Research Note The Geography of Government Geography Old Dominion University Center for Real Estate and Economic Development http://www.odu.edu/creed 1 The Geography of Government Geography In glancing over articles in journals, magazines, or newspapers, the reader quite often encounters terms that make sense within the article’s context, but are seemingly hard to compare with other expressions; a few examples would include phrases such as Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Planning Districts, Labor Market Areas, and, even, Hampton Roads (what or where is that?). Definitions don’t stay static; they occasionally change. For instance, in June 2004 the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) published new standards for Metropolitan Statistical Areas (GAO report, GAO-04-758). To provide some illumination on this topic, the following examines the basic definitions and how they apply to the Hampton Roads region. Terminology, Old and New Let’s review a few basic definitions1: Metropolitan Statistical Area – To be considered a Metropolitan Statistical Area, an area must have at least one urbanized grouping of 50,000 or more people. The phrase “Metropolitan Statistical Area” has been traditionally referred to as “MSA”. The Metropolitan Statistical Area comprises the central county or counties or independent cities containing the core area, as well as adjoining counties. 1 The definitions are derived from several sources included in the “For Further Reading and Reference” section of this article. 2 Micropolitan Statistical Area – This is a relatively new term and was introduced in 2000. A Micropolitan Statistical Area is a locale with a central county or counties or independent cities with, at a minimum, an urban grouping having no less than 10,000 people, but no more than 50,000. Unfortunately, the initials of this new term conflict with the very common use of “MSA” and may lead to some confusion in general conversation. Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) – The term CBSA became effective in 2000 and refers collectively to Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas. The area must have an urban cluster or urbanized area with at least 10,000 people. Urban cluster – An urban cluster is described by the Census Bureau as consisting of a central place (and adjoining locations) that contain no fewer than 2,500 people and has an overall density of 1,000 people per square mile. Urbanized area – The Census Bureau classifies an urbanized area as a central place (and adjoining locations) that have no fewer than 50,000 inhabitants with no less than 1,000 people per square mile. Principal city – Within a CBSA, the principal city is the largest city; nevertheless, additional cities in the CBSA can be designated as “principal” if they meet certain population and employment standards. 3 Prior to 2000, the principal city/cities would have been called the “central city/cities”.2 Independent City – There are a number of definitions, but the Census Bureau explanation is pretty succinct: “An incorporated place that is a primary division of a state and legally not part of any county.” When the Census Bureau accumulates data, independent cities are looked at as a county equivalent. Labor Market Areas – Labor Market Areas (LMAs) are the basic units of geography used for the estimation of local area unemployment statistics. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the U.S. Department of Labor, a LMA is "…an economically integrated geographic area within which individuals can reside and find employment within a reasonable distance or can readily change employment without changing their place of residence." The LMAs do not overlap and may cross state borders. LMAs are re-chosen after each census cycle (e.g., every 10 years). There are roughly 2,400 LMAs and they cover the complete national area. Planning District – As indicated by the Code of Virginia (§ 15.2-4202), a Planning District (PD) is “…a contiguous area within the boundaries established by the Department of Housing and Community Development.” Once the geographical confines are set, the localities within the PD may 2 Readers may be interested in the standard for the principal city or cities: “Principal cities include the largest incorporated place with a population of 10,000 or more or, if no incorporated place of at least 10,000 is present, the largest incorporated place or census designated place in the CBSA AND each place of at least 250,000 population or in which at least 100,000 persons work AND each place with a population of at least 50,000, but less than 250,000 in which employment meets or exceeds the number of employed residents AND each place with a population that is at least 10,000 and 1/3 the size of the largest place, and in which employment meets or exceeds the number of employed residents.” 4 opt to create a Planning District Commission, which is charged (Code of Virginia, § 15.2-4207) to address regional issues and advance the development of the physical, social and economic components. Why Statistical Areas? Here’s a reasonable question: why are “statistical areas” important? Answer: certain federal statutes determine eligibility for the allocation of federal funds by the use of defined geographic areas. These federal statutes include funding for items such as base closure initiatives, locality pay, urban community service grants, empowerment zones, mortgage bonds, various Medicare payment/fee rates, community development block grants, and many others. In June 2000, there were 362 Metropolitan Statistical Areas, while there were 560 Micropolitan Statistical Areas nationwide (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003). What’s important in terms of recognition for potential federal funding is that 83 percent of the U.S. population live in a Metropolitan Statistical Area and 10 percent live in a Micropolitan Statistical Area3. How do nearby counties or independent cities become lumped into a Metropolitan (or Micropolitan) Statistical Area? By the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definition, those outlying areas can be included if they have “…a high degree of social and economic integration with the central county as measured through commuting” (Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs - Office of Management and Budget, December 27, 2000). 3 The other 7% of the population are located in rural areas that do not meet the definitions for inclusion with a Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Areas. Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Areas are not all inclusive of the geographic area of the U.S, unlike Labor Market Areas. 5 There’s a very interesting nuance in OMB’s new classification for the outlying areas in their CBSAs: the convention of employment-based commuting as the single criterion. Previously, there were six factors (population density, urban percentage, commuting, and others). The concept of using job location and daily commuting has been debated as a gauge because of economic considerations, the presence of retired populations or telecommuting work-place substitutions; however, inter-city/inter-county commuting has increased over the last 40 years and the majority of comments to OMB have been supportive of using commuting, at least for the present, as a straight-forward measure. OMB establishes that an area is an outlier if no fewer than 25 percent of their employed inhabitants commute to the central area(s) or no fewer than 25 percent of the jobs within the (outlying) area are accounted for by workers who live in the central area(s); this measure is referred to as an employment interchange measure. Where Does Our Region Stand? In 1999, the major cities or counties in the Hampton Roads region were part of the “Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area”. With the population shift towards Virginia Beach, the name was changed to the “Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area”.4 Also, prior to the change in standard (and the population update), the Norfolk- Virginia Beach-Newport News area consisted of the three named cities, plus Portsmouth, 4 Note that Chesapeake is not included in this list of cities. The U.S. Census Bureau only includes up to three (3) named cities or counties, based on their standards: “The largest city in each metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area is designated a ‘principal city’. Additional cities qualify if specified requirements are met concerning population size and employment. The title of each metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area consists of the names of up to three of its principal cities and the name of each state…” 6 Chesapeake, Hampton, Poquoson, Suffolk, Williamsburg, Gloucester County, Isle of Wight County, James City County, Mathews County, York County, and Currituck County (NC). However, the combined effect of change in population and classification has changed the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area slightly; Surry County is now part of the statistical area.5 There are no Micropolitan Statistical Areas in the Hampton Roads region. Although the name has changed (actually, the names have been moved around), Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Newport News are still the principal cities. Chesapeake is not included in the named principal cities, as a result of the definition (based on commuting patterns in and out of the city). In contrast, the Metropolitan Statistical Area for the greater Richmond vicinity was changed from “Richmond-Petersburg, VA” to “Richmond, VA”, as a result in a change of demographics. Independent Cities In the Hampton Roads area, the independent cities are Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Newport News, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton, Poquoson, Suffolk, Williamsburg, and Franklin.6 As a reference, other independent cities (relatively nearby) are Richmond, Petersburg, Hopewell, and Charlottesville. 5 Franklin (city) and Southampton County are not classified in a Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Area. Sussex County is part of the Richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area. On the Eastern Shore of Virginia, neither Northampton County nor Accomack County is classified within a statistical area in Virginia or Maryland.