Special Districts Characteristics

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Some characteristics that separate special districts from all other local governments are that they focus on one specific area, extend past borders of other governments, and are run differently from other governments. The most obvious characteristic of a special district is the fact that they are a single purpose government. According to Governing States and Localities “Special districts, on the other hand, are mostly single purpose governments” and “are created to provide specific services that are not being provided by a general purpose governments” (363). Some examples of special districts focusing on a specific service or sewer districts, school districts, and ambulance districts. These all focus on one area and their names pretty much…show more content…
One example of annexation is in Oklahoma City. Governing States and Localities states that Oklahoma “has more than 600 square miles within its city limits, with much of that added over the years through annexation” (396). By annexing Oklahoma City has grown its size considerably as well as their power. An example of consolidation is Jacksonville, Florida and Duval County. According to Governing States and Localities this was done because they “were experiencing industrial waste in their river, underachieving high schools, and clashes between city and county officials” (393). By consolidating it combined the city and county governments, thus helping to dissipate some of the conflict between the officials. Citizens are often resistant to consolidating because people who live in suburbs fear that if they consolidate it will mostly benefit the downtown residents and increase their tax load, while inner city minorities fear that their voting power will be diluted (393). Another reason that citizens are uneasy about consolidating is because they have a loyalty to their community. Governing States and Localities notes that “people identify with their local governments and tend to trust them” and since “there is no…show more content…
Governing States and Localities states that “local governments have exercised their powers over land use to dictate that the growth in metropolitan areas will be out rather than up” and that “these developments make for lower population densities, but obviously they also require more land” (385). By developing out instead of up communities in the Los Angeles continue to grow bigger and bigger as more people flock to the city. According to Governing States and Localities “population-wise, Los Angeles grew about 45 percent between 1970 and 1990; land wise, it grew by 300 percent” (385). If these communities grew up instead of out it would be more compact and slow urban sprawl, but instead they continue develope further out. In “Study Ranks Metro Areas by Sprawl” by Chris Kardish, a factor that might contribute to sprawl in Atlanta, Georgia is that Georgia’s cultural values are “less focused on ‘ecological friendly development,’ different investment strategies and a lack of geographical barriers to growth” (para 9). These factors make sprawl almost inevitable, without being worried about being ecologically friendly it doesn’t hinder development and without geographical boundaries, like mountains Georgia can continue to sprawl without being

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