Why do some areas, like St. Louis County, have numerous municipalities, while others, like Baltimore County, have few or none?
St. Louis County was once known to have been divided into two parts which had poor and rich residents. Small neighborhoods were formed outskirts of the city of St. Louis which later established to be municipalities. These small neighborhoods would take advantage of the St. Louis city as they benefited from its resources. However, the neighborhoods began to overpower the city properties and resources. In 1876, the city found a way to stop sharing activities and resources with the small neighborhood. St. Louis County decided to vote and be an independent city from the small neighborhoods. In the end, many independent neighborhoods ended up becoming the municipalities ( Leon-Moreta, 2015) .
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Compared to St. Louis County, Baltimore County tends to have few municipalities. Baltimore County is termed as a ‘stand-alone’ city since it is situated far away from many urban resources. The county has limited institutions and facilities which offers minimal services to individuals. Therefore, people opt for services and opportunities in bigger and advanced cities. Lack of development and growth is another factor that has made Baltimore county to have few municipalities ( Leon-Moreta, 2015) .
What influences municipal incorporation?
The development and growth of a county are considered to influence municipal incorporation. Counties are usually identified by the economic, political and social progress that takes place in the local municipalities ( Carr & Feiock, 2001) . Therefore, availability of opportunities acquired in a county may influence municipal incorporation. It is shown that there is a “ weak evidence that the locus of decision-making affected annexation outcomes, concluding that variations in approval authority were not as important as more mundane factors such as the availability of unincorporated territory .” (461)
Describe in detail the three common reasons why individuals choose to incorporate…
Individuals may choose to incorporate when they want to invest in a particular location or county. They can also incorporate when they want to venture into different opportunities in municipalities or counties. Additionally, people incorporate when they want to exploit the resources of a particular location. States that have two or fewer levels of government may limit chances of incorporation ( McCabe, 2000) . For instance, “ In states with more restrictive annexation limits, special districts may be used to provide services. However, population limits for incorporation diminish the likelihood that special districts will emerge.” (128). The two levels will end up influencing incorporation decisions since they are based on county levels and not the entire country.
References
Carr, J. B. and. Feiock, R. C. (2001). State Annexation "Constraints" and the Frequency of Municipal Annexation. Political Research Quarterly, 54 (2), 459-470.
Leon-Moreta, A. (2015). Municipal incorporation in the United States. Urban Studies 52 (16), 3160–3180.
McCabe, B. C. (2000). Special-District Formation among the States. State & Local Government Review, 32 (2), 121-131.
