Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Atlanta
Detroit
Houston
Portland
Figure 8.32.
Relative share of city centers in the metropolitan population, 2000
There are no less than 74 cities or incorporated areas, which occupy 16% of the
Atlanta MSA surface area (16,085 km² or 6,210 mi²), spread over 20 counties. The
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint CMSA surface area is spread out over 10 counties and
20% of it is occupied by 134 cities. Despite its decline, the city of Detroit remains
the densest of the four cities studied in this chapter. Nearly 25% of the vast
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria CMSA is occupied by 66 incorporated areas
distributed among eight counties only. With its policy of annexations, the city of
Houston is a giant with its 1,560 km². Finally, 66 cities and 8 counties are included
in the Portland-Salem CMSA, including one Washington State county on the north
bank of the Columbia. And yet, this is nothing compared to the incredible
complexity of the administrative jurisdictions of cities on the East Coast.
Metropolitan New York, for instance, covers part of 4 states, 29 counties, and 932
incorporated areas.
The complexity of local governance in the United States is complicated by the
existence of counties. There are counties throughout the United States. These are
small on the Atlantic coast, but become progressively larger as one heads west.
While they may serve as a basic unit for Census Bureau calculations, they are not
mere statistical groupings. In the 48 conterminous states, counties average 95,000
inhabitants and a surface area of 2,500 km². Counties may be compared to a French
arrondissement
with the major difference being that a county is a territorial authority
governed by an elected council (Board of Supervisors) charged with territorial
administration and planning. Counties generally administer unincorporated
territories, still relatively widespread even within metropolitan areas, make property
assessments, and collect local taxes before distribution to the incorporated areas.
The county is responsible for infrastructure, including roads, drainage, and flood
