Administrative Areas of Governments
As administrative areas are the government department and agencies that handle day to day activities. As administrative areas, in turn, they are subdivisions or parts within an administrative division. As administrative areas are generally divided by departments and agencies into sub-departments and agencies. These sub-departments and agencies then further subdivide into more specific and specific administrative areas.
An administrative region, unit, department, or subdivision, also known as a unit, constituent region, or geographic area, is a specific portion of a state or other major political subdivision. Some administrative authorities are political entities, while others are purely geographical in nature. States have legislative, executive and judicial powers. Although there are local governments in most areas, the most famous administrative regions are the cities of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington DC, which formerly were urban areas.
There are two broad types of administrative areas: federal districts and state or local districts. Districts are essentially urban areas where local government functions are boarding. Examples of national districts are the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. State or local districts are administrative areas that exist within a state. Examples of these states are Illinois, California and New York.
While there are many similarities between urban and rural administrative regions, there are also major differences. As urban cities they have their own unique culture and political system, while as rural regions they are often much more homogeneous. The political system of cities is elected by centralized power exercised through local councils, mayoral offices and elected representatives at the ballot box.
Cities and counties enjoy special status by the US government. They are governed by a hybrid model of a constitutional republic with a centralized executive branch and a semi-decentralized governance system. As cities enjoy greater autonomy than most US counties. Cities and counties elect their leaders through competitive voting procedures in the county election. However, the ultimate authority is held by the governor and local municipalities. Cities and counties also elect public servants through competitive voting and sometimes directly through the governor's office.
Counties have their own police force, courts, fire department and other important institutions. A municipality is made up of a city and its associated rural municipalities. As cities and municipalities are autonomous and have their own tax bases, but share services and resources with the regional government and each other. The largest counties are in the northern part of the country, while the smaller ones are in the southern part.
Historically, cities and municipalities enjoyed more federal state status than they do today. This has been changing over time and some areas enjoy significant political transformation in terms of population and in terms of their level of accountability to local government. Some regions have seen a sharp drop in their regional influence. In many of these cases, counties enjoy more federal state status than their cities. In many cases, these changes have been reflected in the composition of the House and Senate and the composition of state superior courts.
As larger cities and counties are urban and suburban areas and comprise a compact area of states and districts. Medium-sized metropolitan areas, often referred to as suburbs, and some suburban cities are smaller urban and rural regions that form part of a compact state. Some of these are called “regional” areas. How differences in size and political structure between various parts of these larger regions help to explain why cities and municipalities have contrasting political influence.
As a compact region, each of the major cities and towns constitute what is known as a “district” in many states. Each of these cities and counties is a mini-state within a federal state. In each of these cities and counties, there are separate legislatures and executive offices, and there are usually at least two separate political parties in each of the counties. A city or county has a capital district and several smaller districts.
One of the most noticeable differences between cities and municipalities is the number of disincorporated areas. These are municipalities that exist outside the boundaries of incorporated cities or towns. Of the nine provinces in North America, seven joined the United States; are Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
As you can see from the above discussion, there are many differences between cities, counties and districts, but the similarities seem to end there. In a future article, we'll take a look at the political structure of each of these administrative areas, and how they relate to the US government and US citizens. The next article will discuss the different types of government structures for cities and towns within each of these provinces. See the author box below for more information on upcoming articles. In the meantime, thanks for reading this article.