This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the municipal incorporation activity in the United States over the last several decades and the geographic consequences of the incorporation of new cities. It aims to explore new municipalities and to develop a better understanding and appreciation for these complex local government boundary changes. Since 1990, the United States has witnessed the incorporation of more than 400 new cities. These newly incorporated municipalities (NIMs) were established on the edges of growing metropolitan areas, in beach and mountain resort destinations, and largely rural counties. The incorporation of these new cities is a complex and politically charged geographic event. These new cities can contribute to metropolitan fragmentation within a region, provide important public services to growing urban areas, and/or exclude unwanted populations. New cities can also result in new school boundaries, new levels of taxation, and new boards and commissions with varied political powers.

Table of Contents for Fall 2011: Assessing Spatial Hydrological Data Integration to Characterize Geographic Trends in Small Reservoirs in the Apalachicola- Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin Amber Ignatius and Jon Anthony Stallins Spatial Patterns of Ecological Integrity in South Carolina Watersheds John A. Kupfer and Peng Gao The 2007 Mid-South Summer Drought and Heat Wave in Historical Perspective Gregory B. Goodrich, J. Kyle Thompson, Stanley D. Wingard, and Kylie J. Batson City Limits? The Impact of Annexation on the Frequency of Municipal Incorporation in North Carolina Russell M. Smith GIS Educational Opportunities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States Rakesh Malhotra and Gordana Vlahovic A Geography of Appalachian Identity Christopher A. Cooper, H. Gibbs Knotts, and Katy L. Elders Geographic Note Posted Redux: Campaign Signs, Race, and Political Participation in Mississippi, 2008 J.O. Joby Bass Book Reviews ---------------------------------- Southeastern Geographer is published by UNC Press for the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers (www.sedaag.org). The quarterly journal publishes the academic work of geographers and other social and physical scientists, and features peer-reviewed articles and essays that reflect sound scholarship and contain significant contributions to geographical understanding, with a special interest in work that focuses on the southeastern United States.

Southeastern Geographer is published by UNC Press for the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers (www.sedaag.org). The quarterly journal publishes the academic work of geographers and other social and physical scientists, and features peer-reviewed articles and essays that reflect sound scholarship and contain significant contributions to geographical understanding, with a special interest in work that focuses on the southeastern United States.