How Local Governments Hinder Our Response to Natural Disasters

Image: Shoreline on the northeast Atlantic.

theatlanticcities.com - October 28th, 2013 - David Wachsmuth

The northeast Atlantic seaboard is the most densely urbanized area of the United States. And over generations, a bewildering patchwork of governance has evolved, with thousands of municipalities, hundreds of special-purpose agencies, dozens of cross-state partnerships, and a handful of states all sharing—and fighting over—governmental responsibilities.

The state of New Jersey alone has 565 municipalities representing a population only slightly larger than the single municipality of New York City.

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