On 8/17/2021 at 12:36 PM, X said:

 

Did you make this?  If so, can I make one suggestion?  It would be easier to grasp the big picture if positive change was all shown in shades of green, and negative change all shown in shades of orange/red.

 

The good folks at the Indianapolis Star made it.  You can drill down to tract level by clicking on any county in the U.S. but you can't change their color scheme: https://data.indystar.com/census/total-population/total-population-change/ohio/040-39/ 

 

15 hours ago, Pugu said:

CLE is listed as one of 19 cities for Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans and Iraqis. The State Dept provides a link to the city's website----Its certainly not very enticing when you have a list of 18 other cities' websites to choose from --- for CLE, no photo of the skyline, or the lake, or people walking around or anything!  https://www.clevelandohio.gov/

 

Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans and Iraqis - Resettlement Options

You have three options to influence where you will be placed in the United States:

A. You may choose a city from the list of self-select SIV placement options in the table below.....

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/special-immigrant-visas-for-afghans-and-iraqis-resettlement-options.html  

 

PLEASE READ AND SHARE!!!

 

I contacted Joe Cimperman at Global Cleveland about this. He said time is of the essence to get as many pledges of housing options, clothing, food, jobs and donations set up ASAP -- like TODAY AND TOMORROW!

 

Global Cleveland (CLICK LINKS FOR CONTACTS) is going to make a big push to get as many Afghans to resettle here as possible but they need your help as do the Catholic Charities, US Together and USCRI to amass as many pledged resources as possible -- starting with a place to live. I will write an article about this, but considering the short time span they have to react and send a proposal to the State Department, please don't wait for my article to reach out to these agencies.

 

The larger the capacity that Cleveland can offer to the State Department, the more refugees we'll get. Global Cleveland will make their offer TOMORROW. So this is our chance to help out and save as many lives as possible and help them start over again -- in Cleveland!

2 hours ago, KJP said:

 

PLEASE READ AND SHARE!!!

 

I contacted Joe Cimperman at Global Cleveland about this. He said time is of the essence to get as many pledges of housing options, clothing, food, jobs and donations set up ASAP -- like TODAY AND TOMORROW!

 

Global Cleveland (CLICK LINKS FOR CONTACTS) is going to make a big push to get as many Afghans to resettle here as possible but they need your help as do the Catholic Charities, US Together and USCRI to amass as many pledged resources as possible -- starting with a place to live. I will write an article about this, but considering the short time span they have to react and send a proposal to the State Department, please don't wait for my article to reach out to these agencies.

 

The larger the capacity that Cleveland can offer to the State Department, the more refugees we'll get. Global Cleveland will make their offer TOMORROW. So this is our chance to help out and save as many lives as possible and help them start over again -- in Cleveland!

Specifically what kind of housing pledges are they looking for?

@KJP I shared this with a couple connected people I know. I would suggest you also share it via twitter, given your tweets have more reach than posts on this forum.

1 hour ago, LlamaLawyer said:

Specifically what kind of housing pledges are they looking for?

 

If you own property and have an apartments, granny flats or extra space, please let them know. Examples -- A landlord in Berea is donating apartments and will pay for everything except utilities for three months. A landlord in Cleveland is offering discounted rent. The State Department will pay 3 months of rent and six months of food stamps, and after that they're on their own. So they also need furniture, clothing and jobs. A bakery in Cleveland is offering to hire refugees. So is a warehouse operator.

 

I shared info via Twitter.

 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2021

Cleveland works to welcome Afghanistan refugees

 

With Cleveland being listed by the U.S. State Department as one of 19 cities suggested for resettlement of Afghan and Iraqi refugees, numerous local organizations are ramping up efforts to attract as many as possible in light of the crisis in Afghanistan.

 

But they need your help as soon as possible.

 

This evening, representatives of the local organizations and charities who aid new refugees and immigrants to Greater Cleveland are meeting to design their offer to the State Department. The more help that Greater Cleveland can pledge now, the more Afghans and Iraqis can resettle here.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2021/08/cleveland-works-to-attract-afghanistan.html

Just poking around the population changes at the neighborhood level. The tract encompassing western Tremont and southern Ohio City will be interesting to watch over the next few years. It lost a considerable number of people between 2010 and 2020. But there are 3 large projects under construction that alone would reverse last decade's decline, plus add residents over the 2010 numbers. Nearly 550 units would be around 700-800 people.

 

1. Harbor Bay - Intro (288 units)

2. Mavrek - Treo (171 units)

3. SCA - Lincoln  (83 units)

 

This doesn't include a number of projects that are in the planning stages, like the Voss factory redevelopment, the Redline TOD, etc. Or the Stoneleigh apartments because it's on the other side of Lorain in the adjacent census tract.

 

	2020	2010	Change
Total	2,711	3,137	-13.6%

 

The census tract immediately West is going to be great too! A loss of 321 from 1993 to 1672, but off the top of the head here's the units that have finished or are in work since the census was taken:

 

1. Tinnerman Lofts: 51 units

2. Bailey Bridge Townhomes: 56 units

3. The Fourty One: 32 units (though I can't determine if this was leased out by the census)

4. Harbor 44 Phase 2: 23 units

5. Numerous infill houses, I know of at least 8 units by Cleveland Bricks, 2 by Knez, and 1 by Horten Harper. There are surely a dozen or so more that I haven't listed.

6. Proposed 12 unit by Horton Harper

 

That's around 194 new units since the census, and all in a small section of the tract (north of 90 in Ohio City)! I'm beginning to see the cheap houses in Clark Fulton in this tract get swooped up now too, so I expect major investment to jump 90 in 5 years or less. The Clark/Fulton intersection has tons of businesses and is ripe for some TOD as well. Not to mention I've reached out to Kerry McCormack about a rapid stop at Fulton and he's acknowledged that it's at least been discussed.

**Cleveland.com Subscriber Exclusive**

 

Census numbers show increase of occupied homes in Cleveland, even as population declines

Eric Heisig - Cleveland.com - Aug. 30, 2021

 

"Between 2010 and 2020, the number of occupied housing units in the city increased. Not by much, but the increase is there. And it is not just the percentage of filled homes compared to the total number available, but the sheer number. The city in 2010 had people living in 167,490 housing units, which range from houses to units in big apartment buildings. Last year, there were 167,681 filled units. That is a bump of only 191 units, but that increase happened as the number of housing units available in the city shrank from 207,536 in 2010 to 198,871 in 2020."

 

 

 

 

With that headline I was expecting to see a map showing the change from 2010 to 2020 per track---that would have been more useful than simply the state of things in 2020 if the article is really about how things changed from 2010.

 

Also, what's the deal with the SE corner of portage county?

53 minutes ago, Pugu said:

Also, what's the deal with the SE corner of portage county?

 

Much of Berlin Lake is there in the southern half of Deerfield Township - Portage County, so the block group has a higher proportion of rental/seasonal properties there. Another example of this type of high vacancy is the small census block groups just southwest of Medina which is Chippewa Lake. 

That really makes me think something related to covid is why the numbers for downtown came in at 13k vs the 20k that's been repeatedly talked about. A vacancy increase by over 22.5%? Something doesn't add up here.

1 hour ago, PoshSteve said:

That really makes me think something related to covid is why the numbers for downtown came in at 13k vs the 20k that's been repeatedly talked about. A vacancy increase by over 22.5%? Something doesn't add up here.

 

@PoshSteve The downtown vacancy rate apparently was up above 20 percent, according to CoStar. But they also said it is dropping fast, falling below 13 percent in this 3rd quarter. More here:

 

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2021/08/seeds-sprouts-xix-cleveland-apartment.html

 

 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
Cleveland: growing faster than the national average, and shrinking

 

In the simpler days of Census data, population numbers for a given metro area either went up or down in lockstep with that region's economic output. There were few wrinkles in the data to pull apart and analyze. Now, there's tons of data to grapple with, offering multiple story lines.

 

The local media has looked at several of those story lines. One of them is Greater Cleveland's growing diversity and an increase in occupied housing units in the city of Cleveland, even though its population went down.

 

Here's another story line — the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are growing and shrinking at the same time.

 

MORE;

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2021/09/cleveland-growing-faster-than-national.html

8 hours ago, KJP said:

 

 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
Cleveland: growing faster than the national average, and shrinking

 

MORE;

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2021/09/cleveland-growing-faster-than-national.html

 

Those are promising numbers.  What I'm looking for is the poverty numbers. Over the last 20 years (maybe longer, I haven't looked farther back) the city's poverty count remained stubbornly in the 115,000-130,000 range despite a constantly declining total population, making the city increasingly "poor" in terms of percentage although the real number didn't change much.  This year, I think we'll see a decline in both the rate and the real number.

42 minutes ago, Dougal said:

 

Those are promising numbers.  What I'm looking for is the poverty numbers. Over the last 20 years (maybe longer, I haven't looked farther back) the city's poverty count remained stubbornly in the 115,000-130,000 range despite a constantly declining total population, making the city increasingly "poor" in terms of percentage although the real number didn't change much.  This year, I think we'll see a decline in both the rate and the real number.

 

Fingers crossed! But if the real poverty number declines I would think a main driver would be COVID stimulus/relief payments. So may need to hold off on any celebrations to see if that number stays low for 2 or 3 years.

 

What is that little neighborhood on the southeast that gained? Near downtown and the 'hot' west side would be expected. Not being that familiar with Cleveland I don not know what that neighborhood is. "off to google"

1 hour ago, Toddguy said:

What is that little neighborhood on the southeast that gained? Near downtown and the 'hot' west side would be expected. Not being that familiar with Cleveland I don not know what that neighborhood is. "off to google"

Lee-Harvard

It's not just the "hot" neighborhoods that gained, though. Cudell, Stockyards, and Jefferson aren't "hot" by any stretch, but they had some of the largest population gains in the city.

 

Edit- I'm really surprised to see Ohio City, Tremont and Old Brooklyn losing people.

12 minutes ago, X said:

 

 

Edit- I'm really surprised to see Ohio City, Tremont and Old Brooklyn losing people.

this could be about household sizes.

I am not surprised by Cudell, Jefferson, and West Blvd. If you frequent those neighborhoods or own property here, you will know that these are...you guessed it...immigrant heavy neighborhoods. We need more immigration in Cleveland to stabilize the population. Case in point. We all though OHC, Tremont, DS etc would gain but did not

42 minutes ago, YO to the CLE said:

I am not surprised by Cudell, Jefferson, and West Blvd. If you frequent those neighborhoods or own property here, you will know that these are...you guessed it...immigrant heavy neighborhoods. We need more immigration in Cleveland to stabilize the population. Case in point. We all though OHC, Tremont, DS etc would gain but did not

I didn't think the last three would gain. Though I think the next survey they do will because of all the dense apartment complexes completed after this survey was taken. Wealthy people tend to have smaller household sizes, so the big number for me was median income. Also the 9 percent decline in poverty seems to be an indicator as well. 

Not sure about this...

 

Cleveland-Elyria, OH Has Affordable Living And One Of The Fastest Growing Populations

https://patch.com/ohio/cleveland/cleveland-elyria-oh-has-affordable-living-one-fastest-growing-populations

32 minutes ago, KJP said:

Not sure about this...

 

Cleveland-Elyria, OH Has Affordable Living And One Of The Fastest Growing Populations

https://patch.com/ohio/cleveland/cleveland-elyria-oh-has-affordable-living-one-fastest-growing-populations

Where would they be getting this information from? 

Well if you read the article it tells you where the data is from. 

On 10/16/2021 at 5:29 PM, cle_guy90 said:

Where would they be getting this information from? 

 

I take these site regurgitaters / digital advertorial sites with a grain of salt.

 wasn't it officially called the Cleve-Elyria-Mentor metro area? why is it only Elyria now?

 

 

4 minutes ago, eastvillagedon said:

 wasn't it officially called the Cleve-Elyria-Mentor metro area? why is it only Elyria now?

 

 

I seem to remember that the MSA was always Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor MSA but it looks like the official name is Cleveland-Elyria.  Not sure when that happened. 

^Now all we need to do is drop "Elyria" and pick up Summit and Portage counties to have the real "Cleveland MSA."

2 minutes ago, Pugu said:

^Now all we need to do is drop "Elyria" and pick up Summit and Portage counties to have the real "Cleveland MSA."

I believe the census based data and realtor based regional data may not be the same as far as housing markets. I could be wrong. Someone correct me if I am. 

^You referring to MLS's?  If so, they're different. Cleveland's MLS has a silly name. Its not Cleveland MLS--compared to Central Ohio MLS, Cincy MLS, or Dayton MLS--for Columbus, Cincy, and Dayton--its "NOW MLS".  Good way to brand Cleveland. "NOW" is: Ashland, Ashtabula, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Huron, Jefferson, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Portage, Sandusky, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Washington and Wayne Counties.

26 minutes ago, Pugu said:

^Now all we need to do is drop "Elyria" and pick up Summit and Portage counties to have the real "Cleveland MSA."

I know you say this slightly in jest but it's fairly common for MSA to be named Main City-smaller city-smaller city MSA.  My suggestion is Cleveland-Akron-Elyria MSA. 

I think Mentor was dropped when it’s population fell below 50k, and in the latest census it did not make it back there yet.

^actually I don't think Mentor ever made it to 50K, did it? Even so, to drop Mentor from the MSA name it to basically exclude all of Lake County, at least to anyone outside of Ohio who first sees it. They're thinking, "oh, the population of the Cleveland area must stretch to the west in a much greater concentration than to the east,"  which is of course not true. Although Lorain County has more people than Lake, it has a lower density by far (though admittedly because the land area of Lake is smaller). And though I'm not familiar with whatever public transportation is available in Lorain Co., I doubt that it's as extensive and up to date as Laketran (well, you know, such as that is). 

 

edit--okay, I did see in the 2000 census that Mentor was a little over 50K, by only a few hundred. This is still no reason to drop it from the MSA name.

Edited October 19, 20213 yr by eastvillagedon

26 minutes ago, eastvillagedon said:

^actually I don't think Mentor ever made it to 50K, did it? Even so, to drop Mentor from the MSA name it to basically exclude all of Lake County, at least to anyone outside of Ohio who first sees it. They're thinking, "oh, the population of the Cleveland area must stretch to the west in a much greater concentration than to the east,"  which is of course not true. Although Lorain County has more people than Lake, it has a lower density by far (though admittedly because the land area of Lake is smaller). And though I'm not familiar with whatever public transportation is available in Lorain Co., I doubt that it's as extensive and up to date as Laketran (well, you know, such as that is). 

 

edit--okay, I did see in the 2000 census that Mentor was a little over 50K, by only a few hundred. This is still no reason to drop it from the MSA name.

But at the same time it's not like we include a city from Medina County.  Honestly, I don't think there is a city large enough to warrant it being called anything but Cleveland MSA unless Akron became a part of it in which it would be Cleveland Akron MSA (but let's not go down that rabbit trail).

6 minutes ago, cle_guy90 said:

But at the same time it's not like we include a city from Medina County.  Honestly, I don't think there is a city large enough to warrant it being called anything but Cleveland MSA unless Akron became a part of it in which it would be Cleveland Akron MSA (but let's not go down that rabbit trail).

okay, it's settled, let's get rid of Elyria too! lol 

32 minutes ago, eastvillagedon said:

^actually I don't think Mentor ever made it to 50K, did it? Even so, to drop Mentor from the MSA name it to basically exclude all of Lake County, at least to anyone outside of Ohio who first sees it. They're thinking, "oh, the population of the Cleveland area must stretch to the west in a much greater concentration than to the east,"  which is of course not true. Although Lorain County has more people than Lake, it has a lower density by far (though admittedly because the land area of Lake is smaller). And though I'm not familiar with whatever public transportation is available in Lorain Co., I doubt that it's as extensive and up to date as Laketran (well, you know, such as that is). 

 

edit--okay, I did see in the 2000 census that Mentor was a little over 50K, by only a few hundred. This is still no reason to drop it from the MSA name.

 

There's a very specific definition they use across the country to be included as a named city. They don't make exceptions. That definition changed slightly in 2013 and named were updated accordingly. Cincinnati used to be Cincinnati-Middletown.

1 hour ago, freefourur said:

I know you say this slightly in jest but it's fairly common for MSA to be named Main City-smaller city-smaller city MSA.  My suggestion is Cleveland-Akron-Elyria MSA. 

 

CLEVELAND is the market. Not Elyria or Mentor. I could see the argument for "Akron", so Cleveland-Akron, but its still "cleveland" so Cleveland MSA is what it should be. "Akron" included would just be to appease Akron. Regarding your name above and the reasons, it therefore should be Cleveland-Akron-Parma---as Parma is bigger than Elyria by 20 or 30k.

14 minutes ago, Pugu said:

 

CLEVELAND is the market. Not Elyria or Mentor. I could see the argument for "Akron", so Cleveland-Akron, but its still "cleveland" so Cleveland MSA is what it should be. "Akron" included would just be to appease Akron. Regarding your name above and the reasons, it therefore should be Cleveland-Akron-Parma---as Parma is bigger than Elyria by 20 or 30k.

I understand that Parma is actually bigger than either Elyria or Mentor, but weren't those two cities included in the name mainly to indicate the breadth of the Cleveland metro area? That way if someone was interested in moving to or opening a business in the area they could get an idea of the geographic reach, from east to west, of the population of the Cleveland market. 

Edited October 19, 20213 yr by eastvillagedon

^maybe. I dunno. I'm not suggesting "Parma" be added---i was only responded to the person who was basing things on population size. I think it's silly to have "Elyria" in the name of Cleveland's MSA. I think the full seven counties should just be "Cleveland MSA".

 

2 hours ago, eastvillagedon said:

I understand that Parma is actually bigger than either Elyria or Mentor, but weren't those two cities included in the name mainly to indicate the breadth of the Cleveland metro area? That way if someone was interested in moving to or opening a business in the area they could get an idea of the geographic reach, from east to west, of the population of the Cleveland market. 

 

 

this is exactly what it is, no more, no less.

 

i agree it could be shortened to cle msa tho.

 

more importantly it needs to be recombined with akron canton again as i seem to recall it once was.

 

i think continuous connection is just as good as commuting patterns.

 

it would greatly help ne ohio pimp itself better with the feds and with everybody.

On 10/19/2021 at 7:25 PM, mrnyc said:

 

 

this is exactly what it is, no more, no less.

 

i agree it could be shortened to cle msa tho.

 

more importantly it needs to be recombined with akron canton again as i seem to recall it once was.

 

i think continuous connection is just as good as commuting patterns.

 

it would greatly help ne ohio pimp itself better with the feds and with everybody.

Cleveland and Akron were combined at one point but I don't think Canton was ever a part of that MSA. 

On 10/19/2021 at 4:31 PM, Pugu said:

 

CLEVELAND is the market. Not Elyria or Mentor. I could see the argument for "Akron", so Cleveland-Akron, but its still "cleveland" so Cleveland MSA is what it should be. "Akron" included would just be to appease Akron. Regarding your name above and the reasons, it therefore should be Cleveland-Akron-Parma---as Parma is bigger than Elyria by 20 or 30k.

Or possibly becuase the Akron MSA would be bringing 2 large state universities and at least 2 Fortune 500 companies to the table. However I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not. 

On 10/19/2021 at 4:57 PM, Pugu said:

^maybe. I dunno. I'm not suggesting "Parma" be added---i was only responded to the person who was basing things on population size. I think it's silly to have "Elyria" in the name of Cleveland's MSA. I think the full seven counties should just be "Cleveland MSA".

 

 

It's not just about population. There's a standard definition and they use it across the country and it takes into account the population size and number of workers. It would appear, based on the revised 2020 definition, that Elyria will be dropped off the name when they revise the MSA definitions in, I believe, 2023:

 

The largest incorporated place with a 2020 Census population of at least 10,000 in the CBSA or, if no incorporated place of at least 10,000 population is present in the CBSA, the largest incorporated place or census designated place in the CBSA; and

 

(b) Any additional incorporated place or census designated place with a 2020 Census population of at least 250,000 or in which 100,000 or more persons work; and

 

(c) Any additional incorporated place or census designated place with a 2020 Census population of at least 50,000, but less than 250,000, and in which the number of workers working in the place meets or exceeds the number of workers living in the place; and

 

(d) Any additional incorporated place or census designated place with a 2020 Census population of at least 10,000, but less than 50,000, and at least one-third the population size of the largest place, and in which the number of workers working in the place meets or exceeds the number of workers living in the place.

 

I don't know if any other places in the MSA will meet these criteria but I suspect not.

1 hour ago, westakron1 said:

Cleveland and Akron were combined at one point but I don't think Canton was ever a part of that MSA. 

 

Cleveland and Akron were never combined. They have always been distinct metro areas. Lorain-Elyria used to be its own separate metro area too. Cleveland metro area used to be just Cuyahoga and Lake Counties.

9 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

 

Cleveland and Akron were never combined. They have always been distinct metro areas. Lorain-Elyria used to be its own separate metro area too. Cleveland metro area used to be just Cuyahoga and Lake Counties.

Wasn't Ashtabula County once considered a part of the Cleveland MSA?

23 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

 

It's not just about population. There's a standard definition and they use it across the country and it takes into account the population size and number of workers. It would appear, based on the revised 2020 definition, that Elyria will be dropped off the name when they revise the MSA definitions in, I believe, 2023:

 

The largest incorporated place with a 2020 Census population of at least 10,000 in the CBSA or, if no incorporated place of at least 10,000 population is present in the CBSA, the largest incorporated place or census designated place in the CBSA; and

 

(b) Any additional incorporated place or census designated place with a 2020 Census population of at least 250,000 or in which 100,000 or more persons work; and

 

(c) Any additional incorporated place or census designated place with a 2020 Census population of at least 50,000, but less than 250,000, and in which the number of workers working in the place meets or exceeds the number of workers living in the place; and

 

(d) Any additional incorporated place or census designated place with a 2020 Census population of at least 10,000, but less than 50,000, and at least one-third the population size of the largest place, and in which the number of workers working in the place meets or exceeds the number of workers living in the place.

 

I don't know if any other places in the MSA will meet these criteria but I suspect not.

I don't understand the term "census designated place." What in the world is it and when did it start?? Every place in the US would already seem to be part of a particular city, town, municipality or township (etc.) with borders that were clearly defined when they incorporated, which, I assume, would be the basis of how the census counts the population. The whole concept of census designated place just sounds like a bunch of residents that make up a certain community wishing to separate from a larger one to enhance their image for some special purpose. Your guess is as good as mine what that might be. And how would that be a legal basis for compiling official census data?

Edited October 21, 20213 yr by eastvillagedon

17 hours ago, DEPACincy said:

 

Cleveland and Akron were never combined. They have always been distinct metro areas. Lorain-Elyria used to be its own separate metro area too. Cleveland metro area used to be just Cuyahoga and Lake Counties.

 

 

they were all combined for awhile as of 1999-ish in the cbsa era as cleveland-akron-canton.

 

i guess that is what i was thinking of.

 

 

https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/metroarea/stcbsa_pg/Feb2013/cbsa2013_OH.pdf

 

https://www.census.gov/history/www/programs/geography/metropolitan_areas.html

18 hours ago, eastvillagedon said:

I don't understand the term "census designated place." What in the world is it and when did it start?? Every place in the US would already seem to be part of a particular city, town, municipality or township (etc.) with borders that were clearly defined when they incorporated, which, I assume, would be the basis of how the census counts the population. The whole concept of census designated place just sounds like a bunch of residents that make up a certain community wishing to separate from a larger one to enhance their image for some special purpose. Your guess is as good as mine what that might be. And how would that be a legal basis for compiling official census data?

 

Maybe in Ohio, but not all states were surveyed into Townships. Florida was not widely developed until the latter half of the 20th century, and it shows - you have many unincorporated areas which only really roll up to the county they are part of, and e.g. receive safety services and other functions from the county. Likewise, you don't have fiefdoms overseeing their own school districts, you see countywide consolidated school districts. While townships are relatively small in land area, lumping an entire county's unincorporated area into a single place does not make sense if there are clustered populated areas that can be called out instead.

 

Of course, there is a hierarchy that drills down to the census-block level and can be aggregated into e.g., block groups, tracts, but they may not aggregate cleanly into what comprises a related area. Here's an interesting breakdown: https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/geodiagram.pdf

 

There are also others at: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/hierarchy.html