Lititz, the latest victim of suburban sprawl (Philadelphia, Lancaster: credit, homes)

[KevinE]

Ugh... the once chaming little town is now being enveloped by cookie cutter developments along with some monostrosity being built across from the airport.

Lititz what happened? You were doing so well flying under the radar.

[csignorelli]

It's not just Lititz, sadly... many areas of Lancaster County are quickly succumbing to urban sprawl. Look no further than the huge shopping centers currently going up on Rohrerstown Road, Fruitville Pike, and Harrisburg Pike. The local newspaper actually published a few articles on the subject not long ago (see here).

[cpomp]

It is only a matter of time. You have Philadelphia and New York metro areas which are very crowded and expensive, so people logically look West (since East is the ocean).

[Dequindre]

It was always funny to see a lovely rural, Amish landscape, only to turn around and see Rockvale Outlets sitting there. I suppose most of Lancaster County has that suburban/rural contrast these days.

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by Dequindre

It was always funny to see a lovely rural, Amish landscape, only to turn around and see Rockvale Outlets sitting there. I suppose most of Lancaster County has that suburban/rural contrast these days.

Yah, the Amish have sold out and moved to upstate NY for cheaper land.

[Dequindre]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

Yah, the Amish have sold out and moved to upstate NY for cheaper land.

And the ones that remained have adapted to living in what's essentially a suburban area. Western Pennsylvania Amish are still strict in their convictions.

[pman]

Originally Posted by csignorelli

It's not just Lititz, sadly... many areas of Lancaster County are quickly succumbing to urban sprawl. Look no further than the huge shopping centers currently going up on Rohrerstown Road, Fruitville Pike, and Harrisburg Pike. The local newspaper actually published a few articles on the subject not long ago (see here).

Your think the stuff going in on fruitville and harrisburg would be reasonably urban instead of pretending its 1992

[pman]

Originally Posted by cpomp

It is only a matter of time. You have Philadelphia and New York metro areas which are very crowded and expensive, so people logically look West (since East is the ocean).

Tax farming. Subdivisions pay more taxes and by the time the bull for infrastructure comes due someone else will be in office

[rowhomecity]

The region and state really need to come together to draft land use planning legislation, to encourage denser development, and more walkable communities and preserve open space. Just up towards Harrisburg they want to build 1,000 ugly tract homes on what use to be a 500 acre horse farm, in a sprawled area, that does not have the capacity to handle that type of development. If we keep developing sprawl the way we do, the quality of life lowers, as traffic and pollution escalate, and sprawl also carries an extremely high tax burden. We also should have design guidelines. Historically the state would develop the best architecture in the nation, and now what developers have been building, is cheap for a quick buck, and looks awful. Ruining the character of the state and home values. Some of these neighborhoods, they literally are only 10 - 15 years old, and the homes have aged so poorly, they look over twice the age, because they skimp in every way they can. Its a shame.

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by pman

Your think the stuff going in on fruitville and harrisburg would be reasonably urban instead of pretending its 1992

You're giving them too much credit. Some of these townships are stuck on 1972.