Friends,
Let’s talk annexation – the process by which cities grow our borders to include growing population and development.
Long-ago, conspicuous walls often literally defined who was in and who was out of the protection and civil jurisdiction of old cities. These days most of us would be hard pressed to identify Bloomington’s legal boundaries.
But they matter. Our city line determines who votes and who directly benefits from and supports the city’s wide array of programs and activities. And while Bloomington has averaged several annexations per year since our 1818 six-block city’s founding, we haven’t annexed a square inch since 2004.
I appreciate that numbers of folks living just outside Bloomington’s borders may prefer to keep it that way – for cultural, political, financial, or other reasons.
I’m no historian, but I wonder if the story of American cities isn’t instructive about some of the dynamics – and values – at work. I wonder what the post-WWII history of our country would have been like if we hadn’t seen the ubiquitous suburbanization around major cities, and lots of smaller ones too. What if the city boundaries of our communities had grown steadily to include all their residents in one community of interest? If the planning and the complex efforts to help everyone thrive actually encompassed and involved everyone? Would the last 75 years of American history have been significantly different if our cities – each unique, different, special – had politically navigated the community path fully together. Integrated economically, socially, racially?
That didn’t happen of course. Instead, we frequently had urban centers turned into islands of disinvestment surrounded by wealthier suburbs. School districts and students suffered. Housing access and quality too. Opportunity. Structural (or explicit) racism was a powerful factor in many places. Or economic segregation. Even smaller cities like ours experienced some of the same dynamic. Politically, was that a long process of eroding potential common purpose and shared understandings in our communities and country?
There are a lot of good reasons for annexation, and I encourage you to visit the website for all the history and details you might want about Bloomington’s plans. Deep down, perhaps most important is the idea of nurturing our community to include all our voices, and to strengthen the notion that we’re all in this together.
Is it naïve to think our community’s future is brighter when we’re all connected and committed together, that our politics and our community are stronger when we’re all in the same boat, talking, listening, planning our shared future together?
Annexation discussions can quickly dive into details on sewers, fire protection, parks, and tax rates. But perhaps we miss the main point, of joining together as a whole community to progress together. America’s cities and our country might have had a very different experience since 1945 if Indianapolis’ experience with Unigov were the standard rather than the exception.
Onward we will go, and thank your city councilors for their steadfast stewardship of Bloomington’s future, including with annexation votes in September.
Democratically yours,
John
P.S. Dawn has been hyper-busy in DC doing the nation’s work at the Department of Justice, on matters of immigration, the pandemic, economic recovery, and even Trump’s tax returns. You can read Dawn’s signed opinion about the latter here. I’m so proud of Dawn’s work, and she relishes the support she feels from so many of you too.
P.P.S Remember the upcoming 7th Hamilton Family Picnic tradition – the Sunday after Labor Day, September 12th, from 4 to 7pm at Switchyard Park’s Pavilion!! We’re figuring out the right pandemic protocols amid the changing landscape, so mark it on your calendar!