The Goals and Strategies of Local Boundary Changes: Government Organization or Private Gain?

Urban research traditionally has explained local government boundary changes as the result of broad demographic and structural characteristics of cities, and has assessed the impact of local government organization in terms of community benefits. This paper argues for expanding this dominant model to include private interests. A typology of actors and benefits is developed and is then applied to the case study literature to demonstrate the gains available from annexation, consolidation, and incorporation. The paper concludes with suggest ions for a broader approach to analyzing local government boundary changes.