Why Are Cities Incorporated? (zoning, legal, authority)

[ethanre]

Some cities are incorporated others are unincorporated. What is the difference and WHY are cities incorporated in the first place?

Since a city is incorporated does that mean it is a corporation, i.e. a business entity?

Thanks (and sorry if this is a stupid question)!

[pvande55]

A city is incorporated to give it certain powers. Usually unincorporated areas are subject to County ordinances. But city ordinances can supercede or augment county rules, especially with regard to zoning. Also, in most States an existing city cannot be annexed by another. Sometimes a group of residents decides to incorporate a new city to keep a nearby city from taking it over and allowing locally unacceptable land uses. Also, cities tend to have more power in obtaining such things as Federal funding and water rights. This may not be the whole answer. i think in Commonwealth States the Township, instead of the County, is the fallback authority.

[ethanre]

Originally Posted by pvande55

A city is incorporated to give it certain powers. Usually unincorporated areas are subject to County ordinances. But city ordinances can supercede or augment county rules, especially with regard to zoning. Also, in most States an existing city cannot be annexed by another. Sometimes a group of residents decides to incorporate a new city to keep a nearby city from taking it over and allowing locally unacceptable land uses. Also, cities tend to have more power in obtaining such things as Federal funding and water rights. This may not be the whole answer. i think in Commonwealth States the Township, instead of the County, is the fallback authority.

Thank you!
Below I posted a couple captions from wikipedia.

I am still not clear to why the words "corporation" and " incorporation" are used, one would think that it would be more appropriate to have a city be a coop, right?

How similar, or dissimilar is an incorporated city (a municipal corporation) from an incorporated business?

Does the similarity start and end with the use of the term "corporation"?

A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which they are located. Often, this event is marked by the award or declaration of a municipal charter

United States

In the United States, such municipal corporations are established by charters that are granted either directly by a state legislature by means of local legislation, or indirectly under a general municipal corporation law, usually after the proposed charter has passed a referendum vote of the affected population.

Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation (a corporation being a legal entity that is effectively recognized as a person under the law). The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organization, sports club, or a government of a new city or town. This article focuses on the process of incorporation; see also corporation.

The Articles of Incorporation (sometimes also referred to as the Certificate of Incorporation or the Corporate Charter) are the primary rules governing the management of a corporation in the United States and Canada, and are filed with a state or other regulatory agency.

A cooperative (also co-operative; often referred to as a co-op or coop) is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit.[1] Cooperatives are defined by the International Co-operative Alliance's Statement on the Co-operative Identity as autonomous associations of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprises.[2] A cooperative may also be defined as a business owned and controlled equally by the people who use its services or who work at it. Cooperative enterprises are the focus of study in the field of cooperative economics.

Thanks!!

[knke0204]

It's basically all about public service provision.