Charter cities

In the United States, a charter city is a city in which the governing system is defined by the city's own charter document rather than by state, provincial, regional or national laws. In states where city charters are allowed by law, a city can adopt or modify its organizing charter by decision of its administration by the way established in the charter. These cities may be administered predominantly by residents or through a third-party management structure, because a charter gives a city the flexibility to choose novel types of government structure. Charter cities are similar in administrative structure to special administrative regions.

For example, in California, cities which have not adopted a charter are organized by state law. Such a city is called a General Law City, which will be managed by a 5-member city council. A city organized under a charter may choose different systems, including the "strong mayor" or "city manager" forms of government. As of 22 February 2013, 121 of California's 478 cities are charter cities. A few examples include Oakland, Newport Beach, Palo Alto, Huntington Beach, Alameda, San Francisco, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Jose, and the capital, Sacramento. However, charter cities that are subordinate to the rules of larger institutions (such as provinces or nations) have limited flexibility to adopt new governance structures.

Outside the United States, some cities function in a somewhat analogous way. Hong Kong and Macau both are current examples of special administrative regions, similar to charter cities, in China, although their Basic Laws do not originate in these cities and they are not referred to as "charter cities" either in legal contexts or common usage. Under the one country, two systems policy, they are able to maintain their capitalist economies, which previously existed under British and Portuguese rule. China also has several special economic zones, but these do not enjoy as much autonomy as special administrative regions.

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