Annex the Suburbs!

[triplemultiplex]

While there are a few exceptions, most big cities in America are surrounded by tons of little suburbs that really should have never been allowed to form.  Those areas should've just been added on to the main city (or 'cities' in the case of twins).  There are a few places where this happened, kinda; Indy, J-ville, Tucson, Louisville, Fresno...  But I want to see what it'd be like if we expand this model to other cities.

Suburbs allow a self selecting group of people to leech off of the economic and entertainment attraction of a big city without paying for its upkeep.  They benefit from all the services and amenities of their core city, directly and indirectly, but are somehow absolved of responsibility for their upkeep.

Nobody would live in a suburb if it wasn't located right next to a big city.  On the surface, that sounds dumb, but think about it; you're not going to take the same collection of subdivisions, office parks, retail strips and light industry; plop it down in the middle of nowhere and have it work.

Suburbs certainly don't exactly help bridge our political divides.

People who live in suburbs will tell you they live in the city which they are actually a satellite of.

Suburbs are completely indistinguishable from each other anyway.

So I propose that major cities start annexing suburbs.  We'll start small at first; just grabbing ones that are in the same county or inside the beltline.  Then we'll reach out farther as needed.  We'll respect state boundaries, but all other townships, villages and cities will unite with the main city.  The ultimate boundary will be up to me.  If we're all going to live in the same general area, we might as well be united in the same municipality.  I think politics would get better if we couldn't huddle together in suburbs or central cities and sneer at one another from a distance.  Then we can finally treat metro areas as the single entities they functionally are without all of the redundant bureaucracy of cities, suburbs and counties.
Most importantly , this will make our cities reflect how big they actually are.


(disclaimer: this is only a semi-serious thought experiment)

[bulkyorled]

I cant vouch for other cities but I feel Los Angeles needs to scale down, a few neighborhoods in the San Fernando valley I feel would probably do better as their own cities again. Van Nuys is one for sure. LAPD drags its heels on a lot of the problems over there. I guess in the mid 00s they tried to secede but it failed. Not just Van Nuys but the entire valley. That was too big of a project I think.

Any of the neighboring cities that are left like Burbank, Glendale, West Hollywood, etc I dont think they'd ever want to be annexed by Los Angeles. They avoided it with having their own water supply in the early 20th century, I say leech all you want. Cities would end up getting way too large, its already difficult for LA to keep up with its own affairs with it being the largest city in the US by land size (im pretty sure it passes New York) It must work though since there are cities like Tokyo with a comparable population to the entire state almost. But I'd imagine they don't even know what they all have there

I personally would like to see Sunland & Tujunga their own city or cities again. But that's just me living over here I don't mind LA haha...

[brad2971]

It's a good thing this is a "semi-serious thought experiment," because I can think of at least two cities that would run into a state-level political fight if this was seriously tried.

Omaha, NE, has been very diligent in annexing properties, even an entire town (Elkhorn). However, Omaha is forbidden by the state of NE from going across the Douglas-Sarpy county line to annex property. Likewise, Denver is locked in to its boundaries by state constitutional amendment (the Poundstone Amendment), and had to make a deal with Adams County to annex prairie dog-infested scrub in order to build DIA.

Ironically enough, both Omaha and Denver are more prosperous for being locked in to those requirements than they otherwise would be. In fact, Kansas City, despite being able to go across the Missouri River to Clay and Platte counties for property, is considerably poorer (as both a city and Metro area) than both Omaha and Denver.

[tdindy88]

I think this policy, in terms of at least Indianapolis, is what kept it from declining too much when other Rust Belt cities were declining (being a state capital and largest city helped too, among other reasons.) When Unigov happened in the 70s, the city was losing people to the suburban parts of Marion County and once the city and county were merged the city started to gain people every census and has done so since. In doing this, IMO, it allowed the city some time to dig themselves out of the hole they were in with the shrinking inner city and revitialize the downtown and embark on their sports stragety (see this year's Super Bowl for the ultimate sucess in this.) Of course, the fact that it wasn't tied down as much to the auto industry helped as well, and there are other factors at play as well. All of this allowed the city to continue growing to the point that it is among the stronger cities in the Midwest today. Of course, now the problem is that the metro area isn't as big as it should be with a city as big as it is (since the city took up part of the metro area.) And plenty of the inner city is still in dire shape, but with a growing city and metro area at least those neighborhoods can be improved over time instead of being left to rot.

Even with this, I suspect many of these small towns would like to keep their indpenedence and are not going to want to give that up, realistically. In the end, I think a strong metro government (with the large city and individual suburbs intact) is the best that we can hope for. Minneapolis-St. Paul and Portland, OR have perhaps the strongest metro organizations that actually dictate some of the policies for their metro regions and in the Portland example, if I understand correctly, the metro government is actually voted on by the residents of the three Oregon counties in the metro area, being the only metropolitan government (that isn't a municipality, township or county) that has elected members. Just my two cents though.

[bulkyorled]

Also with what I said goes strictly for Los Angeles or at least California cities. I feel like they don't need to grow anymore. They're done haha They're large and in charge. I definitely know a few cities LA could gobble up though, the city of San Fernando is a small square completely surrounded by Los Angeles.

[texaskdog]

I moved from Saint Paul (with tons of suburbs) to Austin (really none, just small towns that are now touching Austin.  Just makes a whole lot more sense to me to be part of the city.  However we have little areas that are not incorporated called "MUDS".  When I was in the mud when I first moved to Austin, we had an Austin address, but felt like a suburb, but our mail carrier said it was a rural route.

[Stephane Dumas]

It could be interesting to see Cleveland amalgating with Cayuga county.

Also, in Montreal's North Shore, Sainte-Therèse, Boisbriand as well as Deux-Montagnes and St-Eustache could be amalgated in 1 or 2 cities.

[oscar]

Suburbs allow a self selecting group of people to leech off of the economic and entertainment attraction of a big city without paying for its upkeep.  They benefit from all the services and amenities of their core city, directly and indirectly, but are somehow absolved of responsibility for their upkeep.

Nobody would live in a suburb if it wasn't located right next to a big city.  On the surface, that sounds dumb, but think about it; you're not going to take the same collection of subdivisions, office parks, retail strips and light industry; plop it down in the middle of nowhere and have it work.

Suburbs certainly don't exactly help bridge our political divides.

That's not all that's going on.  What about suburbs that thrive in part because of chronic mismanagement of city governments?  For example, when I moved to the Washington D.C. area, it was in the "Mayor Crackhead" era, which made it very easy for me to settle in the close-in (and much better-run, but still very urban) suburb in which I now reside. 

The state line, fortunately, keeps D.C. from clawing back Arlington ("back" because Arlington was part of D.C. until ca. 1846, before it was ceded back to Virginia).  One variant of your suggestion has been floated, to create a new state merging D.C. with its northern Virginia and Maryland suburbs.  Aside from requiring the consent of both of the affected state governments, the idea also gets howls of outrage from within D.C. since the city would then be dominated by its more-populous and on average less-black suburbs. 

[broadhurst04]

I have thought in recent years that Raleigh, Cary, and Morrisville NC should combine into one city. Cary has no discernible downtown, and Morrisville is so hemmed in by Cary and RDU Airport that it's difficult to discern where you've entered it and left it. The expanded City of Raleigh would then have a combined population of 557,702 (referencing Wikipedia articles).

Another thought: if you want to get rid of suburbs, why not let Raleigh annex all of Wake County, just as Virginia Beach did to Princess Anne County in 1963?

[Brandon]

Chicago did add on smaller suburbs (Town of Lake, Hyde Park, etc) in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.  State law put a stop to the practice after enough of them complained.  However, due to the major development pattern, many suburbs here do have discernible downtowns along the rail lines (Plainfield, Lockport, Westmont, Naperville, etc).  Only a few actually lack a downtown (Bolingbrook, Homer Glen).

I'd rather see school districts combined instead.  Illinois has more school districts per capita than any other state in the Union.

[mgk920]

I often wonder how different Milwaukee's 'politick' would be if the entire metro area (essentially all of the old 'metroplan' local phone calling area) was in the city and able to vote in mayor and city council elections.

BTW, the Appleton area is the State of Wisconsin's 'poster child' for the need for major local government reform and metro-wide municipal amalgamation.

Mike

[Stephane Dumas]

I spotted that video showing the annex and population stats of Detroit   Could we imagine some areas being unincorporated?

[kphoger]

Chicago did add on smaller suburbs (Town of Lake, Hyde Park, etc) in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.  State law put a stop to the practice after enough of them complained.  However, due to the major development pattern, many suburbs here do have discernible downtowns along the rail lines (Plainfield, Lockport, Westmont, Naperville, etc).  Only a few actually lack a downtown (Bolingbrook, Homer Glen).

I'd rather see school districts combined instead.  Illinois has more school districts per capita than any other state in the Union.

I always found it interesting that Austin is part of Chicago yet Oak Park is not.

[Beltway]

Because most towns and counties actively resist attempts at annexation.

[Bickendan]

Portland did this to a number of its suburbs: Multnomah Village, Sellwood, East Portland, St Johns, Linnton, Hillsdale, Lents, Woodstock, Parkrose, Hollywood, Hayden Island and Vanport. With the exception of Vanport (which flooded away and is now Portland International Raceway), each of these former cities has an identifiable 'downtown'.
Portland did not annex Maywood Park, however, and it is completely ensconced in Portland's city limits.

The other suburbs are either too far east and didn't run into the possibility of annexation (Gresham, Fairview, Troutdale, Wood Village, although those three are considering merging into one city) or are in Washington or Clackamas Counties. Or in Washington, period. Those outer suburbs have been making annexation rumblings of their own: Happy Valley has been taking Clackamas, and Beaverton and Hillsboro have been taking Aloha. Nike has also led a successful campaign to stop Beaverton's ambitious annexation plans, which would have made it Oregon's second largest city.

[Brandon]

Because most towns and counties actively resist attempts at annexation.

Maybe in the east, as I know cities are independent of counties in Virginia, but not in Illinois.  Townships and counties cannot resist annexation here.  Towns (only about 10 in the state such as Cicero and Normal), villages, and cities can resist annexation as they are incorporated.  Unincorporated areas usually choose to join a municipality, but can also be forcibly annexed.

[Darkchylde]

Sadly, this wouldn't be possible with the Northshore suburbs of New Orleans that are currently thriving. Physical location is something to consider there, as well as a cultural divide between the two places.

[vdeane]

I believe one reason why people in suburbs identify with the city is because that's how the post office sets up their address.  Also, it's easier to tell people out of town who likely don't know the names of the suburbs.

[froggie]

Aside from requiring the consent of both of the affected state governments, the idea also gets howls of outrage from within D.C. since the city would then be dominated by its more-populous and on average less-black suburbs.

I don't think you can quite say this anymore, at least on the Maryland side.  For starters, per Census numbers, DC is now just barely back to majority white (just a hair over 50%).  Meanwhile, Prince George's County has long been majority-minority and Montgomery County is now the same.

True, DC might be dominated by its neighbors, but the "on average less-black" only applies to the Virginia side now, not the Maryland side.

Another thought: if you want to get rid of suburbs, why not let Raleigh annex all of Wake County, just as Virginia Beach did to Princess Anne County in 1963?

It should be noted that it wasn't so much Virginia Beach merging with Princess Anne County as it was the other way around.  Princess Anne County became an independent city not because of the pre-existing Virginia Beach within it, but because county residents feared annexation by Norfolk.  During the 1950s, there were at least 2 instances of Norfolk annexing land within Princess Anne County.  County residents feared further annexation so by 1963 they were successful in consolidating with Virginia Beach.  A similar fear turned Norfolk County and the former city of South Norfolk into Chesapeake.

[Duke87]

New York City did exactly what you are proposing 114 years ago.

Now the entire metro area is far too big to fit into one municipality (the fact that it extends into two other states not even being considered). As it is, the entire city already takes up five whole counties.

[Beltway]

Annexation by cities in Virginia is certainly legal, but the counties have to agree to it.  The last annexation in Virginia was in 1970 by the City of Richmond annexing parts of Chesterfield and Henrico counties.

The City of Petersburg has tried several times since then, the last in the 1990s, but Prince George County firmly resisted it.

[usends]

...Denver is locked in to its boundaries by state constitutional amendment (the Poundstone Amendment), and had to make a deal with Adams County to annex prairie dog-infested scrub in order to build DIA.  Ironically enough, both Omaha and Denver are more prosperous for being locked in to those requirements than they otherwise would be.

I do think you make some good points; I have puzzled over what could be done about the fact that all the suburbanites drive on Denver's roads, but don't have to pay for their upkeep.  But I'm curious: why do you think Denver would be less prosperous if it wasn't fenced in by Poundstone?

[74/171FAN]

Annexation by cities in Virginia is certainly legal, but the counties have to agree to it.  The last annexation in Virginia was in 1970 by the City of Richmond annexing parts of Chesterfield and Henrico counties.

The City of Petersburg has tried several times since then, the last in the 1990s, but Prince George County firmly resisted it.

Is it true that Hopewell tried to annex part of Prince George County to about Ruffin Rd(VA 106/156)?  I remember my dad telling me that I could have been living in Hopewell.

[codyg1985]

It would be very interesting to see what metro Birmingham, AL would look like if Birmingham annexed all of the suburbs. I would expect A LOT of resistance to that happening though due to political reasons.

[Beltway]

Is it true that Hopewell tried to annex part of Prince George County to about Ruffin Rd(VA 106/156)?  I remember my dad telling me that I could have been living in Hopewell.

I don't know the details, but Hopewell was in on the annexation efforts in the 1990s.