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Home Rule For The Twenty-First Century, Richard Briffault

Faculty Scholarship

At this point, four years into the new century, most readers must be tired of the invocation of the "twenty-first century" in law review articles. Yet, "the twenty-first century" in the title of this article is significant. The home rule idea first entered American law in the nineteenth century, an era with different forms of urban political, social, and economic organization, and a different role for local government. As the nature of urban development and the role of local government changes, home rule must change with it.

Home rule is a complex topic. Home rule takes many legal forms and …