TO THE EDITOR:
Briar Chapel, the prime example from the Oct. 21 article, Home sales in Orange County are on the rise, is not in Orange County. The community of Briar Chapel is located within Chatham County. And this example illustrates one of the most misunderstood concepts in American cities and regions. Mailing addresses typically do not correspond with county, municipal or school district boundaries.
Proclaiming that your community or your business is located in Chapel Hill or Durham, no matter what a mailing address says, provides almost no information about the most important components of American life: education, taxation, voting and land use regulations. A Chapel Hill address does not determine school districts, property tax rates or local government jurisdictions. Mailing addresses today are often used as marketing tools by savvy businesses, developers and real estate professionals.
All men (and women) might be created equal. But local educational, political and regulatory situations vary widely. In the United States, significant changes occur simply by crossing a municipal, county or state boundary. People and companies with means commonly utilize these crossborder differentials to maximize their advantages in taxation, education or regulation.
Understanding where we actually live and the political boundaries that matter provides much greater clarity about the structural contexts that shape our lives.
Marc Howlett
Graduate student
City and regional planning
