Hundreds of U.S. towns are pretending to be 'special districts' instead of cities just to dodge taxes and democratic oversight.
SSRN · March 17, 2026 · 6409838
The Takeaway
Most people assume that if an entity provides infrastructure and taxes residents, it is a 'city' subject to constitutional rules on equality and participation. This paper reveals the rise of 'quasi-cities' that provide identical services but use a specific legal classification to bypass the transparency and democratic requirements that govern traditional municipalities.
From the abstract
Local government law relies on a dichotomy between the “city” and the “special district.” While the city is understood as a fundamental building block of the U.S. system of democratic governance, the special district is perceived as a mere bureaucratic entity. This Article argues that this simplistic distinction ignores a third category: the “quasi-city.” The quasi-city is an entity that functions like a city, but is legally a special district. As a result, despite its city-like nature, the quas