[refurb]

This.

Depending on local rules there can be an incentive for a smaller town to join a larger city or stay separate.

My understanding LA is massive because the city had water rights and if small towns wanted access, they had to join.

Then you can go to other cities that are small by population (SF is 1M) but it’s surrounded by smaller cities towns that combined dwarf it in population.

Then you’ve got “small towns” in CT that are practically touch each other into one massive suburban area but are defined as small cities/towns with tens of thousands in population.