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1952 Wis. L. Rev. 617 (1952)
Why Annexation for the City of Milwaukee

handle is hein.journals/wlr1952 and id is 631 raw text is: Why Annexation For the City of Milwaukee? CARL H. QUAST* There has been increasing concern in the post-war years with the problem of expanding the political boundaries of the American city to match its rapid expansion as an economic unit. Almost without exception the larger cities have witnessed a very rapid physical ex- pansion into adjacent areas. At the same time there has been a de- mand that the expansion be planned and regulated in order that the lands can be utilized most advantageously. The problem in Milwaukee may not be completely typical, but it does have much in common with the planning problems in other metropolitan communities. This article and the one following discuss the annexation problems and policies of the City of Milwaukee; to the extent that Milwaukee's problems are common to other cities some insight may be had into the general legal and economic problems in the expansion of the city. In appraising the economic, political and social reasons for the annexation policies of the City of Milwaukee one thing should be kept in mind. Regardless of the methods employed the objective is always the same: that is, to extend the legal, political and administra- tive jurisdiction of the city over areas which are organically a nat- ural part of the community. Historically Milwaukee, like most cities, has been faced with the necessity of expanding its area and this necessity has been met, in large measure, by annexation of lands contiguous to it. When a city outgrows its boundaries, efforts usually are made to establish new boundaries under existing legislation. Milwaukee has been no different than most other cities in this respect. It was incorporated as a city of approximately seven square miles in 1846. Now, as a result of over 200 separate annexations and two consolidations, Milwaukee has grown to an area of over 50 square miles. By ten special acts of the Wisconsin legislature Milwaukee's area was expanded from seven square miles in 1846 to twenty-one by 1892. However, in 1892 the state constitution was amended to pro- hibit the legislature from enacting special laws involving the incor- poration of any city or village or amending the charter of any city *Director of city planning research for Board of Public Land Commissioners of Milwaukee; President, Association of Wisconsin Planners.

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