Alameda ( or ;
Spanish: ) is a city in
Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on
Alameda Island and
Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to and west of
Oakland and in eastern
San Francisco Bay across from
San Francisco and
South San Francisco, in the
San Francisco Bay Area. Bay Farm Island, a portion of which is also known as "Harbor Bay Isle", is not actually an island, and is part of the mainland adjacent to the
Oakland International Airport. The city's estimated 2014 population was 75,988. Alameda is a
charter city, rather than a
general law city, allowing the city to provide for any form of government. Alameda became a charter city and adopted a
council–manager government in 1916, which it retains to the present.