Future of Harrisburg? (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown: 2014, college, camp)

[gottaq]

Does Harrisburg ever have a chance to become a big city, like a Pittsburgh? or will it always be just a small government town? what do you think the future of Harrisburg is

[Dequindre]

In its condition, I doubt it will reach the heights of Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. Quite honestly, it's not fit to be the capital of Pennsylvania. All of the wealthy white collar workers that were formerly in Harrisburg have gone to Mechanicsburg, Lancaster, Camp Hill, etc.

[ki0eh]

State government does provide a captive audience of young singles who moved in for state related jobs - lobbyists, consultants, etc. The long term trends might be more favorable for Harrisburg than, say, Hershey, where millennials show up, get bored, and leave even more quickly. For all the political ups and downs the state isn't going to up and move to Dallas, Mexico, or China. The other positive is area-wide, as a logistical service base for the megalopolis - the heart of a zone from, say, Philipsburg NJ to Winchester VA. Harrisburg is better connected by passenger air, rail, and bus than any other location in this zone, even larger Allentown. Segmentation, both in too-small municicpalities and counties, and regionally vs. Lancaster and York, acts as a brake on higher level development of the 717 generally.

[bigben1234]

Highly unlikely Harrisburg proper will rival Philly or Pittsburgh anytime soon.

But the Carlisle-Harrisburg-York-Lancaster-Hershey-Lebanon CSA can definitely creep up on Pittsburgh in the next 10-20 years. Urban sprawl is starting to connect these areas more and more everday. Population in the Susquehanna Valley will continue to grow, but I think you can expect more urban sprawl than city growth.

[Jahodor]

I have seen a difference between 2013 and 2014 with the growth in the Susquehanna Valley.

[StAcKhOuSe]

I see it becoming a mini-Detroit.

so glad I left that dump

[Jahodor]

Originally Posted by StAcKhOuSe

I see it becoming a mini-Detroit.

so glad I left that dump

Honestly, I feel the same way and I lived in a suburb right outside the city and you can see what is coming not only in the city but the areas right around it. I hope I am wrong on this.

[Weaubleau]

I don't feel that Harrisburg has ever completely recovered from the 1972 flood. I am not sure about it becoming a mini Detroit, but many things in the area are not much changed from the mid 70's. Now of course, it is not easy to know whether the flood ultimately was to blame or has it been the general economic malaise that has hit industrial rust belt areas starting in the mid '70's but, nevertheless it has not exactly thrived since that period.

[gottaq]

Originally Posted by Weaubleau

I don't feel that Harrisburg has ever completely recovered from the 1972 flood. I am not sure about it becoming a mini Detroit, but many things in the area are not much changed from the mid 70's. Now of course, it is not easy to know whether the flood ultimately was to blame or has it been the general economic malaise that has hit industrial rust belt areas starting in the mid '70's but, nevertheless it has not exactly thrived since that period.

New Orleans came back after Hurricane Katrina. Hoboken NJ came back after Hurricane Sandy. You really think a flood in 72 is the one thing keeping a city down? not a chance

[cwa1984]

Being honest I think Philly and Pittsburgh honestly have way to much of a lead for Harrisburg to ever catch up to them. Yet I honestly see Harrisburg staying as the third most important metro area. Although the Harrisburg-Carlisle-Lebannon metro are population was 656,781 in 2007 compared to the metro area of Lehigh Valley of 821,623 in 2010. The Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton metro area population was 563,936 in 2011. Stats are a bit old and I would definitely welcome new ones in this regard. Harrisburg and Lehigh are very close to each other with Lehigh having the advantage here.

There are some major advantages for Harrisburg vs Lehigh Valley and Scranton-Wilkes-Barre. One is the fact Harrisburg is in between Philly and Pittsburgh and is directly north of Baltimore which is closer then Philly and Washington DC is only slightly further away from Harrisburg then Philly. This actually ends up making Harrisburg the logistical hub for the northeast and midatlantic.

Then there is the fact that Harrisburg is on the Keystone corridor which makes moving freight via rail extremely cheap with Harrisburg being one of the three main hubs of Norfolk Southern (the other two are Chicago and Atlanta). The line going towards Philly is electrified so this also gives Harrisburg rather nice commuter rail service all the way to NYC...which is something Scranton wishes it currently had. Then there is the fact Harrisburg is the state capital. That means the area has a lot of state and federal jobs. Harrisburg also several military installations like the War College, Carlisle Barracks, naval support base, etc. Overall in terms of importance Harrisburg is usually thought of as the third most important city in Harrisburg for all the above reasons.