Quote:
Originally Posted by whyhuhwhy
best post in the entire thread!
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Thanks!
Another big advantage southern cities have over northern cities... as alluded to by KBO679... is the fundamental difference in systems of local governance.
Most Southern states operate a "strong county" system of governance... where much of the land is unincorporated... unincorporated land is serviced by county governments... incorporated municipalities can then attempt to annex adjacent unincorporated territories... sometimes it's a difficult battle between city and county... and instead of wasting resources on a battle... they agree to a city-county merger... such as Louisville.
In many Northern states... every inch of ground is incorporated into some municipality... and the role of the county is to provide a "different set of services" to complement the services already provided by municipalities. Annexation is largely impossible due to the rights of municipalities.
There is of course variability across the regions and from state to state... but this is the general fundamental difference between North and South...
Northern cities are hemmed into tiny 19th century unable to cope with modern economic and technolgical scales... while Southern cities are more free to expand and adapt by increasing their boundaries to include hundreds of miles of fertile territory.
I wish Northern cities could do such a thing... because it would improve fiscal health, improve growth patterns and provide more resources for central cities... but there are too many people in power who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.