Core EBAs have been 
extended to their maximum size, Core EBAs will be merged where the 
following criteria are met:
    (a) The boundaries of two Core EBAs are within 0.25 miles of each 
other; and
    (b) Both Core EBAs have at least 1,000 housing units or 2,500 
persons; and
    (c) The three-year mean worker-flow \9\ between the two Core EBAs 
is at least 50 percent in at least one direction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ Using the three most recent years of LODES data, mean 
worker-flow is the percent of all flows in an area of analysis that 
have their origin or destination in a different area of analysis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

9. Identification of Urban Area Agglomerations (UAA)
    After all qualifying EBA merges are completed, Core EBAs will be 
evaluated for high-density nuclei. A high-density nucleus is defined as 
a collection of blocks, with at least 500 housing units, where each 
census block has:
    (a) A density of at least 1,275 HPSM; or
    (b) At least one-third of the census block consists of territory 
with an impervious level of at least 20 percent,\4\ and the census 
block is compact in nature as defined by a shape index. A census block 
is considered compact when the shape index is at least 0.185 using the 
following formula: I = 4[pi]A/P\2\ where I is the shape index, A is the 
area of the entity, and P is the perimeter of the entity; or
    (c) At least one-third of the census block consists of territory an 
impervious level of at least 20 percent and at least 40 percent of its 
boundary is contiguous with qualifying territory.

[[Page 16713]]

    Core EBAs will be considered Urban Area Agglomerations if they 
contain:
    (a) At least one high-density nucleus with at least 500 housing 
units in blocks with a density of at least 1,275 HPSM; and
    (b) At least 2,000 housing units or 5,000 persons.
    All other remaining EBAs are removed from qualification.
10. Splitting Large Agglomerations
    Population growth and development, coupled with the automated urban 
area delineation methodology used for the 2020 Census, results in large 
Urban Area Agglomerations (UAAs) that encompass territory defined as 
separate urban areas for the 2010 Census. If such results occur, or if 
multiple Core EBAs were connected in Step B.6 (Low-Density Fill), the 
Census Bureau will apply split criteria. Due to differences in the 
availability of data, Steps B.10.a and B.10.b will apply only to the 
United States. Step B.10.c will apply to Puerto Rico and the Island 
Areas (American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
    (a) Eligible UAAs.
    UAAs will be evaluated for splitting where the UAA:
    1. Encompasses territory defined as separate urban areas for the 
2010 Census and those intersecting areas contain:
    a. At least 50 percent of the population of each of two or more 
urban areas for the 2010 Census.
    2. Encompasses territory where two or more Core EBAs were connected 
in Step B.6 (Low-Density Fill):
    a. Each of the Core EBAs, prior to Step B.6, meets the high-density 
nucleus qualification criteria outlined in Step 9; and
    b. Each of the Core EBAs, prior to Step B.6, has a mean internal 
worker-flow of at least 25 percent.
    UAAs that meet the criteria above (Steps B.10.a.1 or B.10.a.2) will 
progress to the Split Boundary Assignment (Step B.10.b). The remaining 
UAAs will continue as a single urban area.
    (b) Split Boundary Assignment.
    Community detection is performed on the three most-recently 
available years of Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Origin-
Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) worker-flow data, using 
unsupervised clustering, specifically the Leiden Algorithm,\10\ to 
identify commuter-based partitions. The Leiden Algorithm is first 
applied separately on each eligible UAA, then subsequent iterations are 
run on the resulting partitions to provide greater levels of spatial 
resolution to allow for relatively smaller areas to be added during UAA 
split boundary assignment. The resulting partitions of the third 
iteration are used to carry out the following steps, unless the Census 
Bureau determines doing so would not provide the best split boundary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ Thomas, I., A. Adam, and A. Verhetsel. Migration and 
commuting interactions fields: A new geography with community 
detection algorithm? 2017. Belgeo. [Online], 4. http://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/20507. Traag V.A. L. Waltman and 
N.J. van Eck. From Louvain to Leiden: Guaranteeing well-connected 
communities. 2019. Scientific Reports. 9:5233.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Commuter-based partitions associated with only one intersecting 
area or one Core EBA meeting the criteria in Step B.10.a.1 or Step 
B.10.a.2, are grouped together to form component UAAs. Additionally, 
partitions are grouped or assigned to existing component UAAs if:
    1. The partition comprises at least 90 percent of the population of 
an intersecting area or Core EBA; or
    2. At least 90 percent of the population of a partition is located 
within an intersecting area or Core EBA.
    The remaining partitions are:
     Completely outside of 2010 urban territory; or
     Completely within 2020 low-density fill; or
     Within multiple intersecting areas or Core EBAs.
    These partitions will be assigned to the component UAA with which 
they have the greatest worker-flow relationship.
    Component UAAs are evaluated to ensure they have at least 25 
percent mean internal worker-flow. Those that do not meet this 
threshold will merge with the component UAA with which they have the 
greatest worker-flow relationship. This process continues until all 
component UAAs have at least 25 percent mean internal worker-flow and 
at least 5,000 persons.
    The boundary between two urban areas may be modified to avoid 
splitting an incorporated place, CDP, or minor civil division (MCD) 
between two urban areas at the time of delineation or to follow a legal 
geographic boundary near the commuter-based partition boundary used to 
split the two urban areas.
    (c) Splitting Criteria for Puerto Rico and the Island Areas.
    As the LODES data are not available for Puerto Rico and the Island 
Areas, the Census Bureau will maintain the 2010 split boundaries 
between qualified urban areas. These boundaries will be adjusted to the 
appropriate 2020 block boundaries.
11. Assigning Urban Area Titles
    A clear, unambiguous title based on commonly recognized place names 
helps provide context for data users and ensures that the general 
location and setting of the urban area can be clearly identified and 
understood. The title of an urban area identifies the place that is the 
most populated within the high-density nucleus of the urban area. All 
population and housing unit requirements for places (incorporated 
places or CDPs) and MCDs apply to the portion of the entity's 
population that is within the specific urban area being named.
    The Census Bureau will use the following criteria to determine the 
title of an urban area:
    Primary Name:
    1. The most populous place within the high-density nuclei of an 
urban area that has a population of 2,500 or more will be listed first 
in the urban area title.
    Secondary Names:
    Up to two additional places, in descending order of housing unit 
count, may be included in the title of an urban area provided that:
    2. The place has 90,000 or more housing units; or
    3. The place has at least 1,000 housing units and that housing unit 
count is at least two-thirds of that of the urban portion of the place 
providing the primary name.
    If the high-density nuclei of an urban area do not contain a place 
of at least 2,500 people, the Census Bureau will consider the name of 
the incorporated place, CDP, or MCD with the largest total population 
in the urban area, or a local name recognized for the area by the 
United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Geographic Names Information 
System (GNIS), with preference given to names also recognized by the 
United States Postal Service (USPS). The urban area title will include 
the USPS abbreviation of the name of each state or statistically 
equivalent entity in which the urban area is located or extends. The 
order of the state abbreviations is the same as the order of the 
related place names in the urban area title.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ In situations where an urban area is only associated with 
one place name but is located in more than one state, the order of 
the state abbreviations will begin with the state within which the 
place is located and continue in descending order of population of 
each state's share of the population of the urban area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If a single place or MCD qualifies as the title of more than one 
urban area, the urban area with the largest population will use the 
name of the place or MCD. The smaller urban area will have a title 
consisting of the place or MCD name and the direction (such as

[[Page 16714]]

``North'' or ``Southeast'') of the smaller urban area as it relates 
geographically to the larger urban area with the same place or MCD 
name.
    If any title of an urban area duplicates the title of another urban 
area within the same state, or uses the name of an incorporated place, 
CDP, or MCD that is duplicated within a state, the name of the county 
that has most of the population of the largest place or MCD is 
appended, in parentheses, after the duplicate place or MCD name for 
each urban area. If there is no incorporated place, CDP, or MCD name in 
the urban area title, the name of the county having the largest total 
population residing in the urban area will be appended to the title.

C. Definitions of Key Terms

    Census Block: A geographic area bounded by visible and/or invisible 
features shown on a map prepared by the Census Bureau. A census block 
is the smallest geographic entity for which the Census Bureau tabulates 
decennial census data.
    Census Designated Place (CDP): A statistical geographic entity 
encompassing a concentration of population, housing, and commercial 
structures that is clearly identifiable by a single name but is not 
within an incorporated place. CDPs are the statistical counterparts of 
incorporated places for distinct unincorporated communities.
    Census Tract: A small, relatively permanent statistical geographic 
subdivision of a county or county equivalent defined for the tabulation 
and publication of Census Bureau data. The primary goal of the census 
tract program is to provide a set of nationally consistent small, 
statistical geographic units, with stable boundaries that facilitate 
analysis of data across time.
    Contiguous: A geographic term referring to two or more areas that 
share either a common boundary or at least one common point.
    Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA): A statistical geographic entity 
defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, consisting of the 
county or counties or equivalent entities associated with at least one 
core of at least 10,000 population, plus adjacent counties having a 
high degree of social and economic integration with the core as 
measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core. 
Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas are the two types of 
core based statistical areas.
    Core Eligible Block Aggregation (Core EBA): A type of Eligible 
Block Aggregation that contains one or more Initial Urban Cores.
    Eligible Block Aggregation (EBA): Aggregations of census blocks 
that are eligible to qualify as urban according to housing unit count, 
density, group quarters, or degree of impervious surface.
    Enclave: A territory not qualifying as urban that is either 
completely surrounded by qualifying urban territory or surrounded by 
qualifying urban territory and water.
    Exempted Territory: A territory that is exempt from the urban area 
criteria because its extent is entirely of water or wetlands or an 
unpopulated road corridor that crosses water or wetlands.
    Group Quarters (GQs): A place where people live or stay, in a group 
living arrangement that is owned or managed by an entity or 
organization providing housing and/or services for the residents. These 
services may include custodial or medical care, as well as other types 
of assistance, and residency is commonly restricted to those receiving 
these services. This is not a typical household-type living 
arrangement. People living in GQs are usually not related to each 
other. GQs include such facilities as college residence halls, 
residential treatment centers, skilled nursing facilities, group homes, 
military barracks, correctional facilities, and workers' dormitories.
    High-Density Nucleus: An aggregation of blocks with a high housing 
unit density or impervious level.
    Hop: A connection between Eligible Block Aggregations along a road 
connection of 0.5 miles or less in length.
    Impervious Surface: Man-made surfaces, such as rooftops, roads, and 
parking lots.
    Incorporated Place: A type of governmental unit, incorporated under 
state law as a city, town (except in New England, New York, and 
Wisconsin), borough (except in Alaska and New York), or village, 
generally to provide specific governmental services for a concentration 
of people within legally prescribed boundaries.
    Indentation: A recess in the boundary of an urban area produced by 
settlement patterns and/or water features resulting in a highly 
irregular urban area shape. The territory is likely to be affected by 
and integrated with qualifying urban territory.
    Initial Urban Core: An Eligible Block Aggregation that contains at 
least 500 housing units defined at the first stage of delineation.
    Jump: A connection from one Core Eligible Block Aggregation to 
other Eligible Block Aggregations along a road connection that is 
greater than 0.5 miles, but less than or equal to 1.5 miles in length.
    Low-Density Fill: Territory with low housing unit density added to 
already qualifying area near the end of the delineation process to 
smooth out the resulting urban areas and mitigate the effects of 
increased block size in the peripheries of the urban landscape.
    MAF/TIGER (MTDB): Database developed by the Census Bureau to 
support its geocoding, mapping, and other product needs for the 
decennial census and other Census Bureau programs. The Master Address 
File (MAF) is an accurate and current inventory of all known living 
quarters including address and geographic location information. The 
Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) 
database defines the location and relationship of boundaries, streets, 
rivers, railroads, and other features to each other and to the numerous 
geographic areas for which the Census Bureau tabulates data from its 
censuses and surveys.
    Metropolitan Statistical Area: A core based statistical area 
associated with at least one urban area that has a population of at 
least 50,000. The metropolitan statistical area comprises the central 
county or counties or equivalent entities containing the core, plus 
adjacent outlying counties having a high degree of social and economic 
integration with the central county or counties as measured through 
commuting.
    Micropolitan Statistical Area: A core based statistical area 
associated with at least one urban area that has a population of at 
least 10,000, but less than 50,000. The micropolitan statistical area 
comprises the central county or counties or equivalent entities 
containing the core, plus adjacent outlying counties having a high 
degree of social and economic integration with the central county or 
counties as measured through commuting.
    Minor Civil Division (MCD): The primary governmental or 
administrative division of a county or equivalent entity in 29 states 
and the Island Areas having legal boundaries, names, and descriptions. 
MCDs represent many different types of legal entities with a wide 
variety of characteristics, powers, and functions depending on the 
state and type of MCD. In some states, some or all of the incorporated 
places also constitute MCDs.
    Noncontiguous: A geographic term referring to two or more areas 
that do not share a common boundary or a common point along their 
boundaries, such that the areas are separated by intervening territory.

[[Page 16715]]

    Nonresidential Urban Territory: Census blocks added to Eligible 
Block Aggregations where the levels of imperviousness, number of jobs, 
or the presence of an airport indicate they are urban in nature.
    Rural: Territory not defined as urban.
    Urban: Generally, densely developed territory, encompassing 
residential, commercial, and other non-residential urban land uses 
within which social and economic interactions occur.
    Urban Area: A statistical geographic entity consisting of a densely 
settled core created from census blocks and contiguous qualifying 
territory that together have at least 2,000 housing units or 5,000 
persons.
    Urban Area Agglomeration (UAA): The resulting urban territory at 
the completion of the delineation process but prior to the application 
of split/merge criteria. UAAs may be split or merged if they contain 
multiple 2010 Urban Areas or multiple EBAs that connected in the 
process.
    Urban Cluster (UC): A retired statistical geographic entity type 
consisting of a densely settled core created from census tracts or 
blocks and contiguous qualifying territory that together have at least 
2,500 persons but fewer than 50,000 persons. Urban clusters were not 
identified for the 2020 census.
    Urbanized Area (UA): A retired statistical geographic entity type 
consisting of a densely settled core created from census tracts or 
blocks and adjacent densely settled territory that together have a 
minimum population of 50,000 people. Urbanized areas were not 
identified for the 2020 census.
    Robert L. Santos, Director, Census Bureau, approved the publication 
of this Notice in the Federal Register.

    Dated: March 18, 2022.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-06180 Filed 3-23-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P