I think every one of America's metropolitan areas should have a single consolidated metro government, encompassing its suburbs and exurbs, so there would be a government that could plan for metro needs such as local transportation; and the 25 or so largest-by-population should be states of the Union. Many of the resulting leftover-states would be predominantly rural. E.g., if the NY metro area were consolidated, what is now "upstate New York" could be the State of Hudson. Illinois without Chicagoland would be a rural state.
It makes sense, because a metro area is more of a real economic and cultural unit than most existing states (their boundaries mostly drawn up in Washington before the state in question was fully settled and before cities emerged).
Also, the suburbs could be taxed to rebuild the inner cities; by the same token, suburban residents would have voting representation in the cities. And there could be a general consolidation of public services, taking advantage of economies of scale. It does not make much sense that Miami-Dade County, which is really one continuous urban area when viewed from the air, contains more than a dozen separate municipalities. See Cities Without Suburbs, by David Rusk.
It makes sense, because a metro area is more of a real economic and cultural unit than most existing states (their boundaries mostly drawn up in Washington before the state in question was fully settled and before cities emerged).
Also, the suburbs could be taxed to rebuild the inner cities; by the same token, suburban residents would have voting representation in the cities. And there could be a general consolidation of public services, taking advantage of economies of scale. It does not make much sense that Miami-Dade County, which is really one continuous urban area when viewed from the air, contains more than a dozen separate municipalities. See Cities Without Suburbs, by David Rusk.
Cities without Suburbs, first published in 1993, has influenced analysis of America's cities by city planners, scholars, and citizens alike. David Rusk, the former mayor of Albuquerque, argues that America must end the isolation of the central city from the suburbs if it is to solve its urban problems.
Rusk’s analysis, extending back to 1950, covers all metropolitan areas in the United States but focuses on the 137 largest metro areas and their principal central cities. He finds that cities that were trapped within old boundaries during the age of sprawl have suffered severe racial segregation and the emergence of an urban underclass; but cities with annexation powers―termed "elastic" by Rusk―have shared in area-wide development.
The fourth edition updates Rusk’s argument using the 2010 Census and the American Community Survey. It provides new material on the difference between population trends and household trends, the impact of Hispanic immigration, and the potential for city-county consolidation. The fourth edition also brings added emphasis to "elasticity mimics"―a variety of intergovernmental policies that can provide some of the benefits of regional consolidation efforts in situations where annexation and consolidation are impossible.