Topline:
Los Angeles has 88 cities and more than 100 unincorporated areas and communities. The need for water has a lot to do with it.
Why it matters (to LA): Los Angeles has more cities than most counties in the nation. Then there are the unincorporated areas like Baldwin Hills, Altadena, Agoura and East Whittier. But here is where it really gets complicated: Some cities rely on the county agencies for law enforcement and some services while others are completely independent with their own city councils and police forces.. To understand why this is you have to understand the dire need for water when the city of L.A was coming of age.
The backstory: In the 19th century, L.A. was starting to become a place of opportunity. There was warm weather, a lot of land and manufacturing possibilities. In the late 1800s, the area started to experience massive population growth that soon outpaced the water resources of the L.A. River could provide. People had to figure out how to quench the growing region’s thirst. Enter William Mulholland and the L.A. Aqueduct. Here was the catch: You had to live within the boundaries of L.A. city to access it. So, what did neighboring communities do? They sought to be annexed by the city of L.A.
But this is only half the story. To learn more, listen to the How To LA episode with LAist's LA Explained reporter Caitlin Hernández and read their full story.
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