In the 1980 census, the Census Bureau also excluded the other separate incorporated places that were part of the consolidated city from the population count of the principal city (but did not use the term remainder in its title); in 1970, it included them in the principal city’s population count, but erroneously did not report data for the separately incorporated places that continued to exist within the consolidated city.
Relatively few city–county consolidations with dependent places have arisen since 1960, although there are a number of older city–county consolidations with only a single surviving city; for example, New Orleans, Louisiana; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Francisco, California; and New York, New York, where the city consolidated with five counties.
Corporate limits may have unique boundary features that are irregular in shape. Some States allow incorporated places to annex area that is not contiguous to the existing corporate limits. Some places annex narrow strips of land that often are unpopulated (for example, highway rights-of-way); the Census Bureau calls the latter areas corporate corridors and may display them on its map products by using a special mapping symbol.
In order to obtain better intercensal records of place incorporations, disincorporations, mergers, annexations, detachments, and changes affecting counties, the Census Bureau began an annual Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) in 1972. In most years the Census Bureau mails the BAS to each county (or equivalent governmental entity, such as the parish in Louisiana and the borough in Alaska), plus any incorporated places above a certain population size (usually 5,000 or more). The BAS is mailed to all incorporated places (and MCDs) in selected years, including the three-year period immediately before each decennial census. The BAS also provides a record of changes to place names and corporate status (that is, city, town, village, borough), an annual update of the universe of incorporated and active
Places9-19
