Metropolitan political reorganization as a politics of urban growth: the case of San Fernando Valley secession

Much of the literature on metropolitan political reorganization (defined he re as secession, annexation, and incorporation) understands the phenomenon as a self-contained politics. That is, the literature mostly analyzes the p olitics surrounding reorganization in terms of the powers and responsibilit ies of the local state itself. Specifically, the literature finds that the main motivations for reorganization are: (1) a desire to reorganize the loc al collective consumption; and (2) a desire among outlying communities for more local control. I argue that the literature is not wrong, but that the politics of municipal reorganization must be seen in a broader context than just the formal powers and responsibilities of the local state. Specifical ly, I argue that reorganization is embedded in a wider politics of urban gr owth. To bring out the relationship between reorganization and growth polit ics, the paper analyzes the case of a secession movement in Los Angeles' Sa n Fernando Valley. I show that, among other goals, secessionists are trying to restructure the local state so that they can now more effectively pursu e their agenda with respect to local growth. The paper ends by suggesting s ome implications of this finding. Because growth politics in American citie s are primarily a struggle over urban space, linking reorganization to grow th politics provides a more complete understanding of the relationship betw een the politics of the local state and the geography of the city. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.