ABSTRACT
This entry presents a synthesis of theory and main factors influencing municipal incorporation processes in the United States. It highlights the role of state legislation on local autonomy—the basic framework enabling and constraining initiatives for municipal boundary change. The entry suggests the importance of a broad assessment of state legislation on municipal policy areas, in addition to laws on incorporation itself. It analyzes, e.g., the role of distinct legislations on municipal zoning and the functional autonomy of county and special-purpose jurisdictions, which have been argued to alter incentives for municipal incorporation. The main conclusion of this entry relates to the importance of the state legal framework on local autonomy for both descriptive and normative theories of municipal incorporation.
