The U.S. Census Bureau has changed what is classified as “urban” and “rural.” That can have major economic ramifications.

I never thought of this part of Puna as an urban center. In fact, I might have scoffed if I’d ever heard it called one — like a sunburned gas-station attendant in a road movie, laughing at the idea of city limits.

There are still enough loose dogs to keep you alert, though it’s gotten better in recent years. There was a time I might’ve wished for a semester or two of canine psychology just to finish a jog without a turnaround or reroute.

Over the last two U.S. Census counts, neither my father nor I — we live in the same neighborhood — ever saw an official census taker. Many neighbors have said the same.

And yet these streets sit in a patchwork of areas that federal

See Full Page