Yeah, in the US towns tended to grow up organically, after settlement by colonizers who stole the land from the indigenous residents. The white man staked property claims where none existed, and now the descendants of those white settlers live where the Patwin Indians lived and claim the right to exclude others.

That said, most of the island that they might buy were also home to other peoples before the current owners.

>Rich out of towners swooping in and buying local land

Exactly how the City of Houston was founded.