How state takeovers undermine the principle of municipal home rule.

Recent years have seen high profile cases of municipal government failure and state takeover in American cities like Detroit and Flint, Michigan. Ashley E. Nickels writes on why we should be concerned about threats to local autonomy such as these, which can supersede local home rule. She argues that such state actions – which can remove municipalities’ fiscal management – are often interventions when only assistance is needed, and that they can alienate local residents and community organizations.