A trip to Washington to lobby the officials in charge and pressure from U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, R-Greensboro, did not help previously. Burlington officials relished what they thought would be a chance to take High Point's place. It's an advertisement you can't pay for. The government is changing its naming criteria because it wants the names to reflect today's lifestyle. Cities are sprawling and traditional city and county borders do not mean as much.
Many people live in one place, work in another and shop in a third.
Those places rely on each other and they should be lumped together to reflect that they form a larger community, officials believe. The results can determine some federal funding. They also result in annual rankings of the best and worst places to live. Companies and families study them when deciding where to move. Having a city's name on the title of its region means international exposure, and lets people consider moving there.