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This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the municipal incorporation activity in the United States over the last several decades and the geographic consequences of the incorporation of new cities. It aims to explore new municipalities and to develop a better understanding and appreciation for these complex local government boundary changes. Since 1990, the United States has witnessed the incorporation of more than 400 new cities. These newly incorporated municipalities (NIMs) were established on the edges of growing metropolitan areas, in beach and mountain resort destinations, and largely rural counties. The incorporation of these new cities is a complex and politically charged geographic event. These new cities can contribute to metropolitan fragmentation within a region, provide important public services to growing urban areas, and/or exclude unwanted populations. New cities can also result in new school boundaries, new levels of taxation, and new boards and commissions with varied political powers.

AbstractMunicipal annexation is the most common form of local government boundary change and can have profound impacts on the annexing municipality as well as the area being annexed. While urban scholars have often touted the economic benefits of annexation for municipalities, little research has been conducted on the effect of annexation type on the economic well‐being of a municipality. Do voluntary annexations result in a larger economic windfall for annexing municipalities? Do involuntary annexations cost more? This study examined more than 6,000 annexations conducted by North Carolina municipalities between 1990 and 2000 in order to explore the impact annexation methodology had on municipal fiscal health. The results reveal that during the study period annexation resulted in a decrease in municipal fiscal health for North Carolina municipalities and that involuntary annexation had a particularly detrimental effect. This finding contradicts much of the previous research on the economic benefits of annexation for municipalities.

Investigations into municipal annexation have been largely conducted at the interstate unit of analysis and have focused on the impact of annexation legislation on overall annexation frequency. Interestingly, little effort has been placed on exploring the differences in intrastate levels of annexation activity by method of annexation available to municipalities. This analysis explores intrastate annexation activity through a multivariate regression examination of municipal annexation activity conducted in North Carolina between 2000 and 2010. Results surprisingly show that the key variables impacting voluntary contiguous, voluntary noncontiguous, and involuntary annexations are similar. Meanwhile, more research is needed to understand the unique factors that influence legislative annexation activity.

Scholars often portray newly incorporated municipalities as white, wealthy suburbs. Yet this study reveals that 10 percent of new cities (forty-four cities) formed between 1990 and 2010 are black, Hispanic, Asian, and/or Native American majority cities. A careful examination of the data reveals not just racial differences but significant socioeconomic differences between new cities of color (CoCs) and majority white cities. By employing a probit model of statistical analysis, this research reveals that CoCs differ socioeconomically from majority white incorporating communities on variables such as median family income, average household size, and more.