Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is a city on a small island of the same name next to Oakland, California in the San Francisco Bay. An additional part of the city is Bay Farm Island, which is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. The city has a small town feel with its Victorian homes and tree lined neighborhoods. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 72,259. Alameda is a charter city, rather than a general law city, meaning that the city can provide for any form of government. Alameda became a charter city in 1916, and adopted a council-manager government then, which it retains to the present.