I think I've found the city with the ugliest municipal boundaries of anywhere

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

https://www.google.com/maps?client=opera&q=buckeye+az&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&ei=2H3MVPi7NNioyASJ9IKIAw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ

My God...it's just.....

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I thought it was going to be the capital of the Buckeye State ... but that Buckeye you have there is a whole'nother level of insane!

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Congrats, you have found the long lost twin of FL-22.

[Antonio the Sixth]

What the f**k is wrong with American cities? Why can't the States implement sane municipal boundaries?

[muon2]

What the f**k is wrong with American cities? Why can't the States implement sane municipal boundaries?

They can in the northeast. But that's because those states established towns as the primary unit of government under the state. Counties were mostly for judicial functions. As villages formed in the towns they were constrained by the town lines. Cities came from towns with special recognition from the state.

Elsewhere counties were the primary government under the state. Cities and villages were separate entities from counties with different functions. In order to provide city services to growing areas in the state, the state allowed cities to annex more territory. In most states the county lines didn't matter for annexation, since it was impractical to deny residents immediately across a county line from a city services such as water or fire protection.

Conversely, states didn't want to force agricultural properties to pay city taxes. That meant city boundaries would sprawl in directions driven only by annexation growth.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Columbia, SC has some pretty bad boundaries too.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia,+SC&oe=utf-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&ei=DuzMVICWGIq8ggSQ64CYAw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&output=classic&dg=oo

[Indy Texas]

Honorable mention for Houston?

[Indy Texas]

What the f**k is wrong with American cities? Why can't the States implement sane municipal boundaries?

They can in the northeast. But that's because those states established towns as the primary unit of government under the state. Counties were mostly for judicial functions. As villages formed in the towns they were constrained by the town lines. Cities came from towns with special recognition from the state.

Elsewhere counties were the primary government under the state. Cities and villages were separate entities from counties with different functions. In order to provide city services to growing areas in the state, the state allowed cities to annex more territory. In most states the county lines didn't matter for annexation, since it was impractical to deny residents immediately across a county line from a city services such as water or fire protection.

Conversely, states didn't want to force agricultural properties to pay city taxes. That meant city boundaries would sprawl in directions driven only by annexation growth.

I once had a hard time trying to explain this to a Yankee friend who asked me what city I lived in. I explained that I don't live in one; I live in Harris County. He asked again, "Yeah, but what town in Harris County?" He refused to believe it was possible to not live in any city or town at all. (The fact that I have a Houston mailing address despite not living in the City of Houston just confused him even more.)

[retromike22]

What the f**k is wrong with American cities? Why can't the States implement sane municipal boundaries?

They can in the northeast. But that's because those states established towns as the primary unit of government under the state. Counties were mostly for judicial functions. As villages formed in the towns they were constrained by the town lines. Cities came from towns with special recognition from the state.

Elsewhere counties were the primary government under the state. Cities and villages were separate entities from counties with different functions. In order to provide city services to growing areas in the state, the state allowed cities to annex more territory. In most states the county lines didn't matter for annexation, since it was impractical to deny residents immediately across a county line from a city services such as water or fire protection.

Conversely, states didn't want to force agricultural properties to pay city taxes. That meant city boundaries would sprawl in directions driven only by annexation growth.

I once had a hard time trying to explain this to a Yankee friend who asked me what city I lived in. I explained that I don't live in one; I live in Harris County. He asked again, "Yeah, but what town in Harris County?" He refused to believe it was possible to not live in any city or town at all. (The fact that I have a Houston mailing address despite not living in the City of Houston just confused him even more.)

This sounds like part of a play:

"So what city do you live in?"
"I live in Harris County."
"What city in Harris County?"
"I don't live in a city, I just live in the county."
"So you live in a county but not a city?"
"Yes."
"So how do I mail a letter do you?"
"I have a Houston mailing address."
"Oh so you live in the city of Houston?"
"No. I live in a county that has Houston in it but I don't live in Houston and I have a Houston mailing address but I still don't live in Houston."
"Okay. (awkward pause) I live in the city of Boston. That's it."

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

What the f**k is wrong with American cities? Why can't the States implement sane municipal boundaries?

They can in the northeast. But that's because those states established towns as the primary unit of government under the state. Counties were mostly for judicial functions. As villages formed in the towns they were constrained by the town lines. Cities came from towns with special recognition from the state.

Elsewhere counties were the primary government under the state. Cities and villages were separate entities from counties with different functions. In order to provide city services to growing areas in the state, the state allowed cities to annex more territory. In most states the county lines didn't matter for annexation, since it was impractical to deny residents immediately across a county line from a city services such as water or fire protection.

Conversely, states didn't want to force agricultural properties to pay city taxes. That meant city boundaries would sprawl in directions driven only by annexation growth.

I once had a hard time trying to explain this to a Yankee friend who asked me what city I lived in. I explained that I don't live in one; I live in Harris County. He asked again, "Yeah, but what town in Harris County?" He refused to believe it was possible to not live in any city or town at all. (The fact that I have a Houston mailing address despite not living in the City of Houston just confused him even more.)

This sounds like part of a play:

"So what city do you live in?"
"I live in Harris County."
"What city in Harris County?"
"I don't live in a city, I just live in the county."
"So you live in a county but not a city?"
"Yes."
"So how do I mail a letter do you?"
"I have a Houston mailing address."
"Oh so you live in the city of Houston?"
"No. I live in a county that has Houston in it but I don't live in Houston and I have a Houston mailing address but I still don't live in Houston."
"Okay. (awkward pause) I live in the city of Boston. That's it."

That's nothing. California has zip codes that contain parts of cities in two different counties. For example, 94707.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

That's nothing. California has zip codes that contain parts of cities in two different counties. For example, 94707.

That's nothing. South Carolina has zip codes that contain parts of cities in two different counties, and they get to have another city's name on the envelope.  29063 is titularly the zip code for Irmo, but Columbia snakes into the code at two different points in different counties.

[muon2]

If you liked some of the examples so far you should enjoy the namesake of "Joliet" Jake Blues.

[The Free North]

The west has no excuse for ugly borders...in the east we were just making it up as we went along in the 18th century.

[memphis]

That's nothing. California has zip codes that contain parts of cities in two different counties. For example, 94707.

That's nothing. South Carolina has zip codes that contain parts of cities in two different counties, and they get to have another city's name on the envelope.  29063 is titularly the zip code for Irmo, but Columbia snakes into the code at two different points in different counties.

Some of that here too. The retirement home where my grandmother lived when I was growing up was (and remains) technically in Memphis, but has a Germantown, TN (whose territory included the apartments across the street) address for the purposes of mail delivery. All it means is that her mail went through the Germantown post office. The USPS, prefers to do their deliveries (ideally, anyhow) in the most efficient way possible and this can often conflict with zany municipal boundaries. And the municipal boundaries here in Shelby County are not nearly as bad as some of the other ones posted above. We also have "unincorporated areas" in the County that are not part of any municipality. However, our towns like to annex new territory as development occurs and we have a longstanding agreement between all the towns on who has dibs on what unincorporated areas whenever they feel like making an annexation. We call this a "reserve area."

Note. This map is out of date and since 2014, the light green area to the south of Germantown and west of Collierville is now officially part of Memphis. The large "rural" area in the NW corner of the county is a state park, so it seems unlikely that it would become part of any municipality though it is shaded green. I'm not sure what the deal is with the white NE corner. Note also that boundaries of the state and county conform to where the Mississippi River was in the 19th century. I'm fairly confident those areas on the other side of the river will never be annexed either as there are no bridges in those parts of the county and the west bank of the river is at a lower elevation and is extremely prone to flooding. There is no development at all on the other side of the river for several miles until you get past the levee that protects the town of West Memphis, AR.

[Mr. Illini]

If you liked some of the examples so far you should enjoy the namesake of "Joliet" Jake Blues.

Aaaaahhh, you beat me, was gonna post Joliet. So ridiculous.