This casebook explores the unique roles that local governments play in the federal system and in providing local public goods. After considering the distinct characteristics of local governments, the book explores three relationships involving local governments: the relationship between the locality and the state (home rule and pre-emption), the relationship between the locality and its residents (service provision, revenue raising, economic development, local redistribution, the structure of local governments), and the relationship between the locality and neighboring localities (interlocal cooperation, interlocal conflict, and regional burden sharing). This edition includes new sections on public employee pensions, the "new preemption," and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic and working from home on location decisions and local administrative law. It also includes increased discussion of the local implications of racial injustice and economic inequality, as well as additional coverage of zoning and qualified immunity.