Wikipedia:Notability (populated places) (failed) 2

General

A populated place is notable if it meets Wikipedia's notability guidelines.

A map or atlas cannot be used as a source to establish notability. This is because many detailed maps are highly comprehensive and have their own standards for determining what is listed that may not match reliable sources. Maps and atlases, however, are acceptable in verifying information once notability has been established.

Inclusion

The following places are notable:

Legally defined jurisdictions

Legally defined jurisdictions are notable. Examples of a legally defined jurisdiction are:

• A location that has a government of its own
• A location that has a postal zone of its own
• A census-designated place

Why are legally defined jurisdictions notable? This is because their status inevitably will result in an abundance of multiple, independent reliable sources existing. Included in this guideline are:

• Divisions of a country, such as states, provinces, territories, and regions
• Divisions of one of the above, such as counties, communes, and parishes
• Incorporated cities, towns, and other places
• Towns and village for which a mailing address recognized by the country's postal service exists

Metropolitan areas

In some countries, metropolitan areas are officially set by the national governments, leading there to be an exact definition, and are therefore notable. Information from government agencies may be used to verify all the information found within such articles.

Invalid criteria

The following types of locations, though not automatically excluded, are not automatically notable based on their name alone, and can only have articles if multiple reliable sources establish their existence.

Regions

Regions of a country or a smaller jurisdiction within are notable only with reliable sources. Many such regions have no official definition, and their unofficial definitions vary from one source to another. As a result, parts of a region by one definition may overlap with parts of a region by another.

For example, the United States has regions commonly referred to as the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest, Northwest, and Southwest, among others in other variations. According to differing definitions, some states may be located in one region by one standard, and in another region by another.

If multiple definitions exist for such a region, and notability can be claimed for each, then the article can and should compare and contrast these definitions.

Neighborhoods and communities

A neighborhood or community within a city or town or in a rural area is not worthy of a standalone article unless it clearly meets Wikipedia's notability guidelines. Why not? Such divisions are often not legally defined, and frequently have no official recognition. Their names have been given by means such as commercial developers or word-of-mouth by their settlers, and their boundaries have never been officially set. Additionally, many cities today are composed of smaller towns and settlements from the past that were merged into a larger city as they developed. In many cases, multiple neighborhoods or communities will overlap. All this must be clearly verified.

When notability cannot be clearly established for a neighborhood or community, its title may redirect to another location for which notability has been established, or even the town where it is located.

Suburbs

Unincorporated suburbs of a large city that are not census-designated and do not serve as a postal zone are notable without multiple, independent reliable sources. These hold the status of communities as defined above and therefore require notability to be established.

Places from the past

Titles of named settlements from the past that currently exist under a different name or as part of a larger notable place should redirect to the current location unless there is plenty of information to build a standalone article.

Abandoned settlements in areas that are currently not populated or recognized but were in the past may have standalone articles only if they meet Wikipedia's notability guidelines.