Populated place

The small town of Flora, Oregon in the United States is unincorporated, but is considered a populated place

A populated place is a place or area with clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent human population ( city, settlement, town, village or hamlet ) referenced with geographic coordinates. The term is used internationally in the field of geospatial modeling, and in that context is defined as "a city, town, village, or other agglomeration of buildings where people live and work".

United States

Legal status

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS): "A populated place is usually not incorporated and by definition has no legal boundaries. However, a populated place may have a corresponding 'civil' record, the legal boundaries of which may or may not coincide with the perceived populated place. Distinct from Census and Civil classes."

Administration

The USGS also has a definition for a feature type "Civil": "A political division formed for administrative purposes (borough, county, incorporated place, municipio, parish, town, township). Distinct from Census and Populated Place."

Census

Populated places may be specifically defined in the context of censuses and be different from general-purpose administrative entities. These places may include "place" as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, census-designated places, and census towns.

Other

Geoscience Australia defines a populated place as "a named settlement with a population of 200 or more persons." The Bulgarian Government publishes a National Register of Populated Places (NRPP). The Canadian government uses the term "populated place" in the Atlas of Canada, but does not define it.

Abandoned populated places

Abandoned buildings in Kolmanskop, Namibia

The term Abandoned populated places is a Feature Designation Name in databases sourced by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and GeoNames.

Populated places can be abandoned. Sometimes the structures are still easily accessible, such as in a ghost towns, and these may become tourist attractions. Some places that have the appearance of ghost towns, however, may still be defined as populated places by government entities.

A town may become a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, because of a government action, such as the building of a dam that floods the town, or because of natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, uncontrolled lawlessness, or war. The term is sometimes used to refer to cities, towns, and neighborhoods that are still populated, but significantly less so than in years past.

See also

• Administrative division
• Human settlement
• Lost city
• Municipality