May 7, 2001

Latest census figures show nation's largest cities grew nearly twice as fast in 1990's as in 1980's, with three out of every four urban centers gaining population; in bigger cities, those with more than 100,000 people, urban renaissance was uneven; Chicago grew by 112,000 people and New York exceeds eight million people for first time, but Philadelphia and Detroit lost population; Western and Southern cities, like Las Vegas and Charlotte, NC, grew fastest, fueled by booming economies and influx of immigrants; urban industrial centers in Rust Belt like Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Middle Atlantic and Northeastern cities like Hartford and Baltimore declined as jobs and people migrated elsewhere; demographers notice cities with highly educated residents have gained in population, while cities with large numbers of poor people typically declined (M)

ABC comedy Spin City has earned some of its highest ratings ever, drawing larger and younger audiences, since Charlie Sheen replaced ailing star Michael J Fox; Sheen's character reflects his real-life bad boy image, switch from Fox's wholesome, almost innocent image (M)

A torrent of hostile articles in Europe's press have focused on American foreign policy stances in President Bush's first 100 days, but any missteps by the Bush administration provided ammunition for a gun that was already partly loaded. News analysis, Page A10.

Telephone regulators, facing shortage of telephone numbers, are adding area codes at furious pace, even interspersing new area codes among existing ones in populous areas including metropolitan New York and Boston; since 1995, 138 area codes have been added around country, raising national total to 344; even as consumers benefit from growth in communications options, they must now dial 10 or 11 digits instead of usual seven when placing local telephone call--sometimes even when calling within same area code; critics say nation runs risk of yet another number shortage within decade that could lead to wholesale revamping of system, possibly resulting in even more digits to dial; some consumers wonder why United States does not simply add single digit to existing seven-digit local numbers, as some European and Asian countries have done; converting to eight-digit system would mean reprogramming phone companies' software and acquiring new switching equipment to route calls; Federal Communications Commission estimates cost nationwide of such a makeover of at least $75 billion; there are almost 500 million different telephone numbers in United States; photo; map (M)

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column discusses career of boxer Felix Trinidad as he prepares for middleweight championship bout against William Joppy; photo (M)